News, events, tips and updates for members of the Editors’ Association of Canada
In this issue:
1. MEMBER IN NEED: Donations for Sheila Wawanash
2. TOM FAIRLEY AWARD: Deadline for nominations fast approaching
3. CONFERENCE: Join the international conference
4. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: Laura Godfrey
5. GET INVOLVED: Volunteer opportunities to boost your resumé
6. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
7. EDITING CANADIAN ENGLISH: Member bonus!
8. TWIGS: Hamilton-Halton update
9. REBRANDING: Update
10. NATIONAL OFFICE: Holiday closure
1. MEMBER IN NEED: Donations for Sheila Wawanash
On December 1, Toronto branch member Sheila Wawanash lost her home and five cats in a four-alarm fire. Sheila’s partner, Richard Porter, suffered a heart attack shortly after the blaze. Toronto police have launched an investigation and the Ontario Fire Marshal has determined the fire was deliberately set (news story: Kensington Market fire victims get help from firefighters).
Sheila has spent three decades working as an editor and publisher, and has lost almost all of her life’s work in the blaze. In addition to finding a new home, Sheila and Richard need to replace necessary possessions. EACers who want to help out can make donations at any Canadian TD Canada Trust branch. The bank account number is 01322-004-6567990, and the account is named “Gregory Ioannou in trust for Richard Porter and Sheila Wawanash.” Donations can also be sent via PayPal to greg@iguanabooks.com, and they will be deposited directly to the “in trust” bank account.
2. TOM FAIRLEY AWARD: Deadline for nominations fast approaching
December is a busy month for most of us. In all of the hustle and bustle it might be easy to forget about your nomination for the Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence. That’s why we’re sending a friendly reminder to you to help us shine a light on great editors by submitting your nomination by January 16.
The recipient of the 2014 Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence will receive a $2,000 cash prize. Finalists will receive $500 each, because being shortlisted for the Tom Fairley Award is also recognition of outstanding editorial performance.
Please spread this message far and wide. Nominees don’t have to be members of EAC and self-nominations are encouraged.
For complete nomination instructions and other information about the award, visit the Tom Fairley Award page.
MORE THAN BOOKS!
Editors know that the fine art of editing extends beyond books and print media. While EAC’s Tom Fairley Award has been awarded to many outstanding book editors since it was created in 1983, we encourage nominations for a variety of written projects. Whether it’s a magazine, a corporate or government report, software documentation or a book, we want to hear about it. When it comes to editing, the variety of material is limitless!
3. CONFERENCE: Join the international conference team
The Editing Goes Global conference committee is busy planning the first-ever international editing conference, to be held in Toronto, June 12–14, 2015. We’re determined to make it a memorable event, and you can be a part of that success by joining our team. Being involved in the conference will help you gain or improve valuable skills, such as managing projects, planning communications and working on teams. It will also give you exposure to more communities of editors around the world.
To find out how you can help, please check the Get Involved section of this e-news update. See you in Toronto!
Don’t forget: We’ve set early-bird registration at heavily discounted prices. Take advantage of that to register now!
Conference Committee
4. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: Laura Godfrey
Laura Godfrey is the Toronto branch’s publications chair and editor-in-chief of its new blog, BoldFace, which launched in November 2013. Laura joined EAC in January 2013 and leapt at the opportunity to take on the role of publications chair because it meant she’d be involved in the blog’s creation from the ground up.
BoldFace features book reviews, career-change stories, café recommendations, Q&As with Toronto-based editors, and a monthly linguistics links roundup, “Nitpicker’s Nook.” Videos of the branch’s monthly meetings are also posted to the blog for members who are unable to attend. Laura currently coordinates with EAC volunteers to publish new articles for the blog each week, and takes great pride in the fact that not a week has passed without a blog update.
Laura’s professional experience includes writing and editing for Torontoist and Quill & Quire, and copy editing for Toronto Life and Fashion magazines. In the spring of 2013, Laura began an exciting endeavour with Pagemasters North America, where she designs newspaper pages, writes headlines and copy edits for the Toronto Star. Laura is also the Canadian correspondent for Publishers Weekly.
The Volunteer of the Month highlights the dedicated people who keep EAC going. Volunteers are the backbone of EAC, a member-run organization. We are grateful for the many members who answer the call when help is needed. Visit the Members’ Area for more information about volunteering for EAC.
5. GET INVOLVED: Volunteer opportunities to boost your resumé
Are you looking for valuable experience and accomplishments to highlight on your CV? Here are some EAC opportunities that are available today.
EAC Conference 2015
Do you want to help make the 2015 EAC conference the biggest and best yet? The Editing Goes Global conference committee is looking for a vendor fair coordinator (to recruit local merchants and manage the vendor fair) and a Toronto experience coordinator (to organize non-conference activities such as walking tours and the Thursday night pay-as-you-go dinner). We also need a sponsorship team to contact potential sponsors. Are you all about the bag swag? Lend a hand by sourcing and coordinating donations, samples and giveaways, such as items for the conference bags. For further information or to volunteer for any of these positions, please email the volunteer coordinators.
French-language social media enthusiast wanted
Do you enjoy EAC discussions on social media, but wish there were more French ones? Help change that by taking charge of the association’s French social media presence. Contact Sandra Gravel for more information.
Develop French promotional tools
Think EAC doesn’t have enough French-language promotional tools, like flyers and posters? Want to take the lead and change that? Contact Sandra Gravel for more information.
6. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
In November, NCR member Suzanne Nussey appeared as a panelist discussing occasional verse with three other Canadian poets at the 2014 Wild Writers Festival in Kitchener-Waterloo. Her essay “Telling the Truth: Some Thoughts on Memoir Writing” will be published in the Winter issue of The New Quarterly.
Toronto branch member Rosemary Shipton edited the magnificent art book Impressionism in Canada (Arnoldsche Art Publishers, 2014), which is now available for the Christmas market. The book was featured in the December 6 “Books” section of The Globe and Mail.
Do you have a recent achievement? Let EAC tell the world about it on EAC’s member news page. If you have member news to share, drop our member news coordinator a line.
7. EDITING CANADIAN ENGLISH: Member bonus!
The release of the online edition of Editing Canadian English is just around the corner, and we’re giving our members a sneak peek at what’s inside! The official launch date is February 18, but next month we’re offering EAC members a free one-month trial before it’s offered to the public. Circle January 14 on your calendar to see the updated version of this Canadian style guide prepared by our own members!
8. TWIGS: Hamilton-Halton update
On November 12, the Hamilton-Halton twig, in collaboration with the Canadian Authors Association, Crime Writers of Canada, the Professional Writers Association of Canada, and the Writers and Editors Network, held a Professional Wordcrafters Meetup at the Artword Artbar in Hamilton. The event was attended by local writers, editors, and other publishing and communications professionals. Participants networked, explored collaborations and participated in a lively panel discussion about electronic self-publishing, chaired by Mark Leslie, director of self-publishing and author relations at Kobo.
On December 10, the twig held its Holiday Social at Paradiso Restaurant in Burlington. Those in attendance celebrated the onset of the snowy season, reconnected with colleagues and shared what events the twig has planned for the New Year. It was a fun beginning to the December festivities.
Join the Hamilton-Halton twig on January 14 for its first meeting of 2015 in the Community Room of the Fortinos Supermarket at 1059 Plains Road in Burlington. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.
Wondering what’s happening in your neck of the woods? Visit your branch or twig page to find out about events in your area.
9. REBRANDING: Update
The rebranding task force thanks all members and affiliates who took part in the rebranding discussion. We’ve carefully reviewed your feedback and are working with the creative agency on alterations that incorporate suggested revisions to the most contentious elements of the rebranding. We’ll have the updated branding ready to share with you before the poll scheduled for early next year. The results of this poll will determine whether we proceed with the rebranding or not.
Thank you again for your feedback. We will be in touch with more information on the rebranding poll in early January. Have a great holiday season!
Rebranding Task Force
10. NATIONAL OFFICE: Holiday closure
It’s that time of year again! The national office will close for the holidays on Wednesday, December 24. During the office closure, we will not be processing renewals (memberships and affiliates will not lapse during the closure), new ODE profiles or @editors.ca email addresses. We will also not be shipping Editing Canadian English, the print versions of the Certification Study Guides, EAC magnets or Eight-Step Editing/EAC Grammar Tips posters, but we look forward to serving you when the office reopens on January 5.
Best wishes for a happy holiday season. See you in 2015!
The EAC national e-news update is produced on behalf of the national executive council by the national office.