Making the Cut: Understanding the role of editing

The Gratiaen Trust, in partnership with The Seagull School of Publishing (India) to hold workshop from May 23-26

The Gratiaen Trust, in partnership with The Seagull School of Publishing (India), will hold a workshop on editing for creative writing from May 23 - 26. Making the Cut is designed for editors as well as creative writers who would like to further their editing skills. The practical, four- day workshop leading to a certificate will provide participants a crucial understanding of the role of editing in producing successful literary manuscripts and tricks of the trade.

Neloufer De Mel, Chairperson of The Gratiaen Trust, said, “Every writer is an editor, but what makes a good editor? And how can editing transform a good work into a great one? These are some of the questions explored in Making the Cut. Naveen Kishore and The Seagull School of Publishing are highly regarded worldwide for their contribution to English literature, and the Gratiaen Trust is proud to be associated with them in this endeavour.”

This workshop is yet another initiative by The Gratiaen Trust whose key mandate is to support and promote literary excellence in Sri Lanka. Established in 1992, The Gratiaen Trust has over the years, worked closely with academics, writers, publishers and other professionals from Sri Lanka’s literary world to promote better works of creative English writing. The Gratiaen Prize, the country’s premier literary award for creative writing in English celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.

While the Gratiaen Prize has encouraged more writers to showcase their work and publish their manuscripts, the Trust sees the need for programmes that will help writers enhance their skills and produce works of a higher standard. To mark its 25th anniversary, The Gratiaen Trust has launched a series of workshops that aims to add value to the quality of creative output of Sri Lankan writers. Towards this, the Trust has forged collaborations with individuals and organisations from Sri Lanka as well as from within the region and beyond with the goal of providing Sri Lankan writers the opportunity to work with, and learn from experts from different areas of publishing. Recently the Trust conducted a two-part workshop in partnership with the Commonwealth Writers Prize for aspiring Sri Lankan writers on the process of critical rigour in writing.

The workshop on editing for creative writers to be held in May 2019 in partnership with The Seagull School of Publishing is the second in this series.

The founder of Seagull Books and The Seagull School of Publishing, Naveen Kishore, has shown a keen interest in creative writing from Sri Lanka and is looking forward to exchanging knowledge and experience with his contemporaries here. Commenting on this collaboration he said, “The world is a family. The Gift. Of Wisdom. Gathered over the years. What we inherit, must be passed on. It is in this spirit of sharing that we wish to connect with the community of writers and publishers in Sri Lanka and help build bridges between the Seagull School of Publishing and you.” On the process of editing Mr. Kishore added “While good editing remains a largely invisible component of publishing—as it should be—it is nonetheless essential to making good literature visible in the world.”

The workshop will be conducted by Naveen Kishore, Sunandini Banerjee, Senior Editor and Graphic Designer, Seagull Books, and Bishan Samaddar, Editor, Seagull Books. The workshop will cover aspects of the editorial process from structural and content editing to maintaining a prose style; from fact-checking to working with authors, translators, designers and publishers - and more. Participants will gain deeper insights into good editing practices across genres, (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, translation, etc) as well as how the publishing world works.

Up to 15 participants will be selected to join the workshop which will be conducted at the Postgraduate Institute of English (PGIE) at the Open University of Sri Lanka, Nawala, Nugegoda. The closing date for applications is February 28, 2019. For more details on how to submit applications, please send your queries to: gratiaenworkshops@ gmail.com.