PWAC 2011 National Conference and AGM in Montreal, Quebec
by PWAC Vancouver President Michelle Clough and PWAC member Kim Van Haren
Michelle: “Attending the AGM drove home to me why I became a member of PWAC in the first place. Not only did we have the opportunity to receive some fascinating and informative professional development training, but we were able to forge some deep and lasting connections with our peers. Everyone we met was friendly, welcoming and encouraging to new attendees and new PWAC members alike. Whether you’re an old hand at professional writing or a fresh new enthusiast just starting out, the PWAC AGM is definitely worth attending.”
Kim: “PWAC’s National Conference & AGM in Montreal was a rewarding experience both professionally and personally. We were able to learn and hear from other writers, who provided practical information we could put to immediate use, as well as forge new friendships. Every day was well organized and flowed seamlessly. Carole Beaulieu (Editor-in-Chief, L’actualité), the keynote speaker at PWAC’s Gala Awards Ceremony & Banquet, was brilliant. She was warm and confident, had provocative ideas, and gave a room full of writers hope for the future. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s conference.
Friday: Business of Writing and Bylaw Discussion
This past June, PWAC Quebec hosted the 2011 National Conference and AGM. This conference that helped our national organization celebrate its 35th year, began on Friday with the first day of professional development. Entitled “Writing is a Business,” the session was well worth attending and provided a great start to an all-day affair. Claude Brunet focused on contracts and copyright law while Warren Sheffer talked about small claims court. Our presenters, both experienced lawyers, helped navigate areas of concern for professional writers.
From negotiating contracts to determining when to back away/off, Claude and Warren provided much needed insight and guidance.
Later that afternoon delegates reviewed the proposed changes to PWAC’s constitution. Many of you are already familiar with the key by-law
amendments that have been made. Here’s a recap:
Two new categories of membership have been introduced:
Honorary Lifetime Membership is awarded by resolution of the Board of Directors to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the writing or publishing industry. This category will carry no annual membership fee.
Emeritus Membership is available to members who have reached “Factor 90,” which means that the applicant’s age (expressed in years) plus the number of years the applicant has been a professional member of the association must result in a total of at least ninety (90). Members must
apply for emeritus membership; it will not be automatically granted when a member reaches “Factor 90.” At the AGM, members passed a motion that that the annual fee will be 75% of the annual fee paid by Professional Members of the association. This fee reduction will be reassessed in a few years to determine its financial impact on the association.
The Student Member category now allows individuals who graduated from a post-secondary within the past 12 months to qualify for this category of membership, thereby allowing them some time to build up a writing portfolio after graduation so they can quality as Associate or Professional members.
Two-year terms for Board positions have been introduced. The old by-law provided for one-year terms. Eight consecutive years now constitute the maximum time an individual can serve on the Board. This was previously six years.
Residency requirements for Board members have been introduced.
The election processes for RDs and other Board members are more clearly outlined, as is the process for filling the ex-officio position of
Past President, and the process for filling any vacancies that occur in between AGMs.
The processes for calling meetings (Board meetings, AGMs, and special general meetings) are more clearly defined, as are quorums for meetings.
A “duty of fairness” clause has been introduced. It applies to all decisions made by the Board and the members of the association in terms of the dealings/business of the corporation.
In addition to the above, many minor amendments were made in order to clarify wording and to create a document that is easier to read and understand. PWAC looks forward to receiving approval from Corporations Canada, and to implementing the new by-law.
After that, it was out to enjoy the cuisine of Montreal in Restaurant Roulette as PWAC members grouped off with local chapter guides to
try a variety of ethnic restaurants, from Vietnamese to Italian to French. Once bellies were full, we joined with Kathe Lieber for an impromptu performance of A Comedy of Errors and a lot of wine and song.
Saturday: Professional Development Sessions and the PWAC Gala
Saturday was dedicated to a series of useful professional development sessions:
Editors Panel with Susan Nerberg (Deputy Editor, enRoute), Drew Nelles (Editor in Chief, Maisonneuve) and Carmine Starnino(Senior Editor,
Reader’s Digest)
Writing for Trade Magazines: Breaking In and Staying In* with Suzanne Boles
Unleash Your Inner Entrepreneur: Panel with Hugh McGuire, Ben Yoskovitz, Craig Silverman & Geeta Nadkarni
Medical Writing* with Amanda Strong and Giancarlo La Giorgia
Computer-Assisted Reporting in 2011: A Journalist’s Guide to Twitter, Facebook, and New Mobile Tools* with Elias Makos
The Pitch of your Life: Writing Book Proposals with Julie Barlow
On Solid Grounds: Write to Live* with Jean-Benoit Nadeau
Travel & Food Writing with Alexandra Forbes
We attended the same professional development sessions (*) and both agreed that, by far, the best one of the day was Elias Makos’ session
on social media and other digital tools. It was informative and broke these huge topics down into manageable bites that made us want to hop onto Twitter. All of the panels had useful information, however. For those who are interested in learning more about trade magazines, medical writing, social media tools and writing negotiation, Michelle has typed up some rough but detailed notes that can be found here; while not in polished form, they provide useful links and overviews.
The evening’s Annual Gala recognized the efforts of regional volunteers who go the extra mile for PWAC. Awards were given to Alison
Finnamore and Kym Wolfe of the Atlantic and Ontario Regions, respectively, while George Butters received the 2011 Lawrence Jackson Outstanding Achievement Award. The winners of this year’s PWAC writing awards were Georgie Binks, Melissa Martin and Beverley Akerman who were recognized for their outstanding humour, feature and short articles respectively.
The keynote speaker was Carole Beaulieu, Editor-in-Chief for L’Actualité. She discussed the issues facing the magazine industry as digital replaces traditional, but expressed a lot of hope for the future. She pointed out that her own magazine, like many others, are finding ways to adapt to the digital marketplace and carving out niches on iPad, iPhone and others. She also pointed to the rise of “bookazines” in Europe, magazines designed to function as luxury items or “coffee table books” and featuring high quality photographs and several long features (10,000 words plus). Perhaps, she suggests, magazines will find a new niche as a speciality market, one that writers will be able to work with once more.
Sunday: Annual General Meeting
Members decided at the Sunday AGM to hold our National Conference and AGM in conjunction with MagNet in Toronto for the next three
years. PWAC Quebec, along with Executive Director Sandy Crawley, Associate Director Lauren Stewart, the PWAC Board of Directors and a host of members and volunteers worked tirelessly to help steer us in this direction.
At the Annual General Meeting, our President, Tanya Gulliver, stepped down after an unprecedented three year term, and our own Craig Silverman was applauded as PWAC’s new President. The following members form the 2011/2012 National Board of Directors:
President: Craig Silverman
Vice President: Doreen Pendgracs
Treasurer: Rusti Lehay
Atlantic Regional Director: Ross Mavis
British Columbia: Heidi Turner
Ontario: Christine Peets
Prairies & the North: Michelle Greysen
Quebec: Jenn Hardy
Message from the new regional director of PWAC British Columbia
Hello PWAC members. My name is Heidi Turner and I am the new regional director for PWAC British Columbia. I’m excited to represent BC and our members’ interests on the PWAC Board of Directors.
I hope to provide a strong voice for all BC members. My thank you to Kim Lear for all her hard work last year. I enjoyed communicating with her (even if I didn’t get to actually meet her), and I know she worked hard as BC’s regional director. My thank you also to Susan Carr and Terri Perrin for putting their names forward for BC. It’s heartening to see so many people enthusiastic about PWAC and about representing BC.
I’ll be spending the next few days getting accustomed to the new position and the ins and outs of being on the Board of Directors as well as setting some goals for myself and PWAC BC. I encourage all of you to e-mail me with your thoughts, questions, ideas and concerns. If I don’t know the answers, I’ll do what I can to find out for you.
In the meantime, we do have a small matter at hand. A recent change has been made to extend the term for a regional director from one to two years. I have been given the option of either a one or two-year term. My understanding is that there has been some turnover in the position lately, and my feeling is that for the sake a stability, a two-year term is best. I recognize, however, that people voted for me based on a one-year term and may have concerns about it being extended by a year. Therefore, I have not yet committed to a two-year term. If people feel strongly about this either for a one-year or two-year term, please e-mail me by July 5 and let me know your thoughts. I won’t make a commitment for a few days, to allow time for members to contact me.
Also, I would like to know if any of our members currently sit on any national PWAC committees. If you currently sit on a national committee, please let me know. One of my goals is to ensure that we are adequately represented on the national committees, and I would like to know where we currently stand in terms of representation. So, if you are on a national committee and can let me know by July 5 which committee you’re on, I would appreciate it.
Thank you for all your support. It’s an honour to represent BC PWAC members on the Board of Directors. I look forward to working with our two chapters—BC and Victoria—as well as our rural members to represent our interests. Please feel free to contact me at heiditurnerwriter@gmail.com.
Have a happy Canada Day! Heidi Turner
AGM at the Dockside
This year our annual general meeting took place in the warm atmosphere of GranvilleIsland’s Dockside Brewery. Nine members and one guest attended to elect a new executive for 2011 and to discuss plans for the upcoming year.
Executive positions for the Vancouver PWAC chapter were quickly filled by the following volunteers:
President: Michelle Clough
Treasurer: Heather Kent
Communication Coordinator: Josie Padro
Membership Coordinator: Heidi Turner (re-elected)
Discussion continued on a number of topics including the May 13 to 15th writer’s retreat jointly organized the Victoria and Vancouver chapters. Those who have attended past retreats found inspiration and enjoyed the opportunity to socialize with other writers. This year the fun takes place at the Cedar Beach Resort on Salt Spring Island. The cost is $175 for members and cut-off date for registration is April 29th. For more details check out our March 6, 2011 blog post below or direct your questions to petergrant@shaw.ca.
The group also weighed the pros and cons of becoming a sponsoring partner of The Tyee’s Freelancer Survival Series. We decided in favour of providing financial support from our local chapter with an added contribution from the national PWAC office. Members will be able to attend the sessions at a 25 percent discount. Find out more or register at The Tyee.
Members also voted in favour of sending two members the PWAC National AGM in Montreal this year.
In non-AGM matters, check out the new Facebook page Vancouver’s Freelancer Social Hour . The group plans monthly get-togethers for writers to share a beverage and get to know each other. All writers are welcome.
Lastly, a very special thank you to outgoing President Sheila Whittaker for her great work and leadership over the past year.
2011 PWAC Retreat
Getting ready to watch some films on a field trip during the last PWAC Retreat in 2009
PWAC Victoria and Vancouver Chapters are having a Retreat May 13-15 on Salt Spring Island.
Inspiration — Refreshment — Networking — Local Fare — Ambiance
Salt Spring Island, largest of the Gulf Islands, drenched in West Coast beauty …
Veritable mecca for foodies, with many organic farms, several noted wineries, outstanding restaurants …
Salt Spring and the nearby islands are a mecca for writers, too …
We’re bringing best of all three into the picture for PWAC’s biennial Victoria-Vancouver chapter get-together!
The package includes two nights’ accommodation, four meals, three speakers and shuttle
service for walk-ons — all for an incredibly modest $175.
· Accommodation in well-equipped cabins at Cedar Beach Resort on St Mary Lake. Waterfront meeting/dining room.
· Speakers: Brian Brett (Trauma Farm, 2009), Briony Penn (Islands in the Salish Sea: A Community Atlas, 2005) and another TBA. More below.
· Meals served onsite by noted caterer Christine Godlonton of Dinner’s Ready on Salt Spring.
· Pub night Friday in Ganges village.
· Off-time for visiting the Ganges markets Saturday morning.
· Guided tour and luncheon Sunday.
The retreat is open to PWAC members only. Space is limited — first come, first served.
Pop a cheque for $175, made out to PWAC, in the mail to:
Carole Pearson
PWAC Victoria
1887 Farrell Cr.
Saanichton, BC
V8M 1K7
Want a Queen or King bed? — add $20 and register early.
Should you have to cancel — your money refunded minus 10% admin fee.
Not included in the fee: ferry transport; Friday dinner; Sunday lunch; liquor.
Ferry service from the mainland: best plan is to leave cars at Tsawwassen, walk onto the Swartz Bay ferry, then walk onto the Swartz Bay-Fulford Harbour ferry. Catch the 5 pm ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, then board the 7 pm ferry to arrive at Fulford Harbour at 7:35. Catch the 7 pm from Tsawwassen — you’ll be in your snuggies by 10:15. Our shuttle service will meet foot passengers at Fulford Harbour. Or blow a bundle ($216.41 round-trip) and come by Harbour Air — it’ll blow your mind. We’ll meet you in Ganges.
Notes on speakers:
Brian Brett wrote Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life (Greystone/D&M, 2009) as a life-in-a-day account of 18 years operating with his partner a small farm on Salt Spring Island. A Canadian writer of standing, author of two novels and several books of poetry, Brian’s second book of non-fiction won the $25,000 Writers’ Trust of Canada Non-Fiction Prize for 2009 — besting Wade Davis, Erika Ritter et al — and the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award at the 2010 BC Book prizes, where it was shortlisted in two other categories. Brian will talk about the writing of Trauma Farm, his “breakout book,” and what’s it’s like to publish “something that’s part of the future.”
Briony Penn is a writer and artist, cartographer (with a Ph.D. in Geography), naturalist and activist with deep roots on Salt Spring Island. She works with such organizations as The Land Trust Alliance of BC and The Land Conservancy of BC — which she co-founded in 1997 — and writes a column of in-depth reporting on environment and land use issues in Focus Magazine (http://www.focusonline.ca/). Briony has conducted many community mapping workshops, notably in helping to develop the remarkable Islands in the Salish Sea: A Community Atlas (Touchwood Editions, 2005). She promises fun and interaction.
Maybe: Ronald Wright, author of What is America? A Short History of the New World Order (Knopf Canada, 2008), A Short History of Progress (Anansi Press, 2004), and Stolen Continents: The “New World” Through Indian Eyes (Penguin Books, 1992). “If I’m here I can do it — but there’s a strong chance I may be out of the country at that time. I won’t be certain till early April…”
The Collective Learning Curve – TMAC PD Event
PWAC Vancouver members have been invited to join the following professional development event:
Mark this on your calendars – the Travel Media Association of Canada’s B.C. chapter is planning a full-day event on Saturday, Feb. 26 at the Richmond Oval, and you won’t want to miss it!
We’re calling our latest professional development session “The Collective Learning Curve.” We’ll cover everything from making money by writing online to customizing a WordPress blog, and we’ll help you deal with issues such as tipping while on press trips and the dreaded HST. And if all that and the chance to reconnect with your fellow TMACers isn’t enough, we’ll also have great food and fabulous draw prizes!
Registration for this event opens soon, but in the meantime, save the date!
B.C. TMAC board
How to Write More Honestly: A New Workshop with Sheila Heti
Every writer has one unique thing to offer to the world: their own point of view. In this workshop, Sheila Heti, one of Canada’s most distinctive literary voices, will teach you how to anchor your writing in your own point of view, your original nature, your own stylistic truth.
Happy Holidays BC PWACers! From Kim Lear
I’ve met and spoken with many of you since becoming BC’s Regional Director in June. If this is the first time you’ve heard from me, I hope we will get to connect more in the New Year.
Joining the PWAC Board, meeting colleagues and advocating for freelance writers has been a source of pride and pleasure for me in 2010. So please feel free to write or call me if you have questions about your PWAC membership, or about freelance writing in BC. We have members throughout the province. If I can’t answer your questions, I’ll find out who can. That’s my job.
And please let me know if there are any items you would like me to raise at the National Board Meeting in January.
Prosperity, peace and pleasure in 2011!
Kim Lear
Victoria Chapter
BC Regional Director
And May I Introduce…
Some of us meet up at local events, or at the national AGM and conference in June but another way we can feel more like colleagues is to connect online. Many PWACers use Twitter, Linked In, Facebook and the PWAC lists to connect. Here are a few.
Suzanne Morphet
Victoria Chapter
Executive
You can join Suzanne’s LinkedIn network or find her in the PAWC Travel Writer’s LinkedIn Group.
Read her condo column in the Vancouver Sun or pick up the Vancouver Island Book of Everything, which she recently co-authored with fellow PWAC member Peter Grant.
Sheila Whittaker
Vancouver Chapter
President
Sheila writes about wine, travel and food. She has her own blog, Ruby Suitcase and also contributes to the Georgia Straight and Wineries Refined.
Sheila would be happy to connect you with other members at PWAC Vancouver events and she is also on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Timothy Perrin
Interior Chapter
Government Action Committee
Tim has written screenplays, tv pilots, theatre, news radio, books and over 200 magazine articles. He is also a lawyer and is a great resource for writers in the the Kelowna area to track down.
You can find Tim on LinkedIn.
PWAC leads the challenge to Bill C32!
There are a few critical pieces to the proposed revisions to copyright legislation that we as writers need to focus on. First and foremost, Mr. Harper’s government has proposed that fair use be expanded to include “educational exemptions.” Writers need to understand that these exemptions would open the doors to schools and universities making free copies of our work. An English teacher in Gibsons could create a fabulous syllabus for teaching Canadian Poetry (good), include lesson plans and reading assignments based on 10 Canadian Poets (good), upload everything to the Internet to share with a few other teachers and all of a sudden no school in Canada needs to buy anthologies of Canadian Poetry. That is not good for Canadian poets, and it is not good for students if all they get to read is American Lit because Canadian writers had to give up writing poetry to sell widgets. Aside from that, it is unheard of for our Federal government to legislate what industry can sell their goods and services to the education sector and what industry can not.
Our ED Sandy Crawley and the PWAC Government Action Committee are advocating for you. This and other issues are being challenged. Please watch the PWAC Contact emails to find out what you can to do improve Bill C32 for writers.
Happy New Year!
Improving Your Business Writing Skills with Steve Bain: Mon Nov. 29
Join PWAC Vancouver at our next Professional Development seminar ‘Improving Your Business Writing Skills’ with Steve Bain.
- When: Monday, November 29 from 07:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Where: BCIT Downtown Campus, Room 281, 555 Seymour Street Vancouver
Steve Bain is 20-year veteran in the professional-writing arena. He has authored and co-authored more than two dozen commercially sold books, and has written countless magazine, newspaper, trade journal, and technical publications industries. He is a subject matter expert in vector illustration, digital-publishing workflow design, information architecture, and content management. He currently manages a team of IT writers and is a part time instructor in BCIT’s technical writing program.
The meeting will be at BCIT’s downtown campus at 555 Seymour Street. The BCIT Downtown Campus, in the heart of Vancouver, and is outfitted with state-of-the-art telecommunication and information technology. The room number (a boardroom) is 281 and it accommodates a maximum of 14 people. The meeting will be limited to PWAC members only, as seating is limited.
Members, please RSVP to the evite you were sent. If you are a member of PWAC Vancouver and you did not receive the evite, please get in touch with Sheila Whittaker to be added to the list.
Call for Pitches from OpenFile Vancouver
From the desk of Karen Pinchin:
In advance of OpenFile Vancouver’s launch in early November, I’m happy to announce that we are officially accepting pitches for the site and are inviting PWAC Vancouver members to contribute. Guided by the principle that all news starts as local news, we intend to cover issues that matter in the places where we live. So whether that pertains to transportation, environment, small business, society, housing, municipal issues, human interest or the arts, we want to find and tell local stories that matter.
This means we’re looking for freelance writers, photographers and multimedia people to participate in this storytelling process. With a solid foundation in reporting fundamentals and ethics, paired with our new online platform of community engagement, we think we can do great things in Vancouver and are relying on you to find and tell these stories.
Have an idea for a story already? Is there something happening in your community that fits the bill? Open sign up for an account here with your full name and postal code, open your file here (It won’t be public; only I can see it. And don’t worry about the Vocabularies section. The Vancouver site is on its way) and write a few sentences about what the story is, who you’d interview and any other details you think I need to know. Our first round of stories will be assigned by Oct. 25, and we’ll be looking for pitches on an ongoing basis through the fall. Once you sign up for and are approved for a journalist account, you’ll be able to see more details on style, payment, etc at our contributor guidelines here.
And, as the freelance life can be a lonely one, we’ll be hosting a pre-launch social at Gastown’s Guilt & Company this Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Bring a friend, spread the word and come say hi.
If you have any questions or want further details, please contact Karen Pinchin. If you know of any other writers or media types who might be interested, feel free to forward this information.
Yours,
Karen
—
Karen Pinchin
Vancouver Editor
OpenFile.ca
Oct 14 PWAC Meeting with OpenFile
Thursday, October 14th, 2010 at 6:30 p.m., PWAC Vancouver invites its members to the Vancouver Public Library (350 W. Georgia) to hear from member Karen Pinchin, Vancouver editor of OpenFile. We will meet in one of VPL’s meeting rooms. Please note that we will book the room from 6-8 p.m., but Karen will begin her presentation at 6:30 sharp.
OpenFile Vancouver is a collaborative community news site that will connect citizens to their city and the reporters who cover it. With a business model designed from scratch by practicing journalists, our model is built to pay writers well, on time and to allow them long-term ownership of their own content. Novel, right? We’re launching in November, and want to build a diverse team of connected and talented freelancers. If this floats your boat, Vancouver editor Karen Pinchin would love to meet you and answer any questions you may have.
As the library meeting room has limited space, this invitation is exclusive for paid-up PWAC members. After the meeting, we will head over to nearby Jimmy’s Tap House (425 Robson St) for some drinks, food and networking. Non-members are welcome to join us there around 8 p.m.
