Women in Publishing (WiPS) is an international organisation working to promote the
status of women working in publishing and related trades by helping them to
develop their careers. Sarah Merrill Mowat is vice president of the Hong Kong chapter, and also coordinator of Imprint, HK WiPS’ annual anthology of members’
writing. Here Sarah talks about the
advantages of joining WiPS, and the latest issue of Imprint, which was
published in April.
I
joined WiPS Hong Kong not long after moving to the city about thirteen years
ago. Having worked in the publishing industry in the UK and hoping to shift my
focus to writing, it seemed a natural place to find like-minded people. I was
not an active member until our children had grown a bit and I found the time to
undertake an MFA in writing at Hong Kong University. In the beginning, I simply
attended the occasional meeting and submitted to Imprint. My involvement with WiPS
has grown as I have got to know other members better. Apart from my own
writing, my work for WiPS is the most rewarding that I do, as it connects me
with women of all ages in a range of professions, some who have been in Hong Kong for
as little as six months, and others who were born here.
WiPS
Hong Kong was started in 1990. As in other chapters, continued education,
idea-sharing, networking and mentoring are critical to our mission. Our
membership comprises women from many countries, with the city of Hong Kong
providing the thread that connects us. Our members are writers, authors,
editors, journalists, teachers, linguists, proofreaders, translators,
typesetters, musicologists, film producers, academics, artists, illustrators
and entrepreneurs. Some are seasoned professionals, willing to share their
experience of the publishing industry with the membership, others are new to the
industry. Operating on the belief that knowledge is power and that a group can
maximise an individual’s potential, WiPS is proud to lay claim to such
expertise among its members and to facilitate its exchange.
In
its early days, WiPS functioned largely as a networking support group where
members enlisted the skills of other members to complete projects, advised each
other of job opportunities and exchanged information on rates for freelance
work. Since then we have met regularly, mostly at the Foreign Correspondents
Club on Lower Albert Road, to explore a wide range of topics from travel
writing, to self-employment tax issues, to legal and copyright matters, to the
art of interviewing and writing profiles, to how to self-publish, the value of
good blogging, and the use of social media in book marketing. From time-to-time, we also offer professional development courses: our next is a computer
lab workshop on publishing eBooks.
Of
course, we also publish Imprint. For fifteen years it has been a place for
members to showcase their talents, and editorial and production meetings enable
members to gather outside of our monthly events. From the start, we chose to
make Imprint as inclusive as possible, open to English-speakers of all
nationalities and wide-ranging in its categories. The publication process also provides
a useful training platform from which to gain experience of the various aspects
of book publishing.
Imprint
mirrors the changing dynamics of WiPS as a whole. While our connection to Hong
Kong unites us as an organisation, the voices of members convey a range of
experience that spans the globe. Many who leave Hong Kong stay connected with
WiPS through Imprint, bringing us their tales, both real and imagined, from
places this year as diverse as Vientiane, San Francisco, Edmonton, Melbourne
and Utrecht. Despite our far-flung backgrounds, there is a certain solidarity
found on the anthology's pages. Imprint provides a place where we can come
together and share our story, each piece representing one of the many and varied narratives of
women, whatever their place of birth, or wherever circumstance has sent
them.
This
year's Imprint is as engaging as ever, its pages filled with fiction, essays,
poetry, artwork and photography; all the creation of our membership. The cover is the
happy combination of photographs from one member, and the graphic design
skills of another, with text input from two or three more. The anthology also includes the winning piece from our short story
competition for young writers which is open to secondary students - boys as
well as girls - throughout Hong Kong. Also in its fifteenth year, the student
writing competition has been a part of Imprint since its inception, reflecting
our commitment to encourage aspiring local writers.
You can order Imprint directly from WiPS via email on wipshk@gmail.com. Membership
of WiPS Hong Kong is open to women with an interest in publishing or writing.
More information about becoming a member or attending one of our monthly
meetings can be found here. Follow us on Facebook here.
Our
next event is the eBook workshop in May – it will include uploading the latest
edition of Imprint to usher it into the digital age. In June, Leta Hong Fincher will talk about her book Leftover Women, which describes social
problems faced by women in China who are not married by age 30.
The submission
deadline for Imprint 16, is 30 September. Submissions are accepted only from
members of WiPS. All genres are considered. For more information, click here.
If
you are in Hong Kong, WiPS looks forward to sharing its members’ work with you
through Imprint, and to welcoming you to a future event.
