AB Edits Book Review: โ€œSemicolon: The Past, Present, And Future of a Misunderstood Mark,โ€ by Cecelia Watson

by Andi Benjamin From the overuse of em dashes by ChatGPT to the longstanding Oxford comma wars, thereโ€™s no shortage of interesting topics for editors to debate in 2025. But one thatโ€™s worth exploring, having divided grammarians for centuries, is the semicolon. Photo by Connor Pope on Unsplash The semicolon provokes strong opinions. American writer … Continue reading AB Edits Book Review: โ€œSemicolon: The Past, Present, And Future of a Misunderstood Mark,โ€ by Cecelia Watson

Editing Across English Variants: Parallels and Polarities

by Priya Murmu Editing content across English variants can be a daunting task. You scratch your head while staring at the screen, pondering whether the word should be spelled dialogue or dialog, dreamt or dreamed, or whether the period should fall inside or outside of the quotation marks. Then, you spend quite some time browsing … Continue reading Editing Across English Variants: Parallels and Polarities

Editors Advise: Dealing with Your Clients

In this series, Editors Toronto members and BoldFace contributors share their experiences, insights, and tips on the practical aspects of working as an editor or writer. In the previous edition of โ€œEditors Advise,โ€ six editors recommended their go-to websites and books on grammar and style. This time we zero in on the editor-client relationship: handling … Continue reading Editors Advise: Dealing with Your Clients

Editors Advise: Best Resources for Editors and Writers

In this series, Editors Toronto members and BoldFace contributors share their experiences, insights, and tips on the practical aspects of working as an editor or writer. The previous edition of โ€œEditors Adviseโ€ included recommendations related to professional development. This time, six editors share their favourite resources on grammar and style. As it turns out, one … Continue reading Editors Advise: Best Resources for Editors and Writers

Did you know? Editors Toronto offers in-house seminars

Does your organization need help with editing and communication? Editors Toronto offers specialized professional development training through our in-house seminars. Offered year-round, our seminars are taught by in-demand editorial professionals, curated and organized exclusively for your team! Seminar topics offered include Plain Language, Copy Editing, Proofreading, Grammar and Punctuation, and many more. Interested? Contact the … Continue reading Did you know? Editors Toronto offers in-house seminars

Book Review: Making Sense: The Glamorous Story of English Grammar by David Crystal

Crystal against crystallization by James Harbeck (Oxford University Press, 2017) How can we have crystal-clear language spoken by people with a crystal-clear understanding of how it works? For one thing, donโ€™t try to crystallize itโ€”just Crystal-ize. Making Sense: The Glamorous Story of English Grammar, by David Crystal, is for anyone who wants to get Crystal … Continue reading Book Review: Making Sense: The Glamorous Story of English Grammar by David Crystal

Report on ACES 2017 in St. Petersburg, Florida

By Berna Ozunal This year, 591 people travelled to St. Petersburg, Florida, for the annual American Copy Editors Society (ACES) conference held from March 23 to 25 at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront Hotelโ€”the second-highest attendance ever. I went to St. Peteโ€™s for a few reasons this year: I enjoyed last yearโ€™s conference in Portland … Continue reading Report on ACES 2017 in St. Petersburg, Florida

Webinar: What’s wrong with this sentence?

Correct usage of language is paramount to effective communication. The education systemโ€”from primary through post-secondaryโ€”does not offer students the tools needed for communicating effectively, whether verbally or in writing. The webinar is based on a workshop that was originally developed for the Canadian Authors' Association national conference, and has since been presented to numerous groups, … Continue reading Webinar: What’s wrong with this sentence?