For those of you who don’t know, Editors Canada is a national organization that provides support and resources to editors. Most of us live in Canada, but there are editors in other countries, with connections to Canada, who belong as well. Every year,* there is a national conference, and this year, it just so happened to be in Halifax, which is a short-n-sweet 3.5 hr drive away from me. Hurrah!
*They are moving to every 2 years.
What an incredible 3 days we had! And, for me, it was 4 days, as I arrived a day early to have dinner with a client of mine.
I’d decided weeks ago, well before the conference, that I wanted this to be an amazing experience. My goal was to reconnect with editors I haven’t seen (or “seen” online since Twitter went belly-up) and connect with new editors.
Mission achieved.
As I said, I drove over from PEI on Wednesday. Construction and a mishap involving some transport trucks pulling over to the side of the road and me misinterpreting that action, not realizing they were actually getting in line for the very blocked merge lane of The Last Exit to Halifax exit (most Atlantic Canadians know the sign I’m talking about), and zooming right on by heading to Cape Breton.
Fortunately, I did not have to travel all the way to Cape Breton,** as there was another exit a mere 9 km later (sigh).
**On any other day, I would LOVE to go to Cape Breton….it’s a stunning place, but I had other plans.
Anyway, I arrived to Dalhousie Student Accommodations around 5pm. As part of my Mission to Connect, I’d reached out to an editor pal I’d “met” years ago (on Twitter, RIP) and asked if she wanted to be roomies. A tense 24 hrs ensued where I imagined all the ways she would turn me down (hello, self-esteem issues), but nope—she was happy to and yay. And that is how I ended up lucky enough to meet the absolute gem of a human, Alicia Chantal.
One would think we had been best buds for decades. Isn’t human connection amazing like that? How two people can meet and form a bond so fast? If you’ve ever been blessed to have that experience, it sure is something special.
So, Alicia and I embarked on late-night quests for food (here’s looking at you, Pizza Corner), chatted over cups of mint tea at 1am, and laughed more in three days than I have all month.
We also participated in the conference itself, obviously. Here’s a run-down of our time in Halifax…
Thursday, May 21
I helped to stash swag bags for an hour in the morning, then collected some editors and took them to Peggy’s Cove. No, I do not live in Nova Scotia, but I’ve been there many times before so in true Atlantic Canadian Ambassador style, I made sure to show off Nova Scotia in all its glory, including navigating the Margaret’s Bay Roundabout (those who know KNOW). Must say, it’s not as daunting after having lived experience with roundabouts on the Island these last few years.
Peggy’s Cove put on a show! Sun, blue skies, stunning cloud formations descended on the small fishing village that now includes some artisan stores and galleries, as well as restaurants—those weren’t there the last time I was there.
One of the stores is called Hags on the Hill so you bet your bottom dollar I bought one of their t-shirts!
Sensing that my companions were in need of substance, I suggested we hit up a food truck, one that served lobster rolls. I really didn’t need to twist any arms for that one, and moments later, we had met perhaps the friendliest food truck operator I’ve ever met. The lobster roll was delicious, and both my editor pals appreciated the east coast version (one lives in Edmonton, the other in Switzerland—not exactly places known for lobster).
We raced back just in time to be late for the official welcome reception and enjoyed an evening of meeting old and new friends.
Alicia and I capped off the night staying up well past midnight in our dorm. Speaking of the dorm, it wasn’t terrible. We each had our own bedroom, with our own door that locks, and there was a lot of space in the bedrooms (not your typical “can touch both walls if I extend my arms” dorm). We also had a bathroom just for us so we didn’t have to use the communal ones (helpful, when I’m often awake at 3am), as well as a small kitchenette. For the price, it was absolutely fine (hard beds and all).
Friday, May 22
Day 1 of sessions.
Here’s what I took in:
- Opening keynote – Robert W. Gehl, a Research Chair at York University
- Editorial Ethics in the Age of AI – Christina M. Frey
- Editorial Self-Defence in the Age of the Cyborg Writer – Perrin Lindelauf
- How Canadian Editors are Navigating AI Adoption while Protecting Editorial Credibility – Jessica Patterson
- Networking Session
- Awards Banquet
Saturday, May 23
Day 2 of sessions.
Here’s what I took in:
- Working with the Accessibility Standards Canada (ASC) Plain Language Standard – Carol Wilson, Iva Cheung, Laura Edlund
- Our Changing Language through the Decades: Keeping up with our Ever-evolving Words and Phrases – Rob Williams
- Nurturing Indigenous Voice and Agency – Karon Shmon
- The Editor’s Box of Rage: Finding Grace in the Grind – Tiffany Vakilian
- Closing Keynote – Samia Madwar, Senior Editor, The Walrus
Each timeslot had multiple options so there were many more presentations. Thankfully, the kind people at Editors Canada arranged to have each session professionally recorded, and we’ll be able to catch up on what we missed on our own time.
Lots of great discussions and information sharing throughout the conference. It didn’t go unnoticed that there were many sessions about AI. The robots are coming and they already are threatening our industry. I could rant on here about why human editors are far superior to robots, but I’ll stay on course and leave that topic for another day (but we are; trust me). Every editor I spoke with has felt the effects of AI on their business. It’s scary, friends, but it helped to talk about it and brainstorm ways to exist in this new world of ours.
We ended the conference with some of us going to the Henry House Pub for supper. Great food, more laughs, lots of photos taken, and fun memories made.
I’ll be reflecting on this conference for a while. Of course, in the days that follow, you have all the Linkedin invites and social connections, which I love. I look forward to building my editor network even more to support others who do similar work that I do and just be able to engage in conversations about our industry with those who work in it.
I believe I was the only PEI-er to attend this year’s conference (if someone else from PEI attended, please let me know and I will correct that statement). Editing can be an isolating profession, especially for those who work for themselves. It really fuelled my soul and spirit to be surrounded by these like-minded professionals.
I met some incredible people who I hope to keep in my circle now (no pressure, ha ha). I have some fun, dorky swag to show off, as well as creative creations I picked up at the on-site vendor fair—including affirmation cards for editors and Iva Cheung’s amazing book, An Editorial Cartoon.
I’ll also be thinking about what was shared in these sessions—lots of voices swirling around in my head at the moment—and I might share some of those discussion topics over on Bluesky. I’d love to hear your take on these issues, so I invite you to follow me on Bluesky and enjoy the conversation.
So, yes, as I am closer to 50 than 45, I shared a dorm with someone and slept on the hardest bed ever…I roamed the streets of Halifax seeking midnight pizza…I seemed to never know where I was going and at what time no matter how many times I checked the schedule (unlike an overwhelmed student, that can be blamed on my less-than-welcomed friend, perimenopause)…so, yes, I did feel like I was having a 20 (ish) years later Student Experience.
And I loved it. Thank you Halifax, thank you Editors Canada.
‘Til #Editors28….