FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto, June 23, 2025—The Editors’ Association of Canada (Editors Canada) has presented 6 national awards, including $8,150 in prizes.
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
Eleanor Gasparik (Lunenburg, Nova Scotia) received the 2025 Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence. Eleanor was awarded the $2,000 prize 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. Tara and Andrea each received cash prizes of $500 in recognition of their exceptional editorial performance.
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Claudette Upton Scholarship
Michel Chantal (Lévis, Québec) received the 2025 Claudette Upton Scholarship. Michel is pursuing editing as a second career. In addition to working full time in the automotive industry, he is pursuing the Certificat en Révision professionnelle from Université Laval, the same institution where he earned his degree in Industrial Relations more than 30 years ago. Michel was awarded the $1,000 prize to help support his continuing professional development in editing.
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Karen Virag Award
Gael Spivak (Ottawa, Ontario) received the 2025 Karen Virag Award. Gael’s devotion to the editing profession has been instrumental in raising the profile of editing not only in her community but on a global scale. If you’re a plain language advocate, you’ve no doubt benefited from her work on the subject. She has been heavily involved in developing and promoting plain language standards around the world. Gael received the $400 cash prize for exceptional efforts by an individual or organization to raise the profile of editing in their community.
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Equity Fellowship
Editors Canada awarded the 2025 Equity Fellowship to three recipients:
- Mary Brydon-Kehoe (Pickering, Ontario)
- Valerie Cober (Wellesley, Ontario)
- Wai Yip Tam (Richmond Hill, Ontario)
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
Laura Bontje (London, Ontario) received the 2025 Lee d’Anjou Volunteer of the Year Award.
If you’re looking for someone who has their finger on the pulse of the editing profession, look no further than Laura Bontje. For four years, she has worked on The Editors’ Weekly, the official English-language blog of Editors Canada. For the last two of those years, she has served as its managing editor. The Editors’ Weekly is known for producing quality content, and Laura is at the heart of its success. With an eye to seeking out great writers and to seeing the blog flourish, she puts a great amount of thought into curating articles that are topical for readers.
Recipients of the 2025 President’s Award for Volunteer Service are as follows.
- Suzanne Aubin (Editors/Réviseurs Québec)
- Karen Crosby (Editors/Réviseurs Calgary)
- Alex Elcombe (Editors/Réviseurs Toronto)
- Nancy Foran (Editors/Réviseurs Ottawa-Gatineau)
- Joanne Haskins (Editors/Réviseurs Toronto)
- Letitia Henville (Editors/Réviseurs Québec)
- Emily Lam (Editors/Réviseurs Toronto)
- Jackie Lewis (Editors/Réviseurs Calgary)
- Matthew Long (Editors/Réviseurs Hamilton-Halton)
Laura and the recipients of the President’s Award will be recognized at Editors Canada’s annual general meeting on June 26, 2025.
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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 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