News, events, tips and updates for members of the Editors’ Association of Canada
In this issue:
1. 30th ANNUAL TOM FAIRLEY AWARD: Deadline for nominations fast approaching
2. CLAUDETTE UPTON SCHOLARSHIP: $1,000 award for a promising student editor
3. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
4. EAC CERTIFICATION: What do you know about testing and assessment?
5. VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT: Get involved in EAC and boost your career
6. COMPARING EAC MEMBERSHIP FEES: How do we rate?
7. NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: What’s new?
8. NATIONAL OFFICE: Holiday closure
1. 30th ANNUAL 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 10. The deadline for supporting documentation is January 24.
The recipient of the 30th annual Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence will receive a $2,000 cash prize and will be recognized at EAC’s 2014 conference banquet in Toronto on June 7. What’s more, finalists will receive a cash prize of $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!
We know that 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, 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!
2. CLAUDETTE UPTON SCHOLARSHIP: $1,000 award for a promising student editor
Calling all student members! We’re now accepting applications for EAC’s Claudette Upton Scholarship. This annual, national award of $1,000 recognizes a promising student editor from among our membership.
If you’re a student member, or if you know someone who should be a student member, visit the Claudette Upton Scholarship page for more information. The deadline for applications is January 31.
3. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
A Blessed Snarl (Breakwater Books), a novel written by Samuel Thomas Martin and edited by EAC members John Eerkes-Medrano (British Columbia branch) and Leslie Vryenhoek (Newfoundland and Labrador twig), has been longlisted for the 2014 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Libraries around the world made nominations for this prestigious award, and a prize of €100,000 will be awarded to the winning author on June 12, 2014.
National Capital Region branch member Suzanne Nussey was the recipient of the 2013 Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest for “Poem for the First Sunday of Advent,” which won Suzanne a $1,000 prize and appears in the Vol. 128, Fall 2013 issue of The New Quarterly. Suzanne was invited to the Wild Writers Literary Festival in Waterloo, Ontario, to read her poem on the weekend of November 8, and will be interviewed by The New Quarterly.
Prairie Provinces branch member Marguerite Watson completed the Master of Arts in Professional Communication program at Royal Roads University and convocated in November. Her major research paper was an analysis of the construction of Canadian identity, a sense of belonging and a sense of home in the narratives of immigrants in Canada.
Do you have a recent achievement? Let us help tell the world about it on EAC’s Member News page. If you have member news to share, contact the member news coordinator.
4. EAC CERTIFICATION: What do you know about testing and assessment?
If you have experience with setting tests and evaluating skills, we’d like to talk to you.
We’re looking into the possibility of establishing a proficiency-based testing program to complement EAC’s excellence-based certification program, and we’d like to talk to people who know about testing.
We’re not asking for a commitment to join the committee at this time. We’re asking for a chance to pick your brain a little.
If you have expertise in this area, please contact Anne Brennan or Janice Dyer, co-chairs of the certification steering committee. We’d like to set up a time for a phone call.
5. VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT: Get involved in EAC and boost your career
Volunteering is the backbone of EAC and it’s one of the most beneficial things you can do for your association and your career.
Patricia MacDonald, our volunteer management chair, is resolving (yes, already) to have a little more fun in 2014. If, like Patricia, you’d like to meet new people, get involved in some social activities (“show me an editor who doesn’t need to get out of the house more,” she says) and do something useful, consider volunteering for EAC.
From providing leadership for the association to authoring essential books (some of which have been adopted as course texts by Canadian universities) and newsletters, developing EAC’s landmark certification program and organizing the annual conference, member volunteers are driving the association forward, helping editors develop professionally and enhancing the status of editing as a profession in Canada.
What’s more, member volunteers expand their networks by making valuable contacts. And they develop their own skills, enhancing their resumés and portfolios.
If you’re an early resolutionist too, contact Patricia MacDonald for more information about getting involved.
6. COMPARING EAC MEMBERSHIP FEES: How do we rate?
Have you ever wondered if the fee you pay to be an EAC member is worth it, given what you get for it?
We know that some members do ask that, and it’s a legitimate question. We decided we should compare the fees and services of like-minded organizations, so we could get an evidence-based view of where EAC sits.
This is what we discovered: the fees for EAC are in line with those of comparable organizations. In fact, the association offers some services that other organizations do not. And some organizations charge extra fees for items that are included in EAC fees, such as local meetings.
To make it easier for you to quickly compare fees and services, the member services committee created a series of comparison charts that are now on our website. Have a look, so you can compare for yourself.
Following the charts is an explanation of the member-driven increase in fees that happened in 2009, which members discussed and voted for.
7. NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: What’s new?
Wondering what your national executive council has been up to? They’ve been hard at work recruiting national committee chairs and reviewing the association’s operational plan for the coming year. The council is also finalizing the 2014 budget, which includes an increase in the national transfer fees to the branches and twigs. If you’re interested in reading up on their meetings, be sure to check out the latest Exec Briefs and meeting minutes.
8. NATIONAL OFFICE: Holiday closure
It’s that time of year again! The national office will close for the holidays on Friday, December 20. During the office closure, we will not be processing membership renewals (memberships 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 2.
Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season. See you in 2014!
The EAC national e-news update is produced on behalf of the national executive council by the national office.