Previous Freelancers' Awaydays
The 2024 Freelancers' Awayday
The ninth Freelancers' Awayday and pre-conference event took place at the Voco Oxford Spires Hotel on 12/13 of September 2024. The sell-out event attracted record numbers of attendees and the main sponsor was National Geographic Learning. Other sponsors included Earn Learn Thrive (business and mindset coaching), Creative Listening (video production), Oxford University Press and Haremi (publishing services). In addition to a full programme on the main day, there was a free 'walk and talk' pre-conference networking event, social drinks in the bar and a dinner followed by a fun music quiz.
Representatives of the following organisations were present on the main day:
(Mouse-over for captions; click to enlarge photos & browse at own speed.)
Who is the Freelancers' Awayday aimed at?
Our audience consists of freelancers and a growing number of representatives of publishing houses and other organisations in the English Language Teaching and Educational publishing sectors. This variety of roles within the industry naturally leads to opportunities for connecting, collaborating and furthering an understanding of each others' challenges and requirements.
The 2023 Freelancers' Awayday
The eighth Freelancers' Awayday and pre-conference event took place at the Voco Oxford Spires Hotel on 20/21 of September 2023. The main sponsor was Weblink Software. On the evening before the main session-filled day there were pre-conference events, including a 'walk and talk' networking stroll along the river Thames, social drinks and an evening BBQ with a team quiz.
Representatives of the following organisations were present:
Avallain, Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, Creative Listening, Digital Learning Associates, Earn Learn Thrive (Business & Mindset Coach), ELI Publishing Group, ELT Teacher 2 Writer, EMC Design, Garnet Education, Haremi, Hyphen SA, Just Content, Ladybird Education; Penguin Random House, Lemonade Illustration Agency, Lottie Galpin, Macmillan Education, National Geographic Learning, Newgen Publishing UK, Oxford University Press, PAH Accounting, Rascom I.T., Richmond, The Content Station, Tom, Dick and Debbie Productions, Troika, Weblink Software, York Press.
Rarely does one 100% say a conference was a good way to spend time and money. This really was. Well done to you all.
It was fantastic to have more opportunities to network with freelancers than ever before and have the chance to thank people we have worked with closely.
It has become a not-to-be-missed event for the industry.
The friendliest, most cohesive and most positive conference event that I attend.
The dynamic networking was a great element, as it broke people out of their groups or put people who were alone into groups and enabled them to mingle. This was one of my main objectives for attending, and I think that was achieved.
The venue was fantastic, everything at hand, very helpful hotel staff, incredible organisation. I really felt looked after, thank you.
The best element of the days was networking. Definitely achieved my main goal of meeting contacts who would be interested in item writing for us.
A really engaging and interesting talk – even at events like IATEFL talks are rarely this good.
The 2022 Freelancers' Awayday
The seventh Freelancers' Awayday and pre-conference event took place at the Voco Oxford Spires Hotel on 15/16 of September 2022. The event attracted record numbers of attendees and the main sponsor was Oxford University Press.
Representatives of the following organisations were present: Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Macmillan Education, Richmond, Penguin Random House, National Geographic Learning, York Press, Just Content, Hyphen, Avallain, Tom Dick and Debbie Productions, Creative Listening, Digital Theatre+, Oriel Square, Newgen Publishing, EMC Design, Wild Apple Design, Otter ELT, Coast Publishing Services and Weblink Software.
You can also read attendees accounts of their experiences here: Tracey Cowell, Kathryn Mitchell, Peter Fullagar, Manal Elsehrawi.
As always, it was all good. But the jobs fair and opportunities to network with publishers were brilliant this year.
Tracey Cowell
I met more publishers and made more contacts in a single day than in a 4-day visit to IATEFL, so it was a great success from that point of view.
James Styring
The organisers' attention to detail – everything worked seamlessly, the programme was great, and they ensured everyone felt included. I came by public transport and it was easy to get to by bus from the station.
Emma Heyderman
The variety/overall balance of presentations. Very motivational and engaging and it gave me lots of food for thought.
Sam Grey
Connecting with people from all aspects of the wider ELT universe (freelancers and publishers alike). It makes everybody feel a little more connected in what can sometimes be a somewhat isolated career. Loved the venue and the food was varied and tasty.
Greyson Steinberg
The 2020 Freelancers' Awayday
The sixth Freelancers' Awayday took place at the Oxford Spires Hotel on 24th January 2020 and was sponsored by National Geographic Learning.
Why not read this great write-up of the day by Tania Pattison or this blog post by Peter Fullagar? You can also have a look through the Twitter Moment for the event.
This is probably the most valuable day of the year for me as a freelancer. It represents a great opportunity to make new contacts and find out about some of the latest developments in the field, while also being very enjoyable and informative!
Edwina Johnson
This was the third Awayday I've attended. They've all been excellent but this was the best one yet! Thanks so much for a useful, informative and inspiring day.
Tracey Cowell
I loved it – very glad I invested in the day both financially and time-wise. Was wonderful to go away from the event with new relevant professional information and the feeling I'd caught up with lots of friends/project colleagues, while making new ones as well.
Nicola Gardner
Sessions were very varied and even though some not directly relevant to my role, were still interesting. Left having made contact with several new potential clients – very happy about this! As a newbie, I appreciated how welcoming and friendly everyone was.
Picture researcher
The 2019 Freelancers' Awayday
Sponsored by Cambridge University Press, the fifth Freelancers' Awayday was held at the Oxford Spires Hotel. The organisers of the event, ELT Freelancers', also launched an exciting new joint venture with ELT Teacher 2 Writer – and the Freelance Publishing Professionals online resourcing directory was born.
You can read a write-up of the day by EMC Design or have a look through the Twitter Moment.
It was the first time I've attended and I was so impressed. It was fantastically organised, great talks, great food (very important!), very lovely attendees and very welcoming organisers.
Andrea Turner
It's a really great event that helps deepen the connections in the ELT freelance world, and I continue to enjoy meeting lots of people through it. I'll definitely come again.
Zoe Smith
There was a good balance and variety of sessions, catering for different levels of experience and interests.
Helen Ward
The 2018 Freelancers' Awayday
The fourth Freelancers' Awayday was held in January 2018 in Oxford and was sponsored by Integra, a packaging company.
If you weren't able to attend, you can find out more by reading this summary of the day by Emily Hird. Alternatively, take in this great account of not only the Awayday, but of all three workshops, by Tania Pattison who had travelled to be with us from Canada.
I learnt a lot and came away feeling a renewed sense of enthusiasm for work!
Tracey Cowell
I’ve been back in Canada for just over a week, and already I have received an offer of work from someone I met at the Awayday.
Tania Pattison
The 10-minute talks were exceptional... really useful to me personally.
Kerry Maxwell
You are all doing a great job. These events get better every year. It's the perfect mojo boost in the dullest months!
Samantha Richter
The 'meet the publishers' session was excellent.
Samantha Richter