Robinson Prize

ACES: The Society for Editing awards the Robinson Prize every year to an editor who demonstrates excellent editing work, community building, teaching, and mentoring. Editors who take initiative, engage in creative problem solving and conflict resolution, and foster teamwork and pride are considered to be prime candidates.

Do you know a great editor? You can encourage their work by nominating someone (including yourself!) for the Robinson Prize, awarded at the yearly in-person ACES conference. The winner receives a cash prize and a spiffy crystal trophy to show off.

The prize is named for Pam Robinson, a founder and past president of ACES. One of her goals was to make editors more visible in the workplace and encourage them to take a constructive role in the publishing process.

Nominees are evaluated on a combination of elements, which can include editing, design, mentoring and training, fostering a sense of teamwork and pride among colleagues, and anything else that furthers the craft of professional editing.

“This award isn’t designed to applaud the best speller or the best grammarian,” said former ACES President Teresa Schmedding, who helped establish the award in 2005. “Being a good wordsmith isn’t enough. Today’s editors need to be skilled in conflict resolution, show excellent judgment, demonstrate initiative, and be able to find creative solutions to help their publications succeed in this era filled with increased competition.”

Eligibility

The contest is open to all editors working (at least partly) in the English language. ACES membership is not required for nominees. Work considered for nomination should be current but need not be tied to a specific calendar year or to a specific project. Members of the ACES Board of Directors, employees of ACES, and the administrators and judges of the contest are ineligible for nomination.

We invite and encourage all to apply — all races, all genders, all ages, all professional levels.

There is no entry fee.

Nomination timing

Nominations are through online submission only.

The nominations form opens mid-winter and the deadline for submission is midnight on January 31.

The winner is announced at the annual in-person national conference.

Preparing a nomination

Want to nominate someone? Explain in under 1,000 words why the nominee deserves the Robinson Prize. Please be as specific as possible in stating what makes them exceptional, how they further the craft or help their organization succeed in an era of increased competition.

Supporting documentation is encouraged but not required.

The nominator must provide the names and contact information of four people familiar with the nominee’s work. One reference must be someone familiar with the nominee’s editing work: a work colleague or supervisor, or a client for a freelance editor.

Nominations are through online submission only.

Judging

The judges, former Robinson Prize winners and other industry leaders, will contact the nominee’s references and examine the supporting evidence. They will be urged to consider the disparate nature of the entries and come to a consensus on their importance to the copyediting profession or to a specific organization. Self-nominations will be given equal consideration with nominations submitted by others.

One prize is offered annually, although the judges may choose not to award a prize if they determine that an insufficient number of entries has been received or that no entry is deserving of recognition. No ties are allowed.

The decisions of the judges will be final except under extraordinary circumstances. In such cases, the judges’ decisions may be reviewed by the ACES Board of Directors, which is empowered to resolve any disputes and retains ultimate authority over the competition and award.