Sculpting Words: The Art of the Edit

Writers get all the fame – book tours, fan clubs, groupies, the works. But what is a good writer without a razor-sharp editor – one who isn't afraid of editing in cold blood; what is a good publication without an editor with a nose for solid content?

More importantly, what is it exactly that editors do? In this forum we go behind the scenes with those who sculpt and curate words for a living.

They make bad writing look good. Love them or hate them, these are the real rock stars of the business.

Date: November 25, Sunday
Time: 7-8.30pm
Venue: Conference Hall, Penang Institute, 10, Jalan Brown, 10350 George Town, Penang

Panelists:

Minh Bui Jones

Minh Bui Jones is the founding editor of Mekong Review. He was also the founding editor of The Diplomat and American Review. He was born in Da Nang, Vietnam and fled to Malaysia with his family in 1978 as a refugee. He grew up and was educated in Australia.

Gareth Richards

Gareth Richards is a writer, editor and bookseller. He previously taught at Manchester University, the University of the Philippines and University of Malaya. He is the director of Impress Creative & Editorial, and founded both Gerakbudaya Bookshop, Penang and the arts space, Hikayat. He is the co-author/editor of Asia–Europe Interregionalism: Critical Perspectives (1999), and writer of texts for two books of photography: Portraits of Penang: Little India (2011) and Panicrama (2016).

Helene Dodge-Wan

Helena Dodge-Wan is an editor with Impress Creative & Editorial. She has edited for a number of leading academic publishers including NUS Press, Springer, the University of Pennsylvania Press and SIRD, as well as local imprints. Originally from Sarawak, she is a graduate in medical bioscience.

Dato' Dr Ooi Kee Beng

Dato' Dr Ooi Kee Beng is the Executive Director of Penang Institute. He is the founder-editor of the popular magazine Penang Monthly and the policy briefs ISSUES (Penang Institute) and ISEAS Perspective (ISEAS). He is also long-time editor of Trends in Southeast Asia (ISEAS), and a long-time columnist for The Edge Malaysia.