It is often said that editing is an invisible art. But that doesn’t mean great editors should hide in the shadows.
Shine a spotlight on great editing by submitting a nomination for the 2026 Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence. You can nominate another editor or even yourself.
The Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence
The Tom Fairley Award is presented annually to an exceptional editor who played a significant role in the success of a project completed in English or French. The editor must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
The 2026 award recognizes an outstanding editor on a project published in the 2025 calendar year.
The $2,000 grand prize will be presented to the winner at Editors Canada’s national conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on May 22, 2026. In recognition of their outstanding editorial performance, the finalists will also receive cash awards of $500 each. These cash prizes are made possible by Editors Canada and its generous donors.
Submit a nomination
Anyone involved in the work can submit a nomination, such as the publisher, editor, author or designer. Self-nominations are encouraged.
Ready to recognize that exceptional editor?
Deadlines
The deadline to submit your completed nomination form is Friday, January 30, 2026.
Supporting documents must be submitted electronically (e.g., by email) by Friday, February 13, 2026.
Complete nomination instructions and more information about the Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence are available online.
Meet the 2025 recipient and finalists
Editors Canada presented the 2025 Tom Fairley Award to Eleanor Gasparik of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, for her work on Paul Kane’s Travels in Indigenous North America: Writings and Art, Life and Times by I.S. MacLaren (McGill-Queen’s University Press).
The other editors shortlisted for their editorial excellence were Tara Avery of Vancouver, British Columbia, and Andrea Zanin of Toronto, Ontario.
Who was Tom Fairley?
Tom Fairley was a founding member of the Freelance Editors’ Association of Canada. His career stretched from the 1930s to the 1980s. He held positions at Canadian Press, the CBC, Macmillan of Canada, General Publishing and Copp Clark.
Tom had a keen interest in the North, which was reflected in his two books on the subject and his many newspaper and magazine articles on the Arctic.
Simply to list the positions Tom held, or to mention one or two of his achievements, does not do him justice. He is remembered more for the exceptional quality of his work, for his generous nature, and for the help and advice he gave novice editors.
Tom died in March 1982 at the age of 63. This award for editorial excellence is our tribute to an outstanding editor and person.