Joy to the word

And lessons from nerd camp

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment Emily and I decided to start Pink Shorts Press, but a big contender is the editing camp we happened to both be accepted for in 2022. It was late February, swampy with humidity in Manly, but Em and I were the only two who partook in a daily swim. Every morning, we’d discuss the likely toxicity of the Sydney Harbour water (high), how much we missed the beaches of the Fleurieu (a lot) and how to fix the publishing industry (still working on that one).

When we were done, we would climb the 400 or so steps back up to Q Station and rejoin a great big rambunctious group of editors for hours of sessions on structural editing, inclusive editing, copyediting and more.

It was nerdy and wonderful, and I’ve often thought since that authors would get so much from being able to sit in on that roomful of editors. Maybe they wouldn’t care so much about tautologies and prepositions (their loss), but they would learn how to read their manuscripts from new perspectives, reconsidering character choices or sorting out syntax. It would make their writing tighter, their plots stronger, their submissions stand out.

When we started Pink Shorts, we didn’t think we would extend our workshops to creative writing. There are writing teachers for that, and we’re editors. But we’ve been thinking about that camp again recently, and reconsidering. Maybe some writers would be interested. It wouldn’t be a whole camp, obviously, just a condensed version. Morning tea. Pens and exercise books. War stories. Comma chat. We’re not teaching you how to write, just how to edit. And honestly, it’ll be a lot of fun.

If you’re interested, you can sign up for two sessions (fiction or non-fiction) on our website now. They also make great gifts – as do our book packs (Sia the squid totes included) and the wonderful bits and pieces for sale here at Adelaide Arcade, if you happen to be passing through next week.

And thanks to Australia Reads for today’s subject line. Tis the season.

Margot

Not all pink

What are we reading?

• Emily is on the first Solvej Balle book, recently recommended by Pink Shorts pal Maddy of Wakefield Press (alongside many other pals) in SA’s own summer reading guide.

• Margot has mixed thoughts about The Mushroom Tapes by Helen Garner, Sarah Krasnostein and Chloe Hooper. It was an easy read, but going back to the hoopla of the trial felt a bit grubby.

Some fun shorts

What are we reading online?

• A very offline alternative to Spotify Wrapped from Adelaide writer Ellie Wilson.

• A thought-provoking triptych of pieces on the tension between having kids and being creative (thanks to Jessica Stanley).

• AI slop is cropping up everywhere – and it’s changing the way even people who don’t use LLMs speak.

Behind the press

What are we doing for Pink Shorts?

• Celebrating getting our first round of 2026 books off to press, at the same time as seeing our 2025 books on a number of best-of lists. Thanks to everyone who has bought, borrowed, read, gifted, loved and pre-ordered.

• Celebrating Adelaide Arcade’s 140th year with cake and fortuitous pink branding. Lucky to be part of this lovely community.

• Celebrating the end of our first year (ten months? official March celebratory events to come). What a wild ride! Fewer childcare illnesses in 2026, please.

Thanks for reading Wordshopping this year, and for tolerating our archive advent over on insta. Substack is not perfect, but we’d much rather build our community here than on Meta. So if you know any fellow word nerds, please give them (and us) a free gift by recommending the newsletter.