The schedule is subject to change at any time until the conference programming is finalized. Check back for updated schedules as they are available.
Please note all times noted are local to the event venue.
Nora Lopez will be the keynote speaker for the Opening Session. Nora Lopez is Executive Editor at the San Antonio Express-News. A 35-year news veteran, Lopez oversees a team of talented editors and award-winning reporters who produce content for both print and digital publications.
Lopez is the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She has long been active with both the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists, serving as its president from 2019-2020, and the San Antonio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, serving as its vice president for programming and as a producer of the group’s annual scholarship fundraiser, the Gridiron show.
Jenny Lawson will be the Keynote Speaker for Friday's Awards Banquet. Lawson is an award-winning humorist known for her great candor in sharing her struggle with mental illness. She lives in Texas with her husband and child and she has previously written Let's Pretend This Never Happened and Furiously Happy, both of which were #1 New York Times bestsellers.
Presenters: Alyssa Brown and Viannah E. Duncan
Are you tired of arguing with your peers about what style to follow? You need a style guide! An internal style guide can serve to create consistency within and across your organization, whether you work as a freelancer, at a newspaper, as a book publisher, or in another field. We’ll help you get started in creating a guide that works best for you and your organization, including keeping it updated and how to enforce it. We’ll cover everything from conscious language, types of style guides/sheets, evolving language, working with management, and who should be in charge of making final decisions.
Presenter: Constance Brossa
Researchers say storytelling is encoded in our DNA. Cave people did it. Tribes and nations have done it. And all of us continue to tell stories every single day. We can’t help it. For one thing, well-crafted stories trigger a rise in oxytocin, the feel-good hormone in our brains. And that’s just the beginning of what’s behind the impact of storytelling on our brains. There’s more. Much, much more.
Presenter: Crystal Shelley
Readers want to see themselves represented in accurate and respectful ways, which is where authenticity reading, also called sensitivity reading, comes in. The conversation around this service has grown as writers and publishers recognize the harm that can come with poorly crafted representation. By understanding what authenticity reading is, editors can help educate writers on this service, recommend when it’d be helpful, and even expand their own services to offer it. This session is useful for all editors and will detail what authenticity reading is and isn’t, why it’s valuable, and what to know to become an authenticity reader.
Presenter: Crystal Shelley
As editors, we recognize that words are powerful, and our role is to help clients craft their writing to reflect their intended message. More and more, writers, publishers, and readers are understanding how biased or exclusive language can render text ineffective or harmful, and editors play a vital part in addressing issues. This session will examine what conscious language is, potential issues to be aware of while editing, how to provide feedback to clients, and why this matters. The information will be beneficial for all editors, no matter who you work with and what your areas of expertise are.
Presenter: Dave Nelsen
Quick, what’s the difference between “reluctant” and “reticent”? “Uninterested” and “disinterested”? “Continual” and “continuous”? Do you get a beat on something or get a bead on something? Copyeditors face questions like these every day. There are two ways to learn more about these troublesome words: Check a dictionary every time you spot one, or attend this session and learn about a couple dozen all at once. It’s perfect for newer editors, but experienced editors might also learn a thing or two. Everyone can join the discussion at the end, when we debate whether any of this even matters.
Presenter: Ellen Jovin
Ellen Jovin has dispensed language advice from her Grammar Table, a popup traveling grammar advice stand, on the streets of dozens of US cities. Her language conversations with passersby are the basis of her upcoming book, Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian (HarperCollins, July 2022), and her presentation will feature lively language anecdotes showcasing the healing, hilarious, unifying power of words. We all poop, and we all (at least at ACES!) punctuate.
Presenter: David Yontz
Being a copy editor entails knowing a whole lot, so it's only natural that some things fall through the cracks. In this session, seasoned editor David Yontz will go over some common grammatical, usage, and factual errors that even advanced editors sometimes miss. He'll go over parallel structure, correlative conjunctions, and many other tricky devils.
Presenter: Emily Goldstein
Have “health care” as one word instead of two in a story? The Texas Tribune’s content management system will flag this AP style error for you. Need guidance on using the phrase “defunding the police”? Search our style guide in Slack, and StyleBot will tell you.
With the help of the Trib engineering team, we’ve transitioned our style guide to Airtable, making the information more visible while helping reporters and editors spot mistakes. This dynamic system lets us adapt, adding to a list (linked to Slack and our CMS) of common errors, noting style changes, and editing or adding entries.
Presenter: Emily Primeaux
In this session, we'll talk about how becoming fatigued in your editing craft doesn't necessarily mean you've lost your passion. Tedious projects, boring subject matter, and repetitive editing tasks can lead to burnout and feeling like you've hit a creative setback. Trust me when I say I've been there! We'll discuss the ways in which editors might reach fatigue and how to pull yourself out of a slump. This session will offer solutions to help you get your creative juices flowing again and will set you on your path to refinding your passion.
Presenter: Emily Primeaux
This session will look at the initial interview and how to make the subject's answers flourish on the page. We'll cover building rapport, asking the right questions, handling awkward or difficult interview situations, piecing together timelines, and how to set yourself up for success. Learn how to edit a profile as you go — how to add quotes in the right spot, rework your lede as the piece evolves, creatively think through a new article flow, and how to rework your piece after receiving feedback.
