FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto, June 24, 2024—The Editors’ Association of Canada (Editors Canada) has presented 4 national awards, including $8,150 in prizes, to 8 recipients.
Editors Canada’s annual awards recognize exceptional editors for their talent and dedication. The association supports the professional development of editors throughout their careers, and is proud to honour the outstanding editors and students in its midst. The cash awards are made possible by Editors Canada and its generous donors.
Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence
Paula Ayer (Vancouver, British Columbia) received the 2024 Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence. Ayer was awarded the $2,000 prize for her work on Pitfall: The Race to Mine the World’s Most Vulnerable Places by Christopher Pollon (Greystone Books).
The other editors shortlisted for their editorial excellence were Margo LaPierre (she/her) of Ottawa, Ontario, and Claire Lubell (she/her) of Montreal, Quebec. LaPierre and Lubell each received cash prizes of $500 in recognition of their exceptional editorial performance.
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Claudette Upton Scholarship
Helena Ramsaroop (she/her) (Oakville, Ontario) received the 2024 Claudette Upton Scholarship. Ramsaroop began her career in biological anthropology. Today she is a book reviewer and content creator, and she recently completed her final course to achieve an Editing Certificate from Simon Fraser University. She plans to launch a freelance editorial business with an emphasis on supporting and promoting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) and other marginalized writers. Ramsaroop was awarded the $1,000 prize to help support her continuing professional development in editing.
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Karen Virag Award
Editors Canada did not present the Karen Virag Award in 2024 due to a lack of suitable nominations.
This $400 award was created in memory of long-time association member Karen Virag, and in recognition of her many contributions to the profession. The Karen Virag Award recognizes the efforts of an editor or an organization to raise the profile of editing in their community.
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Equity Fellowship
Editors Canada awarded the 2024 Equity Fellowship to three recipients:
Mahima Bhagwat (she/her) (British Columbia)
Ali Cayetano (British Columbia)
Alexis Paquette-Lacasse (il/elle) (Quebec)
The Editors Canada Equity Fellowship is designed to support editors who have traditionally been excluded by the publishing and editing industries, including editors who are BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+, neurodivergent and disabled.
Each fellowship is valued at $1,250.
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Lee d’Anjou Volunteer of the Year Award
Berna Ozunal (she/her) (Ottawa, Ontario) received the 2024 Lee d’Anjou Volunteer of the Year Award.
Ozunal was the driving force behind the 2024 edition of Editors Canada’s Professional Editorial Standards. It was imperative that editors in Canada see their work reflected in the Standards. Leading the team that did the hard work on updating Professional Editorial Standards, she built an open, productive process, which Editors Canada can now use to keep the Standards up to date. And by taking on this monumental task, she has given editors across the country Standards that they can see themselves in and that they can truly apply to their work.
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About Editors Canada
Additional information about Editors Canada awards can be found online.
Editors Canada began in 1979 as the Freelance Editors’ Association of Canada to promote and maintain high standards of editing. In 1994, the word “Freelance” was dropped to reflect the association’s expanding focus to serve both freelance and in-house editors. As Canada’s only national editorial association, it is the hub for 1,300 members and affiliates, both salaried and freelance, who work in the corporate, technical, government, not-for-profit and publishing sectors. The association’s professional development programs and services include professional certification, an annual conference, seminars, webinars, and networking with other associations. Editors Canada has four regional branches: British Columbia; Toronto; Ottawa–Gatineau; and Quebec, as well as smaller branches (called twigs) in Atlantic Canada, Barrie, Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton-Halton, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo-Guelph and Manitoba.
Media contact
Michelle Ou (she/elle)
Senior Communications Manager
Editors Canada
communications@editors.ca