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www.writers.ca contains profiles of over 600 freelance writers available for periodical and business writing projects.

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February 02, 2012: Bulletin #2.1 ERDC Notice
ERDC's notice to members about the ERDC Settlement Package

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January 24, 2012: Bulletin #1.4
New writing awards open for registration

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January 18, 2012: Bulletin #1.3 Online Professional Development from our partners at The Tyee
Finance and tax issues for freelancers

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January 12, 2012: Bulletin #1.2 Raising standards at the Toronto Star
Raising standards at the Toronto Star

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January 09, 2012: Bulletin #1.1: Jobs and Opportunities
Celebrate the new year by applying for one of these positions!

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PWAC Awards

Each year at the National Conference, the winners of the PWAC Awards are announced and celebrated.

PWAC's awards include:

Features Writing Award

This award was established in 2010 to showcase the excellence of PWAC members and Canadian writers.

Prizes:

  • First Place: $750 and certificate. (Divided as follows: $500 in cash and a year's free PWAC membership worth approx. $250. Note: If the prize winner is not eligible for PWAC membership, he or she receives the $500 in cash and forfeits the free membership.)
  • Runner Up: a year's free PWAC membership (if eligible) and certificate.
  • Other finalists: a certificate.
Eligibility: Non-fiction articles of 1,201 words and over, for which payment was received. Articles must have been published in English in a Canadian print or web media outlet. Publication date must have been between January 1 to December 31, 2010. Date of publication must appear on submission.

Judging: Criteria will include writing quality, research, originality, impact and overall excellence.

Entry Fee: Must accompany entry. $25 for PWAC members per entry and $50 for non-PWAC members, per entry. There is no limit on the number of entries per person. Payable by cheque made out to "PWAC" or a PayPal payment sent to info@pwac.ca, with "PWAC Features Award Entry Fee" noted with your payment.

Deadline:
Entries must be received by PWAC National Office by Friday, April 22, 2011.

How to Apply: Each entry must include:

  1. The appropriate entry fee.
  2. A tearsheet of the original story (a laser copy is acceptable) or a printed screenshot if a web story, with the original publication date indicated.
  3. Three additional copies of the story.
  4. A separate sheet with the entrant's full name, address, phone number, email address, title of the submitted piece, word count of the submitted piece, and the name of the publication where it appeared
Incomplete entries and electronic copies of material will be discarded. Note: tearsheets and other submitted material will not be returned. Judges will not consider any additional information from the entrant about the story other than the story itself.

Submit Entry/Entries to: Address all entries to "Features Writing Award Submissions" and send to the PWAC National Office by mail to PWAC National Office, 215 Spadina Avenue, Suite #123, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 2C7.

2010 Winner: Jenn Hardy for her story "Cleanup in Aisle One".

2010 Runner-Up: Carolynn Semeniuk for her story "Christina's World".

2010 Honourable Mentions: Kimberley Noble for her story "Why Drabinsky is No Ordinary Fraudster", Eve Lazarus for her story "The Parent Trap", and Kerianne Lauren Sproule for her story "Girls Interrupted".


Short Articles Writing Award

This award was established in 2010 to showcase the excellence of PWAC members and Canadian writers.

Prizes:

  • First Place: $750 and certificate. (Divided as follows: $500 in cash and a year's free PWAC membership worth approx. $250. Note: If the prize winner is not eligible for PWAC membership, he or she receives the $500 in cash and forfeits the free membership.
  • Runner Up: a year's free PWAC membership (if eligible) and certificate.
  • Other finalists: a certificate.
Eligibility: Non-fiction articles of up to and including 1,200 words, for which payment was received. Articles must have been published in English in a Canadian print or web media outlet. Publication date must have been between January 1 to December 31, 2010. Date of publication must appear on submission.

Judging: Criteria will include writing quality, research, originality, impact and overall excellence.

Entry Fee: Must accompany entry. $25 for PWAC members per entry and $50 for non-PWAC members, per entry. There is no limit on the number of entries per person. Payable by cheque made out to "PWAC" or a PayPal payment sent to info@pwac.ca, with "PWAC Features Award Entry Fee" noted with your payment.

Deadline:
Entries must be received by PWAC National Office by Friday, April 22, 2011.

How to Apply: Each entry must include:
  1. The appropriate entry fee.
  2. A tearsheet of the original story (a laser copy is acceptable) or a printed screenshot if a web story, with the original publication date indicated.
  3. Three additional copies of the story.
  4. A separate sheet with the entrant's full name, address, phone number, email address, title of the submitted piece, word count of the submitted piece, and the name of the publication where it appeared
Incomplete entries and electronic copies of material will be discarded. Note: tearsheets and other submitted material will not be returned. Judges will not consider any additional information from the entrant about the story other than the story itself.

Submit Entry/Entries to: Address all entries to "Short Articles Writing Award Submissions" and send to the PWAC National Office by mail to PWAC National Office, 215 Spadina Avenue, Suite #123, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 2C7.


2010 Winner: Philip Fine for his story "Her Tough Literary Voice and Frankness about Sex Masked a Fatal Vulnerability".

2010 Runner-Up: Susan Pinker for her story "Extra Credit".

2010 Honourable Mentions: Wendy Helfenbaum for her story "A Fine Romance?", Giancarlo La Giorgia for his story "Good Eats, At Your Convenience", Ann Chandler for her story "Royal Rewards", and Ann Chandler for her story "Sage and Stewardship"
.

Lawrence Jackson Outstanding Achievement Award

PWAC recognizes outstanding contributions and exemplary commitment and service to the association through its Special Achievement Award. At the 1998 AGM, the award was renamed the Lawrence Jackson Outstanding Achievement Award to honour the memory of former PWAC President Lawrence Jackson.

2010 Winner: Suzanne Boles

Previous winners include: Tracey Arial, Mark Kearney, Liz Warwick, Kim Arnott, Julie Watson, Doreen Pendgracs, Heather Robertson, Julie Barlow, Julia Gedeon (Matusky), Danny Kucharsky, Heather Pengelley, Kevin Yarr, Gordon Graham, Guenther Krueger, Mark Zuehlke, Star Weiss, Keith Risler, Larry Jackson, Sandra Bernstein, Michael OReilly, Kathe Lieber, Barbara Florio Graham, Michael Fay, Douglas Lintula.

Only PWAC members in good standing are eligible recipients of this award.

PWAC members click here for more information including entry criteria and prizes.


Barbara Novak Writing Award for Excellence in Humour/Personal Essay Writing

This award was established in 2005 to honour the memory of former PWAC member Barbara Novak. The award recognizes excellence in the genre of humour/personal essay writing.

2010 Winner: Georgie Binks for her story "How did Grandma get on Facebook?"

Previous winners include: Jean Mills, Kathy Buckworth (twice), Valerie Mutton, Dorothea Helms.

Only PWAC members in good standing are eligible recipients of this award.

PWAC members click here for more information including entry criteria and prizes.


Regional Volunteer Awards

This award was established in 2005 and designed to recognize the valuable contributions of members who volunteer for PWAC in their regions.

2010 Winners: Sheila Whittaker, Marie Powell Mendenhall, Kevin Glew, Phillipa Rispin, and Trudy Kelly Forsythe.

Previous winners include: Pam Blackstone, Doreen Pendgracs, Charmian Christie, Marijke Vroomen-Durning, Wendy Kitts, Peter Grant, Heather Cook, Dawn Boshcoff, Kathe Lieber, Dorothy Dearborn, Paul Lima, Jane Mundy, Veronica Leonard, Stephanie Whittaker, Jim Chliboyko, Ana Watts, Trudi Down, Elle Andra-Warner, Joyce Caines, Shirley Hewett, Rosemary Neering, Cynthia Dusseault, Mark Kearney, Hélèna Katz, Sandra Phinney.

Only PWAC members in good standing are eligible recipients of this award.

PWAC members click here for more information including entry criteria and prizes.


Editor of the Year Award

This award was established in 2008 to bring national recognition and praise to outstanding editorial professionals who respond quickly and positively to our queries, help us shape our ideas and work, improve our writing, and smooth the process of publication, invoicing and payment.

2010 Winner: Michael Totzke (Canadian Interiors)


2010 Honourable Mention: Holly Bennett (Today's Parent)

Previous winners:
Jennifer Walker (Best Health), Mitchell Brown (Canadian Retailer).

Previous Honourable Mentions:
Ian Johnson (CBCNews.ca), Diana Swift (Canadian Health), Jan Matthews (Home and Cottage), Sheila Robertson (Acreage Life).

PWAC members click here for more information including criteria and prizes.

 


PWAC is definitely the best thing that I have ever joined, and the icing on the PWAC cake was attending MagNet!

PWAC Member
Melody Wren,  Guelph Chapter