The Residential Editorial Program (REP) is a week-long mentorship opportunity for a group of mid-career literary book editors to develop a selected manuscript.
REP is designed to complement the Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship, and recognises editors’ need for mentorships, professional collaboration and advanced training.
REP has become renowned in the Australian publishing industry as a defining professional development opportunity for editors. The program has run since 1999, with more than 100 Australian editors benefitting from the intensive workshops with highly experienced and respected industry experts.
REP 2024
The 2024 Residential Editorial Program will take place from Monday 29 April to Thursday 2 May 2024 at Q Station in Manly, Sydney. Applications have closed.
About the program
Administered by the Australian Publishers Association and supported by Creative Australia and the publishing industry, the REP aims to enhance the standard of writing published in Australia by:
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Identifying and developing the professional skills of literary editors
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Enabling professional interaction and networking between editors
- Raising the profile of editors in the literary and publishing community
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Encouraging editors to establish and maintain good working relationships with authors
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Teaching editors to recognise and balance between the commitment to their authors with their publisher’s business expectations.
Selected REP editors attend daily sessions with a range of workshops and presentations delivered by guest speakers, while working hands-on with the selected manuscript. At the end of the week, the manuscript’s original editor explains the key decisions and changes made through their own editing process in bringing it to publication.
Feedback from previous REP participants:
'The mentoring workshops felt so special - an amazing opportunity to bond with other editors and work together on a manuscript with so much time (what a luxury)!' - Emily Hart
'Fantastic! I learnt a lot from all of the speakers and they sparked fascinating conversations with my fellow editors. There was a lot I could take back to my everyday working life, and a lot that reassured me that I'm already on the right track.' - Meg Whelan
'This was the best thing I've done in my editorial life.' – Emma Schwarcz
'Every part of the program was beneficial – I took wisdom, insight, knowledge, respect and love for the editorial profession from every speaker, participant and learning opportunity.' – Kristy Bushnell
Feedback from previous REP mentors:
'The REP has been hugely important in recognising the important contribution editors make to our literary culture. It's always great to hear after each REP how participants have taken the experience back to their workplaces - and to see how many REP alumni have moved into leadership roles in the industry in one way or another.' – Linda Funnell, Chair of the REP organising committee, 2002–2010, and mentor in 2014 and 2017
'I was initially a bit nervous myself coming back as a mentor, but that all faded very quickly when I realised just how much I had learnt and how many formative experiences I’ve had since my own REP. I love helping other less experienced editors learn to trust what their own instincts are.' – Roberta Ivers, REP participant in 1999 and mentor in 2012
'It is such a rare privilege to have the time and space to discuss ideas relating to editing and I feel the group of extremely talented editors that I mentored really made the most of this opportunity and came away enriched as a result. Each person was thoughtful, considered and respectful of the other editors’ opinions and we learnt a lot as a group through both our similarities and differences in approaching a manuscript.' – Jo Butler, REP participant in 2004, speaker and mentor in 2012 & 2014
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
