It’s that time of year again – we’re about to flip the page of a brand new calendar, break the spine of a new diary and bring in the new year with resolutions, parties and new goals. With 2015 just around the corner, we want to take a moment and appreciate how far we’ve come in the past 12 months.
To see where we were at the end of 2013, click here. It’s certainly a blast from the past, and puts all our achievements into perspective. But right now, let’s take a look at 2014 in all its glory…
The Facelift
As big book lovers, we’re not massive fans of judging publications by their cover. However, the 2013 Writer’s Edit homepage left much to be desired in our eyes. Some of you new readers and writers might not know, but we weren’t always the sleek and sophisticated site we are today. We’ve gone from a Tumblr blog, to a basic theme on WordPress, and now, to a glorious, professional magazine look and feel thanks to the phenomenal Eva Kozarovska. Check out the before & after shot below.
The Milestones
It’s pretty safe to say, this is going to be a lot longer than last year’s, so we’ll keep it to dot points. Who doesn’t love a good list anyway? Here’s what we’ve been pretty chuffed about this year:
- Being featured in Bookseller & Publisher.
- Being featured in Mumbrella.
- Being profiled for ACTWrite Magazine.
- Turning last year’s 500 Facebook fans into 3,400.
- Turning last year’s 700 Twitter followers into 4,613.
- Being invited to, and attending Penguin Random House’s first ever National Book Blogger’s Forum.
- Interviewing authors like Bruce McCabe, Hazel Edwards and Allison Tait.
But what about the biggest and best milestones of 2014? Check these out…
Crowd-funding Success
Throughout September, Writer’s Edit ran a very successful crowd-funding campaign on Pozible to help fund the printing and distribution of our debut anthology Kindling. We hit our target in just five days, and continued to raise funds above and beyond that! Thank you to all of our wonderful supporters!
Becoming a Small Press
For those of you who are new to Writer’s Edit: our dream has always been to publish books. This year, that dream became a reality with the publication of our debut anthology Kindling. Over the course of 2014 we sought out the best short stories, poems and essays and recruited editors, proofreaders and a cover designer to put together what would become our very first book.
It was a truly incredible process. We learnt about everything from style guides and ISBNs to how handle printing and distribution. We’re incredibly proud of the beautiful product we’ve created. It’s something that looks and feels absolutely amazing, and it holds the polished words of some very talented writers.
On the 29th of November, we launched Kindling at Published Art Bookshop in Surry Hills. We had a full house – with over 50 people in attendance. Some having travelled from as far away as South Australia to be there (thanks again Dan!). We were blown away by the support and enthusiasm of our writers and our guests. You can read a full recap of the night here, as well as view the photo gallery here.
If you’re looking to get your hands on a copy, visit our shop.
The Books
We can’t very well do an end-of-year recap without revisiting some of our favourite titles from 2014. Click through for the full reviews by Liam Lowth, Chloe Higgins and Jared Catchpoole.
Eyrie by Tim Winton
From the outset Winton enthrals us with his beautifully layered prose; a simple yet interesting plot at face value but beneath the surface it holds an undercurrent of important themes and cerebral heft. Before we know it, we no longer hold distance from the characters and ideals at play in Eyrie” – Liam Lowth.
Song in the Dark by Christine Howe
Some stories push you under the waves and make you fight the water to reach air. Other stories, like Christine Howe’s novel Song in the Dark, gently pull the reader along a smooth lake’s invisible current… This is a story about the tension between wanting to do and be something good—a good son, a good grandson—and being controlled by something—addiction, the past—that won’t let you stop letting loved ones down…” – Chloe Higgins.
My Struggle series by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Knausgaard’s willingness to divulge his personal life in such detail has come at a cost, alienating himself from friends and family and causing difficulty and pain in his personal life. In a sense, Knausgaard, who thoroughly confesses his insecurities has left no stone un-turned” – Jared Catchpoole.
Shop & Services
As some of you may have noticed, we’ve got something new on our menu – a shop! We’ve only launched this recently, but we’re loving that our readers can purchase copies of Kindling directly from us, as well as a range of writing/editing services.
The Writers
As this is who Writer’s Edit is for and all about, it’s only fair that we offer a big shout out to all those involved…
Kyra Bandte – For the past year, you have gone above and beyond everything we have asked of you. You make Writer’s Edit a very happy place for us to work, and your ongoing support and incredible efforts have meant the absolute world to us. Thank you. Not only this, but you’re a phenomenal Poetry Editor as well! We’re hoping we can get you on board for our next anthology…
Kristin Prescott – Thank you for being not only a wonderful contributor to Writer’s Edit, but also for your involvement with and support of Kindling. We couldn’t be more thrilled to share your work with the world!
Dan Murphy – After almost a year of writing for us, we finally got to meet Dan from South Australia at the Kindling launch. It’s been a real privilege watching you develop as a writer, and we’re so happy we finally got to shake your hand and say thank you.
2014 has seen some new talent on our beloved website as well! A big thank you to Natalie Ong Lih Tyng, Jared Catchpoole, Liam Lowth, Nick Cowling, Eloise Edstein, Alyssa Boorman, Rhiannon Tuffield, Coralie James, Belle Savage and April Davis. Without your passion and hard work Writer’s Edit simply wouldn’t be possible. You can find out more about our writers here.
Thanks are also due to Rory Cole, Kelly Emmerton, Jerath Head and Alissa Dinallo for being a part of the Kindling editorial/design team. We hope you’re as proud of this book as we are!
2015 and Beyond
We couldn’t have asked for a more exciting and productive year for Writer’s Edit, and we’re hoping that 2015 is even bigger and better! We’re planning to publish a resourceful e-book for writers, as well as our next print publication. We’re aiming to get our shop and services off the ground, and will continue to publish useful and informative content for our readers online. Finally, we’ve made some friends at Scrivener (novel writing software) and they’ve hooked us up with some great prizes we’ll be offering in early 2015, so stay tuned for that!
On behalf of Writer’s Edit, I’d like to thank everyone who has supported us on social media, through our Pozible campaign or who has purchased a copy of Kindling. As a publication that’s still very young, we find your enthusiasm for what we do incredibly moving and inspiring. So thank you.
Many thanks are also due to Dave Hickman, who has been our silent WordPress expert and genius of all online things from the beginning. Our platform wouldn’t be the impressive publication it is today without your ongoing support and hard work.
And last, but certainly not least, we’d like to thank YOU. There would be no Writer’s Edit without our wonderful readers. Your feedback and encouragement have helped us on the fast-track to success.
We wish you all the best for the New Year, and look forward to having you by our sides as we follow our dreams into 2015.
Happy New Year!
– Helen S.
Founding Editor