Announcing our Society for Technical Communication award winners!

Hi all, Patty Gardner here, Content Development Group Manager for Microsoft Press. I’m very proud to present this year’s STC (Society for Technical Communication) Award winners. The STC is an international organization of technical communicators whose purpose is to foster quality in print and online technical publications. Our competitors at the local level include Microsoft UA teams and organizations like Boeing, Hewlett-Packard, and King County.

This year Microsoft Press entered five books in the Technical Publications category of the 2009 STC Competition - Puget Sound Chapter. An amazing four of our five entries received awards, including two Distinguished awards, which is STC’s highest level of award!

• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Best Practices , the premier title in our new IT Professional Best Practices series, earned a *Merit* award.
• Microsoft Visual Studio Tips: 251 Ways to Improve your Productivity , Sara Ford’s book based on her tremendously popular Microsoft blog, earned an *Excellence* award.
• The Best of Windows Vista: The Official Magazine , the visually stunning compilation of the best articles from Windows Vista Magazine, earned a *Distinguished* award.
• Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Resource Kit , the technical masterpiece that exceeded its lifetime revenue goal in its first two weeks on the shelves, earned a *Distinguished* award.

Our Excellence and Distinguished winners now qualify for entry in the International STC competition.

I want to give a big round of applause to our editorial team, creative team, planners, and authors. The STC judging standards are rigorous and these books reflect the best in the technical communication community.

Thank you,

Patty