Editors BC

Event audio: New Plain Language Certificate

Couldn’t attend EAC-BC’s March 20, 2013, presentation on plain language certification? Listen to the audio recording.

Couldn’t attend EAC-BC’s March 20, 2013, presentation on plain language certification? The presentation was given by Katherine McManus, director of the Writing and Communications Program at Simon Fraser University and the only Canadian member of the International Consortium for Clear Communication (IC Clear).

Katherine discussed the program’s goals and time lines as well as what the new certificate will mean for editors. She also talked about the latest on this year’s PLAIN (Plain Language Association International) conference, coming to Vancouver October 10–13, 2103, where IC Clear hopes to launch its first pilot course.

Listen to audio recording (EAC log-in identity and password required).

Top

Event audio: Editing Books in Translation

Couldn’t attend EAC-BC’s February 20, 2013, presentation, Editing Books in Translation? Listen to the audio recording.

Couldn’t attend EAC-BC’s February 20, 2013, presentation, Editing Books in Translation? The presentation, given by Iva Cheung, winner of the 2011 Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence, covered big-picture issues—such as copyright and the all-important editor–translator relationship—as well as the nuts and bolts of working with a translated manuscript. Iva also gave audience members an insider’s look into the pleasures and pitfalls of editing books in translation and tips for finding work in the field.

Listen to audio recording (EAC log-in identity and password required).

Top

EVENT LISTINGS: June 2013

Do you have an event planned (or know of one) that you’d like to appear in these listings? Send us the details.

June 7–9, 2013: EAC Conference 2013: Between the Lines

EAC Conference 2013 logoPlan to attend EAC Conference 2013 in Halifax, Nova Scotia? Good news: registration is now open. Even better news: register by April 12, 2013, and you could save up to $235.

This year, conference will feature sessions built around five themes: arts and sciences; business and government; career building; language and culture; and techniques and technologies. Four pre-conference workshops are also being planned.

Note: as EAC Conference 2013 is a joint event, held with the Indexing Society of Canada (ISC), EAC member rates will be extended to members of both associations. EAC member rates will also be extended to members of the Canadian Authors Association (CAA) and the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS).

Register for conference
Top

Conference location

The Lord Nelson overlooks the Halifax Citadel. It is within walking distance of pubs, cafés, restaurants, jazz clubs, cinemas, and theatres. Photo courtesy of The Lord Nelson Hotel & Suites.

The Lord Nelson overlooks the Halifax Citadel. It is within walking distance of pubs, cafés, restaurants, jazz clubs, cinemas, and theatres. Photo courtesy of The Lord Nelson.

The Lord Nelson is EAC’s official conference hotel: pre-conference workshops, conference sessions, Welcome Reception, and Saturday-evening banquet will be held there.

To qualify for a reduced EAC guest-room rate, book your room by April 12, 2013. Rates range from $119/night for a “Petite Room” to $189/night for a “Premiere Room.”

Reserve by phone: call 1-800-565-2020 (room code: Editors’ Association of Canada). Reserve online (room code: 37015126).

Register for conference
Top

Selected conference costs for EAC, ISC, CAA, and WFNS members

  • Three-day registration: $515 for those who register by April 12, 2013 (after: $590)
  • Two-day registration: $360 for those who register by April 12, 2013 (after: $440)
  • One-day registration: $260
  • Pre-conference workshop: $100
  • Saturday-evening banquet: $75

Register for conference
Top

Selected conference costs for EAC, ISC, CAA, and WFNS student members

  • Three-day registration: $410
  • Two-day registration: $290
  • One-day registration: $200
  • Pre-conference workshop: $100
  • Saturday-evening banquet: $75

Register for conference
Top

Selected conference costs for non-members

  • Three-day registration: $750
  • Two-day registration: $620
  • One-day registration: $37
  • Pre-conference workshop: $125
  • Saturday-evening banquet: $75

Register for conference
Top

June 8, 2013: Editing Workshop … For Writers Too

This workshop will also be held May 11, 2013, in Victoria; July 13, 2013, in Nanaimo; and August 17, 2013, on Salt Spring Island.

This summer, editor Cheryl Cohen will be offering four sessions of her hands-on editing workshop, which she describes as an “intensive, fun encounter.” Topics will include: substantive editing; copy editing; proofreading; the editor–writer relationship; and tips on how to become a professional editor. Each participant will receive an 18-page handout.

About the instructor: Cheryl Cohen is an experienced freelance editor who has worked on many high-profile books, including Miriam Toews’ widely read novel A Complicated Kindness, which won the 2004 Governor General’s Award for English Fiction. Cheryl spoke about the state of the publishing industry—and how writers should adapt—at the Professional Editors Association of Vancouver Island (PEAVI) May 13, 2013, meeting.

Top

NORAD tracks Santa

NORAD keeps close watch on Santa as he nears Canadian airspace.

Want to know when Santa enters Canadian airspace on Christmas Eve? So does NORAD.

In the 2012 Canadian NORAD Region holiday video, Major General Pierre St-Amand explains that “trackers in the Canadian air-defence sector … [will] closely monitor their radar systems to make sure Santa and his reindeer are not delayed on their way into your home on Christmas Eve.”

Official NORAD Santa Tracker.

When Santa and his reindeer near eastern Canada, NORAD will scramble two Canadian fighter jets to escort Santa into Canadian airspace; the fighter jets will accompany Santa across Canada as he makes his deliveries and then escort him to the border to ensure that he leaves.

Merry Christmas!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW-ECciloF0&w=560&h=315]

© Canadian NORAD Region.

Happy holidays!

Happy holidays from the crew at West Coast Editor.

Submission deadlines

West Coast Editor accepts content for publication at any time during the year, with four exceptions: feature articles, feature interviews, gift featurettes, and recurring columns, which have longer lead times.

  • February 2013 edition: January 4, 2013
  • March 2013 edition: February 1, 2013
  • April 2013 edition: March 1, 2013
  • May 2013 edition: March 29, 2013

Learn more about writing for West Coast Editor.

BC Book Prizes membership drive

J.J. Lee. Photo courtesy of BC Book Prizes.

Your book club may win a visit from author J.J. Lee, 2012 BC Book Prize finalist. Photo courtesy of BC Book Prizes.

FROM: Maureen Nicholson, former EAC president and honorary life member

There’s never been a better time to join the West Coast Book Prize Society.

Until the end of the year, every new and renewing member will receive a mystery book (it could be an art book, a cookbook, or even a signed first edition!) worth $20 or more in a canvas book bag. You’ll also be entered to win an exciting grand prize (even more books!).

With the holidays upon us, a book prize membership could make a wonderful gift for the book lover in your life.

Do you belong to a book club?

Here’s an offer your club might enjoy. If every member of your book club becomes a member of the West Coast Book Prize Society, you’ll all receive a mystery book and be entered to win the grand prize. Your book club may also win an author visit from 2012 BC Book Prize finalist J.J. Lee plus copies of his book The Measure of a Man.

To become a member, mail in your membership form and a $20 cheque payable to BC Book Prizes, or bring them to our office and pick up your mystery book on the spot.

Read more about membership.

—Maureen

Event audio: Language Detectives

It’s official. EAC-BC’s November 21, 2012, lecture on forensic discourse analysis was a hit.

It’s official. EAC-BC’s November 21, 2012, lecture on forensic discourse analysis was a hit. The speaker, Dr. Lorna Fadden, had us at “discourse analysis.”

Dr. Fadden structured her lecture around several of her cases, including a stalking case (which involved analyzing letters and emails) and a sexual-abuse case (which involved analyzing witness statements). She also presented details about a case that she had recently worked on as a witness for the prosecution, which required her to testify whether a series of text messages constituted “a suicide note or a credible threat.”

Listen to audio recording (EAC log-in identity and password required).

Next stop: Burnaby and Vancouver Island

Rumour has it that Dr. Fadden will be delivering this lecture on Vancouver Island sometime in the next few months. Watch WCE’s event listings for details. She will also be moderating a Philosophers’ Café event entitled “Is Language Changing for the Better or Worse?” in Burnaby on December 5, 2012. Learn more.

Top