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Hurricane season began June 1 in the Atlantic and lasts through November. Some points to remember, courtesy of the AP Stylebook:
- Capitalize hurricane when it’s part of a name – e.g., Hurricane Emily.
- Hurricanes don’t have sexes, no matter what the name. They should be referred to as it, not he or she.
- Capitalize category and use a numeral when you give a hurricane’s strength – e.g., Category 5.
- Avoid bad and sexist puns when using hurricane names. AP’s hurricane entry in the stylebook is worth quoting in full: “And do not use the presence of a woman’s name as an excuse to attribute sexist images of women’s behavior to a storm. Avoid, for example, such sentences as: The fickle Hazel teased the Louisiana coast.”
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I failed to include two events in last week's June holiday roundup:
- Bloomsday is June 16. This is a holiday that celebrates the hero of James Joyce's "Ulysses." It originated in Joyce's homeland of Ireland, but it now is celebrated around the world.
- Juneteenth is June 19. This event commemorates the day when the last slaves in the U.S. were finally told they had been freed
From the latest AP style changes to timely copy editing reminders, check out everything you need to know to make your copy clean.
