The Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) is pleased to announce that Emma Rafferty has won the 2025 Rosanne Fitzgibbon Editorial Award for her editorial work on the novel 17 years later by J. P. Pomare (Hachette Australia).

The Rosanne Fitzgibbon Editorial Award (the Rosie) recognises excellence in editing and is based on both the quality of the finished work and submissions from the editor, author and publisher about the editorial process and work of the editor.

Emma accepted the award at the 12th IPEd Conference in Adelaide on 24 July.

“It’s an incredible honour to be awarded the Rosie Award for my work on J. P. Pomare’s 17 years later,” Emma said after accepting her award.

“I want to thank IPEd for all the work they do as an organisation to advocate for editors and promote the work we do and offer us professional development – it’s incredibly valuable. Thank you especially to IPEd’s Standing Committee for Awards and Prizes for all of their work.

“Thank you to Hachette and Rebecca Saunders for nominating me, and the biggest thank you goes to J. P. Pomare who wrote 17 years later. It was an absolute pleasure to edit and to work with him to really craft the most incredible novel. It’s amazing to be recognised for that work.”

In praise of Emma’s winning entry, the judges said Emma demonstrated strong editorial skills and insight. Her suggestions added a fresh hook to the narrative and her structural editing maximised narrative tension.

Emma also engaged in an open dialogue with the author to communicate editorial feedback, and was able to develop a strong rapport and instill confidence in the author to take creative risks. The author himself regards this as his best work, and notes that Emma’s ”contributions were invaluable in shaping 17 years later into the best book it could be”.

See the full comments from the judges below.

IPEd thanks the judges of this year’s award, Julia Carlomagno, Camha Pham and Dr Sara Kitaoji and thanks the Copyright Agency for their generous support of the Rosie through their Cultural Fund.

From Stephanie Holt AE, Chair of the IPEd Board:
“Congratulations Emma, on this well-deserved win. The sensitivity and scope of Emma’s editorial involvement has been wonderfully endorsed by J P Pomare. IPEd is thrilled to add the endorsement of Emma’s professional peers, who understand the significant behind-the-scenes challenge of meeting genre and audience expectations while supporting the creative ambitions of an author.”

From Karen Lee, CEO of IPEd:
“On behalf of everyone at IPEd, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Emma on this wonderful recognition. Her work on 17 years later is a reminder of the quiet dedication, trust and creativity that sit at the heart of great editing. Emma’s care, insight and partnership with the author have brought this story to life in ways that truly honour our craft. We’re so proud to celebrate her achievement and the vital contribution editors make to our literary landscape.”

From outgoing coordinator of the Rosie Award, Paul Anderson:
“My favourite aspect of committee work was the privilege of reading in full the nominations for the 2025 Rosie award. I found their quality and merits both reassuring and inspiring: so many deserving editors making so many books the best they could be. I congratulate Emma Rafferty on her win and wish to acknowledge all the editors who entered applications for the award, including those who were short-listed and long-listed. Bravo!”

What the judges said:
Emma Rafferty’s edit of 17 years later demonstrated strong editorial skills and insight in shaping the direction of the novel to elevate it in the crowded suspense/thriller market. She made suggestions around pivotal story elements, with a key change seeing the protagonist produce a podcast on the cold case rather than writing a book, in recognition of the target Gen Y and Z audience. This shift added a fresh hook to the narrative and broadened audience engagement in line with the book’s ideal reader.

Rafferty also undertook significant structural work in organising the multi-POV chapters to enhance and maximise narrative tension, while ensuring that the plotting, pacing and characterisation in the individual strands worked together synergistically. As the story had numerous plot twists to navigate, care was taken to space out some of these revelations, giving the book a more even tone.

Rafferty engaged in an open dialogue with the author to communicate editorial feedback, and was able to develop a strong rapport and instill confidence in the author to take creative risks. She also displayed sensitivity and tact in approaching facets of the book that were drawn directly from the author’s lived experience with racism and stereotyping, and indeed, the publisher noted that ”I’ve never worked with an editor with such exceptional author care skills.

A meticulous high-level line edit was also undertaken, showing attention to detail through comprehensive continuity checks and extensive fact-checking. This has resulted in a punchy, compelling novel and what critics have praised as the author’s best book yet. Most crucially, the author himself regards this as his best work, and notes that Rafferty’s ”contributions were invaluable in shaping 17 years later into the best book it could be”.

About the Rosie
The Rosie honours the memory of Rosanne Fitzgibbon DE (1947–2012), a distinguished editor of literary fiction and non-fiction, as well as of scholarly work in literary studies, and the recipient of the inaugural Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship in 1992.

Rosie, as she was known, worked with well-known writers such as Thea Astley, Peter Carey, Kate Grenville and Janette Turner Hospital. She was renowned as an editor who devoted her time generously to both her authors and her profession, serving in many roles in many organisations.

Initiated by IPEd’s Editors Queensland branch, the Rosie was first awarded in 2017. The inaugural award was won by Jacqueline Blanchard for her editorial work on Matthew Condon’s novel All Fall Down (University of Queensland Press). The 2019 winner was Julia Carlomagno for her editorial work on Briohny Doyle’s narrative nonfiction book Adult Fantasy (Scribe).

The 2021 winner was Johannes Jakob for his editorial work on Kyle Perry’s novel The Bluffs (Penguin Random House). The 2023 winner was Cathy Vallance for her editorial work on Zana Fraillon’s middle-grade verse novel The Way of Dog (University of Queensland Press).

About IPEd
The Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPEd) is the professional association for Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand editors with more than 1300 members. It exists to advance the profession of editing and to support and promote Australian and New Zealand editors. It supports a thriving membership by offering professional development opportunities, valuable member benefits and advocacy for the profession.

IPEd coordinates initiatives that benefit Australian and New Zealand editors by:

• maintaining and promoting Australian and New Zealand standards for editing
  practice
• managing an accreditation scheme
• sponsoring a biennial conference
• organising professional development
• sponsoring awards for excellence in editing
• raising the profile of editors and the value they add to all forms of written
  communication.