ACES: The Society for Editing

ACES: The Society for Editing is a professional association of international scope for editors who work on every kind of content, including newspapers, magazines, websites, books, scholarly journals, and corporate communications.

ACES: The Society for Editing
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997)
FounderPam Robinson, Hank Glamann
TypeProfessional association
FocusAdvocacy and training for editors
Location
  • United States
OriginsDeveloped from copy editors' meetings at American Society of News Editors (ASNE)
Area served
United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and English-language editors worldwide
MethodConferences, webinars, publications, online resources
Members
5,083
Key people
Neil Holdway, president
Employees
4
Volunteers
≈50
Websiteaceseditors.org
Formerly called
American Copy Editors Society

As of 2019, the group offered:

  • an annual meeting, the ACES conference
  • an annual virtual conference
  • member networking opportunities
  • a newsletter
  • scholarships (via the affiliated ACES Education Fund)
  • regional workshops
  • a website that offers educational materials, news, job listings, and an editors-for-hire board

ACES was formerly known as – and, as of 2018, is still legally incorporated as – the American Copy Editors Society, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

Executive committee

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ACES was founded in 1997, by Pam Robinson, who also served as its first president, and Hank Glamann. Its inception followed the work of the American Society of News Editors (at the time, the American Society of Newspaper Editors) and meetings by copy editors in North Carolina and South Carolina.[1] It is currently led by society president Sara Ziegler[2][3] of FiveThirtyEight. John McIntyre of The Baltimore Sun was its second president. Chris Wienandt of the Dallas Morning News was its third president. Teresa Schmedding of the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Ill., was its fourth president.

It has an executive committee of 13 people, of whom four are officers: the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.[2] Any full member is eligible for elections. Annual membership is $100 for full members and $50 for students.[4]

In 2008, the board approved changes that allowed copy editors working outside traditional journalism organizations full membership with voting rights. As of early 2023, the society had over 5,000 members.

Awards

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ACES: The Society for Editing offers numerous scholarships, fellowships and awards to various editors annually.

ACES honors two editors each year for their outstanding editing abilities. The awards are named after its founders: the Robinson Prize, which honors an outstanding editor, and the Glamann Award, which honors contributions to the craft.

ACES offers annual scholarships to up-and-coming student editors awarded to 6 students annually.

The Richard S. Holden Diversity Fellowship is awarded to editors who show extraordinary promise in their fields. In addition to scholarship funds, the winners are given leadership and opportunities to advance their skills and careers.

ACES also has hosted the annual National Grammar Day Tweeted Poetry Contest, a poem-writing contest celebrating National Grammar Day, March 4.

In-Person Conferences

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ACES National Conferences
Year Location Att.
1997 Chapel Hill, N.C. 347
1998 Portland, Ore. 400
1999 Dallas 525
2000 Baltimore 425
2001 Long Beach, Calif. 440
2002 Louisville, Ky. 354
2003 Chicago 410
2004 Houston 390
2005 Hollywood 504
2006 Cleveland 420
2007 Miami 368
2008 Denver 297
2009 Minneapolis 256
2010 Philadelphia 331
2011 Phoenix 297
2012 New Orleans 354
2013 St. Louis 379
2014 Las Vegas 335
2015 Pittsburgh 483
2016 Portland. Ore. 626
2017 St. Petersburg, Fla. 555
2018 Chicago 710
2019 Providence, RI 829
2020 Canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Canceled due to COVID-19
2022 San Antonio 400+

The ACES national conference features the fundamentals of the craft and a primer for what's to come. Each year, editors from all fields come together for three days of workshops, panel discussions and networking. Attendees include editors for newspapers, magazines, websites, trade publications, book publishers, nonprofit agencies and corporations, as well as students, journalism professors, consultants and freelancers.

The idea that led to the creation of ACES was nurtured during a series of three conferences about copy editing sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1995 and 1996.

When ACES was chartered in the spring of 1997, the top priority of the society's founders was to conduct their own national gathering. Four months later, the first ACES national conference took place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Upcoming Conferences

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April 4–7, 2024: Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, San Diego, California

April 3–6, 2025: Hilton Salt Lake City Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

April 23–26, 2026: The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta, Georgia

References

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  1. ^ Bill Mitchell, William G. Connolly (August 10, 2002). "Uncovering the Pride, Work of Copy Editors". Poynter Institute. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Executive Committee". ACES. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "We're all in this together". ACES. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  4. ^ "Become a Member". ACES: The Society for Editing. Retrieved August 26, 2024.