EAC: National e-news update, March 29, 2011

News, events, tips and updates for members of the Editors’ Association of Canada

In this issue:

1. CONFERENCE 2011: Early-bird registration deadline fast approaching!
2. PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Looking for EAC’s stellar volunteers
3. OOPS AWARDS: Send us your best bumbles and gaffes
4. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
5. FRANCOPHONE AFFAIRS: QAC update
6. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Sharpen your skills
7. EXTERNAL LIAISON: CCCO presents The Business of Art 2011


1. CONFERENCE 2011: Early-bird registration deadline fast approaching!

Registration for Conference 2011—Editing in the Age of e-Everything (Vancouver, May 27–29) is now open. Early bird rates for EAC, ISC and PEAVI members are in effect, but only until this Friday, April 1, so don’t delay—register today!

The conference website has everything you need to know to register, including information about speakers and sessions, as well as the conference schedule.

This year’s conference features an impressive array of speakers, including Dr. John Maxwell, who Quill & Quire calls “a good candidate for resident philosopher of Canadian digital publishing.”

The 40 EAC sessions range from the hands-on (Writing for the WebDesktop publishing at warp speedFact-checking for copy editors‘To be’ or ‘not to be’) to the theoretical (What’s it all aboutGoogle Books?Framing Aboriginal issues in Canada today), and include panel discussions (on e-books, online newspaper and magazine publishing and retirement strategies), as well as speed mentoring, a senior editors’ roundtable and an in-house editors’ discussion group. Eight sessions from ISC (Indexing Society of Canada) round out the weekend.

Registration is already going like gangbusters, so don’t miss out on attending what is shaping up to be one of our biggest and best conferences ever. Register today!

We look forward to seeing you in Vancouver!


2. PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Looking for EAC’s stellar volunteers

Do you know an outstanding member volunteer? Perhaps it’s someone who has made a tremendous impact on the association or inspired others. Nominate them for EAC’s President’s Award for Volunteer Service!

Recipients of the President’s Award will receive personalized commemorative certificates, be honoured at a presentation ceremony at the annual conference, be featured in Active Voice and on the EAC website, appear in the annual report above the list of volunteers, and receive a congratulatory letter from the EAC president. One outstanding volunteer will be selected from the nominees to be honoured as the Lee d’Anjou Volunteer of the Year. The recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award will receive a commemorative plaque, which will be presented at the Conference 2011 in Vancouver.

To nominate a member for the President’s Award, send EAC a letter (200 to 500 words) describing the extraordinary volunteer service provided by the candidate. The letter must be signed by a minimum of three EAC members in good standing. For complete submission guidelines, please visit the President’s Award page.

The deadline for nominations is April 15, 2011.


3. OOPS AWARDS: Send us your best bumbles and gaffes

Fortune cookie message:
“You are doomed to be happy in wedlock.”

Who can forget the raucous laughter that followed when James Harbeck announced the “winner” of the Lost in Translation category of last year’s Oops Awards?

It’s time to send your entries for the 2011 Oops Awards!

You’ve spotted giggle-worthy blunders in advertisements, not-so-scholarly journals, newspapers, bedtime reading, billboards, menus and signs around the globe. Help us recognize the best of the bad by submitting them for this year’s Oops Awards!

Visit the Oops Awards page for submission instructions and entry guidelines.

Online voting for your favourite blunders begins May 5!


4. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!

Jeff Bursey, QAC branch member, is pleased to announce the release of his first book, Verbatim: A Novel. Published by Enfield & Wizenty, the book is a satirical work set in a fictional Canadian legislature in the 1990s.

Nancy Mackenzie, Prairie Provinces branch member, recently celebrated the release of her third book of poetry titled Communion. The book, published by Ekstasis Editions, explores spiritual and philosophical themes and is available at Edmonton’s Greenwoods’ Bookshoppe.

Kudos to BC branch member Melva McLean, who has co-written a screenplay with Bonnie Gibson that has been optioned by Britain’s Serendipity Films/Create Lab. Called Dragonfly, the screenplay is a “family road trip” film.

Congratulations to Toronto branch member Lily Quan, who was recently awarded a Toronto Arts Council Grant to complete her novel-in-progress, Dreams of the White City. The novel is historical fiction set in 1890s Chicago.

Philip Sherwood, BC Branch member, was the editor of two recently acclaimed books. In the Arms of My Beloved, written by Sandra Crawford, won the 2010 Word Guild Award for Best Independently Published Non-fiction. Susanne Remembers: A Mennonite Childhood in Revolutionary Russia, by Susanne Willms Thielman, won the 2010 Abbotsford Arts Council ARTY Award for Literary Arts.

If you have news to share on EAC’s Member News page, contact member news coordinator, Marguerite Watson.


5. FRANCOPHONE AFFAIRS: QAC update

Activities for francophone members in the QAC branch are increasing in popularity! Louise Brunette’s Les fondements de la révision (The Fundamentals of Editing) sold out one month before the workshop date!

Up next is an evening lecture to be held at Centre Saint-Pierre on April 27. QAC branch member Danielle Jazzar will discuss her work as a web content editor at CBC/Radio-Canada.


6. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Sharpen your skills

Do you have a thirst for knowledge? Are you constantly looking for ways to stay on top of your game? Be sure to check out your local branch’s workshops and seminars! From copy editing, to graphic novels and running a business, EAC’s branches offer a range of options to meet every editor’s professional development needs. Visit your branch page for more information.


7. EXTERNAL LIAISON: CCCO presents The Business of Art 2011

Cultural Careers Council Ontario (CCCO) presents The Business of Art, a six-week course to help you take control of your career and plan the steps for your success:

  • Intensive practical course taught by industry experts
  • Classroom sessions and homework assignments
  • Entrepreneurial concepts for a successful career

For more information about this Toronto course, visit CCCO online.


The EAC national e-news update is produced on behalf of the national executive council by the national office.

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