by Greg Murphy and Elizabeth d’Anjou

The theme to kick off the year at our September meeting was “How I Read My Summer Vacation.” At times we laughed, at times we sighed, as we recounted the books with which we enriched our minds in spare moments. Some of us read non-stop while others read hardly at all (or, as some editors in attendance put it, “only when paid to do so”).

Everyone had been encouraged to bring a book they read that related to work and one they had read for pleasure. Ellie carefully recorded all the picks (and posted the list to the Editors Kingston Facebook group). A few examples of the work-related books presented:

• the new edition (seventeenth!) of the Chicago Manual of Style and an old Louis Menand New Yorker article, still hilarious fifteen years after its publication, about the fifteenth edition
• the classic On Writing Well by William Zinsser
• the guide by Editors Canada’s own Marion Soublière, Getting Work with the Federal Government
• You Are a Badass, a guide to career and life subtitles How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, by Jen Sincero
• Write No Matter What, in which author Joli Jensen runs through and all-too-familiar list of barriers to writing and proposes tools to work around and through them

The exercise helped members reconnect, to shake off that isolation some of us might have felt at times over the summer.

It also gave us a lovely way to get to know some first-time attendees: Beth Bedore, an Editors Canada member for some years but new to the Kingston twig “just down the road” from her home in Belleville, who enjoyed Nike, Nurses, and Neon: The Ancient Greek and Latin Words We Use Every Day, by Nigel P. Brown, and newcomers Brenda (The Life and Death of the Great Lakes, by Dan Egan), “twig Facebook groupie” Jenn (Open Veins of Latin America, by Eduardo Galeano), and John (Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann).

A Warm Welcome Home

The group welcomed home long-time friend of the twig Bob MacKenzie from the prestigious Summer Literary Seminars, held this year in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he, with Kingston poet Meg Freer, shared his writing talents with the world. (He and Meg created a blog with stories & photos from their adventures.)

Upcoming Programs

 We’ve packed our fall program!

At our gathering next month, Wednesday, October 11, well-known Kingston authors Merilyn Simonds and Wayne Grady will join us to discuss how the past forty years have changed the editorial process and relationships between author and editor, agent, and publisher. Merilyn and Wayne will also talk about mentoring emerging writers.

On Wednesday, November 8, we’ll be hosting Algonquin author Rick Revelle, writer of the three young adult novels I Am Algonquin (2013), Algonquin Spring (2015), and Algonquin Sunset (2017) for Dundurn Press. He’ll be talking to us about the skills we need to work with Indigenous writers.

Our Seasonal Social will be on Wednesday, December 13. Watch this space for details.

Download our fall program flyer and share it around!

Fall Seminar

Adrienne Montgomerie will deliver the workshop Microsoft Word for Editors on Saturday, November 18. She’ll be teaching everything editors need to know to make Word work for them (for a change!), so you won’t want to miss out. See the twig web page for more details.

Claim your spot early to get a fee discount: Until October 13, Editors Canada members pay $160; non-members pay $195. After October 13, Editors Canada members pay $185; non-members pay $220.

The workshop will be held at the Tett Centre, 370 King Street, Kingston, Ontario, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Register here.

Download the flyer/poster here.

Please help us spread the word wherever and whenever you can!

Announcements & Business

Elizabeth opened the evening with a few announcements:

• Nancy Wills has stepped down from the role as twig co-coordinator after many years of service, including managing the money and filing reports to national—and bringing meeting munchies! She was warmly thanked in absentia. Nancy plans to continue as an active Twig member and volunteer.
• The Editors Canada mentorship program is now up and running! Members and student affiliates can apply to have or be a mentor. Mentorships focus on whatever area(s) both parties agree on; someone could even be both a mentor in one area and a mentee in another.
• Check out the new Editors Canada webinar series! First up are macros and breaking the rules.

Ellie led a discussion about a possible new policy of charging a small fee (in the neighbourhood of $5) to non-members who attend Twig gatherings. (Attendance would continue to be free for members and student affiliates of Editors Canada.) This would help cover our upkeep (room fees, honoraria for guest speakers ,snacks and drinks, etc.). However, it’s important to the twig leadership that everyone  feel welcomed. Most of the comments, from both members and vistors, were in favour of the policy—with some suggestions for tweaks and exceptions. We’ll bring up the issue on the Facebook page and perhaps another meeting before making a final decision.