Jennifer Walker of Best Health named PWAC editor of the year
Catching up with one of the honours given out last week: The Professional Writers of Canada (PWAC) has named Jennifer Walker, senior content editor of Best Health magazine, its Editor of the Year.
“It is a pleasure to be able to honour and acknowledge the special relationship that exist between the best editors and writers,” said PWAC Executive Director David Johnston in a release. “Without the talent and commitment of the editors in our industry, Canadian writers would not be able to shine the way they do.”
This the second year that PWAC has presented the Editor of the Year Award. The award brings national recognition and praise to outstanding editorial professionals. Written nominations are submitted by PWAC members and a panel of three member judges evaluate the nominees based on criteria that includes editing and communications skills, the ability to bring out the best in writers, and fairness of pay rates and contracts.
Labels: awards
posted by D. B. Scott at
9:15 pm
3 Comments:
I would assume that the PWAC committee that bestowed this honour has seen the notoriously troubling Best Health (Reader's Digest) contract, so this is a bit of a head-scratcher, Ms. Walker's talents notwithstanding.
I'm the co-chair of the PWAC awards committee and can say that the contract was taken into account. We found that the latest version is an improvement over previous ones. The magazine also pays extra for web rights and gives writers a fee to promote their articles on radio etc. The contract could still be improved, but it has moved in the right direction.
I agree, Craig, there are some minor improvements to the RD/ Best Health contract, but these are relatively token gestures when held up against even one clause in that contract (ie. number 2, in which they own a writer's work forever and can do whatever they please with it sans compensation). There's probably something to be said for encouraging RD/BH to make enlightened changes through such awards, but I think PWAC should be thinking long and hard about offering awards to any publications that use such punishing contracts as those enforced by Canwest, Rogers, Transcon, RD and the like. If not positioned properly, it can come across as soft.
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