William F. Walsh (December 20, 1961 – March 15, 2017) was a
copy editor
Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual of ...
at ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''.
He spoke on copy editing and was a regular presenter at annual conferences of the
American Copy Editors Society
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.
, the group of ...
. His books include ''Lapsing into a Comma'' (2000); ''The Elephants of Style'' (2004); and ''Yes, I Could Care Less'' (2013).
Walsh also worked on the Slot, a website for copy editors that he founded in August 1995.
Personal
Walsh was born in
Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Pottsville is the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the west bank of th ...
, and raised in
Madison Heights, Michigan
Madison Heights is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, its population was 29,694. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit, about north of the Detroit city limits.
History
Originally part of Royal Oa ...
, and
Mesa, Arizona
Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...
. He obtained his degree in journalism from the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
in 1984. Upon graduating, he began working as a reporter and editor for the ''
Phoenix Gazette
The ''Phoenix Gazette'' was a newspaper published in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It was founded in 1881, and was known in its early years as the ''Phoenix Evening Gazette''.
In 1889, it was purchased by Samuel F. Webb, who at the time was ...
''. He also worked for ''
The Washington Times
''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' as an editor.
Walsh died in Arlington, Virginia, on March 15, 2017, after a bout with bile-duct cancer.
References
External links
The Slot: a Place for Copy Editors Bill Walsh's website, including his blog (1995-2017)
1961 births
2017 deaths
American copy editors
American non-fiction writers
The Washington Post people
Deaths from cancer in Virginia
Deaths from cholangiocarcinoma
University of Arizona alumni
{{US-editor-stub
20th-century American journalists
American male journalists