Chapter Meetings

"Confessions of an Award-winning Indexer" by Margie Towery

WHEN:

WHERE:

Margie will begin this workshop by walking us through her process: from initial contact, tracking, and approach to each project to sending the index out the digital door. The heart of the workshop, though, lets participants into her actual decision-making process in indexing and editing. Using material from her two Wilson Award winning indexes, Cartography in the European Renaissance and The Letters of Matthew Arnold as well as from a more recent straightforward scholarly book, Margie dissects the all-important stuff that indexers love: selecting mains and subs; wording, rewording, and more rewording; editing all along and at the end; maintaining elegance and quality while considering diverse audiences; setting the mood in her office; and letting intuition work in a precise environment. This is a chance to get inside the head of an experienced indexer! Participants are encouraged to ask questions and enter the discussion.

The speaker:

Margie Towery has been in publications work for over two decades, and she has been indexing for fifteen years. Although her focus is on scholarly books, her tips and techniques are applicable for other back-of-the-book indexing. Her indexes include the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., and two Wilson Award winners: The History of Cartography, vol. three: Cartography in the European Renaissance (2008 winner) and the cumulative index for The Letters of Matthew Arnold (6 vols., ed. Lang, U. of Virginia Press, the 2002 winner). Along with various contributions to Key Words, she is the editor of Indexing Specialties: History, coeditor with Enid Zafran of Indexing Specialties: Scholarly Books (which includes Margie's “The Quality of a Scholarly Index”), and has essays in the recent Indexing Specialties: Cookbooks and the forthcoming Index It Right, vol. 2.

Date: Saturday, October 24, 2009

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Place: Four Points by Sheraton BWI Airport

Cost: