The Residential Editorial Program (REP) provides training for mid-career editors looking to enhance their literary editing skills through intensive workshops with highly experienced industry practitioners.
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 135 Australian editors benefitting from the opportunity for advanced training and professional collaboration.
REP 2028
The next Residential Editorial Program (REP) will take place in 2028.
About the program
Administered by the Australian Publishers Association and supported by Creative Australia, REP aims to enhance the standard of writing published in Australia by:
- 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 foster good working relationships with authors
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Teaching editors to balance their commitment to authors with their publisher’s business expectations.
Participants attend four days of presentations and workshops delivered by industry experts, as well as working hands-on with a manuscript under the guidance of mentors. At the end of the week, the manuscript’s editor will discuss their editing process and key decisions in bringing it to publication.
Feedback from previous REP participants:
‘REP was an absolutely incredible experience and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to attend. It has inspired me to be a better editor and to continue to work hard on the relationships I have with other editors in the industry and to appreciate the value of the work we do. It's an amazing opportunity and it has changed the way I think about and approach my work as an editor.’ – Alisa Ahmed
‘REP is by far one of the best things I've done on a professional level. To be in a room with other editors and to hear and learn from those in the industry was a wonderful experience – I left the program feeling both inspired and invigorated.’ – Camha Pham
‘Gathering with other freelance and in-house editors was such fantastic professional development. Everyone was willing to share what they’ve learned, both speakers and participants. This was an absolutely brilliant experience.’ – Casey Mulder
‘REP was such a wonderful program that exceeded my high expectations. It was amazing to get to know and learn from so many others in the industry, and to immerse ourselves in all things editing and publishing over the four days of the course.’ – Melissa Lane
Feedback from previous REP mentors:
‘REP provides a collaborative safe space and unique skills development for editors working at all levels of publishing. Where else could you talk about editing for a whole week with a great bunch of peers and mentors? I highly recommend the program for anyone looking to skill up, refresh, and make lifelong friends.’ – Grace Lucas-Pennington, mentor
‘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, mentor
‘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 and mentor
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
