2012 Tom Fairley Award Short List Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto, May 21, 2013—The Editors’ Association of Canada (EAC) has announced the finalists for the 2012 Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence. The $2,000 grand prize is awarded annually to an editor who has shown excellence, skill and talent in helping to produce a work published in Canada in English or French in the award year. EAC is also pleased to announce that, in recognition of their outstanding editorial performance, the other finalists will receive a cash prize of $500 each.

Once again, the judges were faced with the difficult task of selecting a short list from a pool of remarkably talented and dedicated editors who brought out the best in their respective publications. One judge in particular glowingly praised “the editors’ unflagging zeal to get at and express the truths that were important to the authors, and their skill in doing so.”

The finalists have been invited to EAC’s awards banquet, to be held during EAC’s 2013 conference in Halifax on June 8.

SHORT LIST


Sandy Newton of Cupids, NL, for Here’s the Catch: The Fish We Harvest from the Northwest Atlantic, by Wade Kearley (Boulder Publications)

Sandy Newton went above and beyond the traditional role of managing editor and had a hand in verifying factual information, guiding the book’s development through stylistic editing, and assisting with page design. The judges praised her meticulous attention to detail and her thoughtful insights, which contributed to the high quality of the finished work.

Catherine Plear of Vancouver, BC, for Seeking Sickness: Medical Screening and the Misguided Hunt for Disease, by Alan Cassels (Greystone Books)

Catherine Plear transformed a complex manuscript questioning the value of frequent medical screening into a clear, organized and thoroughly comprehensible text. The judges commended her for explaining the competing interests involved in the issue, closing logical gaps, and removing ambiguous and potentially contentious language.

Adele Simmons of Whitby, ON, for The Costumer’s Notebook, by Rae Stephens (The Costumers Institute)

Adele Simmons worked with author Rae Stephens for three years, devoting 800 hours to development of this practical and user-friendly guide for working costumers. Simmons guided the author in the decision to publish her work as a trade non-fiction book, and applied various editorial skills, including structural editing and proofreading, to produce a book that is warm in tone and rich in knowledge.

The judges for the 2012 Tom Fairley Award are experienced and respected Canadian editors. Benoît Arsenault is a French editor/coordinator at Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service. He also works as a freelance French editor. Marc Côté is the publisher of Cormorant Books. He has been nominated several times for the Libris Award for Editor of the Year, awarded by the Canadian Booksellers Association, and he won it in 2009 and 2010. Margaret Shaw is a freelance writer, editor and consultant. She is also a certified copy editor and structural and stylistic editor who co-chaired the committee that developed EAC’s Structural Editing: Meeting Professional Editorial Standards.


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About the Editors’ Association of Canada

Additional information about the Tom Fairley Award is available at www.editors.ca/tomfairley/index.html.

The Editors’ Association of Canada/Association canadienne des réviseurs began in 1979 as the Freelance Editors’ Association of Canada to promote and maintain high standards of editing. EAC is the voice of editors in Canada, with more than 1,500 members, both salaried and freelance, who work in the corporate, technical, government, not-for-profit and publishing sectors. EAC’s professional development programs and services include professional certification, an annual conference, seminars, guidelines for fair pay and working conditions, and networking with other associations. EAC has six regional branches: British Columbia; Prairie Provinces; Saskatchewan; Toronto; National Capital Region; and Quebec/Atlantic Canada, as well as five smaller branches (called twigs): Kitchener-Waterloo-Guelph, Ontario; Hamilton/Halton, Ontario; Kingston, Ontario; Peterborough, Ontario; and Nova Scotia.

www.editors.ca

Media Contact

Michelle Ou
Communications Manager
Editors’ Association of Canada
Association canadienne des réviseurs
416 975-1379 / 1 866 226-3348
communications@editors.ca

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