EDITOR, CHINATOWN STORIES VOLUME 4

Contract position

150 hours paid at $30.00 CAD/hour

About Chinatown Today

Chinatown Today is a non-profit organization whose goal is to share stories from Chinatown’s past and present so they continue to be part of its future. Many of the Chinatown stories we yearn to listen to are carried by elders and knowledge holders who face linguistic, financial, and other barriers, compounded by prejudice. Moreover, due to decades of systemic oppression, these knowledge holders often view their stories, accumulated from rich and diverse experiences, as unwanted, disposable, and unnecessary. Chinatown Today’s mission is to create spaces where Chinatown’s knowledge holders feel comfortable and empowered to share their stories with a wider audience. Stories remind us of history, wisdom, and pieces of who we are as diasporic communities. Chinatown Today values these stories and those who share them as vital parts of Chinatown’s intangible heritage, which we aim to preserve and protect.

Chinatown Today values fostering relationships with Indigenous peoples and other marginalized communities: the former, because Chinatown is built on unceded Indigenous lands, and the latter because Chinatown has never been a space just for those with Chinese heritage, but a refuge for marginalized folks from all walks of life. Chinatown Today’s vision is to foster a space for an abundance of productive intergenerational and intercultural conversations, where anyone who has a Chinatown story has a chance to be heard.

Our commitment to anti-oppression

Chinatown Today is committed to addressing systemic oppression and advocating for services and systems that seek to improve equity for oppressed and disenfranchised groups of people, including but not limited to Indigenous, Black and people of colour. We respond to news and issues regarding Chinatown and surrounding areas, including Hogan’s Alley, Japantown and the Downtown Eastside, the diaspora and social justice movements, through education, raising awareness, collaborating with community partners, and other forms of support. 

We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous folks, Black folks, folks who identify as racialized or as people of colour, folks who identify as disabled, and folks of various sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions. 

Opportunity description:

Chinatown Today is seeking to hire one (1) contract Editor for Volume 4 for its Chinatown Stories publication. We are looking for an individual who is passionate about storytelling, particularly of stories among/within communities in Chinatown, and who is interested in curating a publication that features these stories. The Editor will report to the Board of Directors, who will oversee and provide guidance on the publication. 

Chinatown Today envisions Volume 4 as an opportunity to explore the history of solidarities and tensions between various communities of colour in Chinatown and more broadly in Vancouver. Chinatown has never been a space exclusive to those with Chinese-heritage; rather, Chinatown has always been a space for diverse racialized communities, serving as a site of both refuge and tension. With Chinatown Stories Volume 4, we aim to create a space for artists and community members to come together to hear each other’s stories and experiences of being racialized in Chinatown, and to collectively revisit individual understandings of culture, knowledge and history, while imagining and creating Chinatown’s more inclusive future.

We are looking for an Editor who will conceptualize and produce Chinatown Stories Volume 4, in dialogue with the Chinatown Today Board of Directors. 

As Editor, your main responsibilities will include: 

• Working with the Board of Directors to produce Volume 4 of Chinatown Stories 
• Conceptualizing the theme of Volume 4 
• Writing and promoting the call for submissions
• Selecting submissions with the volunteer editorial board 
• Editing submissions and corresponding with contributors 
• Finalizing the content for Volume 4
• Supporting the launch event, tentatively scheduled for January/February 2022

The position is entirely remote and the Editor is expected to provide their own internet and electronic device. 

Here is what you bring

• Experience and/or post-secondary training in creative writing, English, communications, journalism, linguistics, and/or related disciplines 
• Experience working with racially and culturally diverse communities, and a strong interest in the stories of racialized communities in Chinatown and Vancouver 
• Strong organizational and communication skills, both written and oral
• Prior experience in copy-editing, proofing, publications, writing and editing is an asset
• Prior experience (or comfort with using) Slack, Google Drive, WordPress is an asset
• A strong commitment or connection to Chinatown is an asset

Work length, condition, and compensation

The Editor of Chinatown Stories Volume 4 is a grant-funded position for a maximum of 150 hours paid at $30.00 CAD per hour. The Editor will work from July 2021 to October 2021. Should this project require amendment, and contingent on further funding, the length of the position can be extended with communication and negotiation between the Editor and the Board of Directors. The salary for this position is fixed and is non-negotiable; it is not adjusted (up or down) based on education and/or experience. 

How to apply

Please send your resume and a statement of interest (300-500 words), indicating EDITOR, CHINATOWN STORIES VOLUME 4 in the subject line, by 11:59pm on July 5, 2021 to Phebe M. Ferrer, Writer & Editor, Board of Directors, Chinatown Today, at phebe@chinatown.today.

Chinatown Today thanks all applicants for their interest and advises that only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

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