About the Editor
- About Naomi Starkey
- Naomi Starkey reflects on ten years of editing New Daylight
- More information
- Books by Naomi Starkey
About Naomi Starkey
Naomi Starkey is a Commissioning Editor for BRF and edits and writes for New Daylight Bible reading notes. She has also written Good Enough Mother and Pilgrims to the Manger (see Books by Naomi Starkey) and reviews books for The Church Times.
Naomi Starkey reflects on ten years of editing New Daylight
I find it hard to believe that I have now been the editor of New Daylight more than ten years, taking over from David Winter early in 2001, so that 'my' first issue was January - April 2002. I remember sitting down to plan the 2002 issues and feeling extremely daunted. Although I'd been an editor for seven years, I'd never edited anything quite as well-loved and established as New Daylight.
Well, 30 issues later, I have learned an enormous amount, not least about what people like and don't like about Bible reading notes. One of the ongoing challenges is lack of space. It is a New Daylight distinctive to include the Bible passage each day, so contributors have relatively few words to be a) explanatory b) applicatory c) sum it all up in a pithy 'point to ponder' or prayer. Wrestling with the word count myself when I started to write for the notes, I realised what a good discipline it is. In some ways it's a bit like painting miniatures - every brushstroke has to count and there's no room for generally splodging paint around. Not that writing books is 'splodging words', of course, but space is not at quite such a premium.
A challenge I continue to relish is planning what Bible passages to cover when and with which contributor! If at all possible, I like to play to what I know of a contributor's strengths - some love unpacking a passage in detail, while others (myself included) prefer a more free-wheeling approach. More recently, I have enjoyed introducing a few more guest contributors, who can commit to write for perhaps just one or two issues, alongside our more regular names.
A particular interest of mine is helping people appreciate the Old Testament. While it can certainly be difficult in places, it is central to our faith not least because it begins the story of God's work in our world and provides the context for the coming of Jesus. While the Gospels and epistles are relatively easy to read in a 'verse by verse' way, I have found that theme-based readings (such as 'God's love' or 'War and peace') are a good way of covering some sections of the Old Testament. Alternatively, I may ask contributors to write an overview of a particular book, extracting key passages to give an impression of what it is about.
Sometimes people ask why New Daylight doesn't include special readings or note the dates for more of the highlights of the Church's year. Our policy, reached after much deliberation, is to highlight the Sundays in the Anglican calendar as footnotes in every issue, plus other days where we provide special readings every year (for the record: Ash Wednesday, Holy Week and Easter, Pentecost, Christmas, Remembrance Sunday, Women's World Day of Prayer and St Barnabas, linking with BRF's Barnabas Children's Ministry). Each year, I select a number of other festivals and commemorations to highlight with a series of readings on a relevant topic.
What I find hardest about being the editor is discovering mistakes in the notes, which can pass through the publishing process unnoticed despite our best efforts. It may be as simple as a wrong Bible reference or a misprint; it may involve unclear or potentially unhelpful phrasing (which I should have spotted as I edited) but very occasionally we have got the date wrong, which proves very confusing for our poor readers. Sorry - we do our best to avoid such errors, but we remain human and prone to occasional lapses!
What I love most about the job is, without a doubt, hearing from readers when a reading or set of readings have proved exactly what they needed in their particular circumstances. Those readings will have been planned up to two years beforehand and written twelve months or so before the dates in question, yet God in his graciousness has used those words to touch someone's heart and convey a sense of his love and care. There can be no higher privilege than to play a small part in that process.
Naomi Starkey
More information
How long have you been involved in editing New Daylight?
I've been editing New Daylight since 2001.
How did you come to be editing New Daylight?
I was previously Managing Editor of BRF's Bible reading notes publishing, and when David Winter decided to step down as New Daylight editor, I was asked if I would consider taking on the role.
What is the most challenging part of your work?
The most challenging part of my work is devising the plan for all three issues for a given year - it feels like doing an intricate jigsaw puzzle!
What has been the most encouraging part of your work?
The most encouraging part of my work is hearing from a reader when they day's reading has really connected with them, providing just what they needed to hear at a particular time.
Books by Naomi Starkey
This book is an invitation to a pilgrimage through Advent, to Christmas itself and on to Epiphany. As the days and weeks pass, we will reflect on a range of issues - the significance of the festivities, the values that underpin our lives, some of the other special days in the Church calendar at this time, and how we can begin to deepen our understanding of God's perspective on our world, our church and ourselves.
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Most mothers might say, no matter what age their offspring are, that motherhood never leaves you. Good Enough Mother is a book for all mothers, not just those of young children, which shows how God can help mothers turn anxieties and stresses into growth points, revealing God at work in the challenge of parenting.
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