ADSA Prize for Editing Excellence – Discussion Paper – Bernadette Cochrane
Background
In 2014, the Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama and Performance Studies proposed a new prize for matters editorial, most notably for edited collections. In
2015, Bree Hadley, President of ADSA, approached Caroline Wake and myself to gauge interest in developing a briefing paper on the matter. This discussion paper, therefore, represents an initial offering on the creation of a new prize to recognize editorial excellence.
Consultation
Preliminary consultation on the matter was undertaken with the following:

Maria Delgardo: co-editor Contemporary Theatre Review , co-editor the
Manchester University Press series, Theatre: Theory, Practice, Performance, and winner of the ATHE Excellence in Editing Award (2013).

Veronica Kelly: founder and editor of Australasian Drama Studies (with
Richard Fotheringham).

Joanne Tompkins: co-editor Theatre Journal (2013 – 2017), Modern Drama
(1999 – 2005), Performing Site-Specific Theatre: Politics, Place, Practice ,
Palgrave MacMillan, 2012 (with Anna Birch).
It is worth noting here that Delgardo, Kelly, and Tompkins all recommended contacting ATHE apropos their Excellence in Editing Award. Attempts have been made to contact Dani Snyder-Young on the matter. Snyder-Young is on sabbatical until the end of 2015 and no further response has been forthcoming.
Delgardo, Kelly, and Tompkins were canvassed as to their thoughts and recommendations on the following:

Focus

Scope,

Publisher rank

Suggestions for an inaugural convening committee
The recommendations below represent a synthesis of their responses as well as my own.
Rationale:
The practices and processes of editing, be it for a collection, an anthology, a named series of books, long-term journal editing or convening special journal issues, play a key role in the shaping, enhancing, and even challenging the ways in which we can understand the inter-related fields of theatre, drama, and performance studies. As
Tompkins and Delgardo put it, “editing is a constant process of negotiation and
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conceptualization” (12). Given the institutional importance placed on individual excellence in publishing – monograph, book chapter, journal article, et cetera – what is too often overlooked is the role of and the contribution made by the editor of these publications. Editors are, to borrow at dramaturgical phrase, too often an invisible presence. Individual excellence is often underpinned by editorial quality. The instituting of Prize for Editing Excellence would provide public recognition the contribution made by individuals or the collaborative teams that lead and sustain editorial endeavours.
Recommendations
Frequency and Timings
That the Editing Excellence prize be awarded on a biannual basis in rotation with the
Rob Jordan Prize.
That within that rotation, consideration be given to a further rotational division, firstly that of ongoing journal editorship and/or named series of books, and secondly editing collections in book form and convening a special journal issue. With respect to the latter, it would be further recommended that the editor/editorial team have included their own scholarly stand-alone chapter.
An example of the rotation would be:
2015 – Rob Jordan Book Prize
2016 – Inaugural Editing Excellence Prize for ongoing journal editorship or named series of books.
2017 – Rob Jordan Book Prize
2018 – Editing Excellence Prize for edited collection or special issue.
Consideration could be given to a backwards capture of up to 2014 for the edited collection or special issue. Ongoing editorship of a journal should include online as well as print journals.
Nominations
Delgardo, Kelly, and Tompkins all noted the need for independent nominations accompanied by letters of support. If this advice were to be heeded, it would represent a significant difference to the Rob Jordan Prize where nominations can be made either by or on behalf of the author/s of the book. ATHE apparently require up to ten letters of support per nomination. Given the membership difference between ATHE and
ADSA, my personal view is that five letters of support would be sufficient.
The nomination should include a statement including:

The name of the project

The reason for the nomination

Details of past editing projects where appropriate
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In terms of indicators of quality, the decision would need to be based on the strength of the argument made in the reason for nomination. Such an approach would allow a flexibility to recognize longevity of contribution or innovation, et cetera in the field.
Editing Excellence Prize Panel
While the final disposition of the judging panel could mirror the Rob Jordan Prize in numbers, consideration should be given to the inclusion of:
The editor of ADS as an ex officio member
Peta Tait: Immediate Past General Editor of the Brill series “Australian Playwrights’
A member of the ADSA executive (for the inaugural year at least)
A general member of ADSA
Naming of Prize
Part of the brief for the assembling of this discussion paper was to consider a name for the prize – at the Executive Meeting & AGM in 2015, a proposal will be offered.
Delgardo, Maria M, and Joanne Tompkins. “Editing Matters: An Editorial.”
Contemporary Theatre Review 25.1 (2015): 11-6.
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