Editing Master Class with Elizabeth Manning Murphy, Author of Working Words

by CTBF on Jun 7th, 2012

The visit from Australia of Elizabeth Manning Murphy, an editor and writer of repute and an international language trainer, is a coup for the Professional Editors’ Group (PEG) and coincides with the launch of the new-format Cape Town Book Fair (CTBF) and the 29th Biennial Congress of the International Publishers Association.

Manning Murphy will not only present a Master Class at the CTBF but will be launching the South African edition of her book Working Words, recently published by the Canberra Society of Editors (2011). Both of these events will be of particular interest to editors, would-be editors and language practitioners working in the medium of English – but are also open to the general public.

Elizabeth Manning Murphy’s interest in effective communication has been lifelong. Currently she is President of the Canberra Society of Editors and a member of the Society of Editors (Victoria) and in 2008 was awarded the Honorary Award of Distinguished Editor (DE) given by the Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPEd) in Australia. Her passion evolved while working as a management consultant in England and Australia, when she wrote several books on the topic of office and business communication.

Working Words is a collection of ‘chats’ based on ten years of articles written by Manning Murphy for The Canberra Editor. The book is a companion to books on grammar, style, punctuation, plain English, editing and the business of being a freelance writer or editor. Many of the chats happened as a direct result of requests from working editors, would-be-editors, and people who didn’t learn the ‘whys’ and ‘wherefores’ of English grammar at school. It’s in a chatty style, with a few fun pieces, which are quirkily called ‘itchy pencils’. Have you ever wished you had a pencil handy when you saw something itching to be written down or corrected? That’s ‘itchypencilitis’!

Working Words is being printed locally and as a result will be available at a very favourable price during the author’s visit. Its launch will take place on Saturday, 16 June.

‘Master Editing: Adding Top Value’ is the Master Class which Manning Murphy will present on Friday 15 June from 10h00 to 14h00 at the CTICC.

She answers the question: How do you add value to your text editing? By being prepared, by going the extra mile, by using the tools available – all of this and more will be worked through in detail in Manning Murphy’s accessible style. Whether you’re new to text editing or a seasoned practitioner, this master class by an experienced editor and linguist acknowledged by her peers is sure to both inspire and be of great benefit to editorial output. The seminar is open to PEG members; members of LAMP (Alliance of Language and Media Practitioners) alliance partners; publishers and practitioners in the book, journal and magazine publishing chain; and also the general public. It is certainly a rare opportunity for editors in South Africa! Such is her popularity that the Johannesburg Master Class on 23 June is already oversubscribed.

Elizabeth Manning Murphy arrives in Cape Town, South Africa on 10 June.

Master Class: Friday 15 June
Venue: Rooms 1.61/1.62 at the CTBF at the CTICC from 10h00 to 14h00
Cost: PEG and other LAMP members: R475 Non-members: R695

Registration forms can be obtained from ellynbarry@telkomsa.net
Launch details: Visit www.capetownbookfair.com.

About the author

Based in Canberra, Elizabeth Manning Murphy is a trained linguist, a consultant in communication skills, an editor and a trainer in effective writing. She is the President of the Canberra Society of Editors and a member of the Society of Editors (Victoria). In 2008 she received the Honorary Award of Distinguished Editor (DE) given by the Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPEd) in Australia. (Distinguished editors were nominated by their societies to prepare for and assess the first two Australian accreditation exams in 2008 and 2009. The term ‘distinguished’ indicated that their peers considered these editors to have exceeded the level of competence that is tested by the exam and were, therefore, qualified to assess exam candidates.)

Ms Manning Murphy is also a Fellow of the Commercial Education Society of Australia and the Society of Teachers in Business Education (UK); and an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. Her interest in effective communication has been lifelong. In previous years, while working as a management consultant in England and Australia, she wrote several books on the topic of office and business communication. In 1991 she published Effective writing: plain English at work, a book that deals with a topic close to the heart of many editors in South Africa.

Book details