Save the Date - NSNC 2024 Virtual Conference - July 19 and 20

Call for Entries - 2024 NSNC Annual Columnist Contest

Join NSNC and Reap the Benefits!

Registration Open - Erma Home Schooling

Call for Entries - 2024 NSNC Annual Columnist Contest

Submissions Now Open - NSNC Annual Columnist Contest - Enter Today! National Society of Newspaper Columnists Annual Column Contest Open: January 15, 2024 8:00 a.m. (EST) Closes: April 15, 2024 11:59 p.m. (EST) For Registration & General Guidelines visit: nsnc.submittable.com/submit Email Adam Earnheardt, contest chair, with any questions at acearnheardt@ysu.edu. Submit your best work! You could be one of this year's winners!

Join NSNC and Reap the Benefits!

Hope your New Year is off to an amazing start. We are excited for What’s in-store for NSNC members this year. We will also be launching our annual contest in January, so you’ll want to be sure your membership is up-to-date. Also, if you have ideas, suggestions, etc., please share with our president, Lori Duff, at lori@loriduffwrites.com or myself at nsncdirector@gmail.com Blessings to all!

Registration Open - Erma Home Schooling

The Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop is sold out, but it’s not too late for writers to experience the conference’s special blend of joy and laughter, support, and inspiration. Registration is open for Erma Home Schooling, a package that includes five keynotes live-streamed from the in-person workshop as well as four exclusive workshops. Early bird rate: $199 by March 1. The fee is $225 after March 1. Go to https://udayton.edu/blogs/erma/2023/12/doordash_erma.php for details.

It’s All in the Bag: Cornhole in Cincinnati

By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President With April being a month prized for foolishness, I felt it appropriate to announce NSNC’s first-ever Cornhole Tournament, scheduled for Saturday, June 9, 3:30 pm, during our Cincinnati conference. In the past, fun-loving NSNCers have eagerly participated in ill-fated competitions during downtime between annual conference sessions. In 1996, there…

How to Write Your Most Popular Column of the Year

You, the Columnist By Dave Lieber Dallas Morning News columnist My newspaper added a new tag word for stories. Joining “courts,” “crime,” and “education” is this one: #UpliftingNews. These two words are the key to big stories in 2018. The American audience is so burned out by the brutal news of late that anything that…

Prominent Man from Prominent Family to Speak in Cincinnati

By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist “Fame is relative. Only my relatives are famous,” Nick Clooney quipped when I interviewed him for this story. But that’s a bit of self-deprecation, because the father of actor/director George Clooney and brother of late singer/actress Rosemary Clooney has been – among other things – a well-known TV news director/anchor,…

Can Authors Dream in Digital? Ebook Secrets Revealed

By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President As writers, we’ve all fantasized about swanky lunches with agents, book deals offered by publishers headquartered in Manhattan, huge advance checks, round-the-block lines at book signings, charming cottage retreats to escape the flashbulbs of the paparazzi, and steady streams of royalties. *Sigh* Alas, ever since writers have been cast…

Interview with Jim Azevedo of Smashwords

Interview was conducted by Lisa Molinari as part of her March, 2018 President’s Message. First, I’d like a little more background on you other than what is in your bio. How did you come to be the marketing director at Smashwords? My background is in high-tech marketing and PR, where I spent the first 20…

Ask Alex: Hoping for a Tax Break

Dear Alex, I bought a weight-loss gadget and then ended up writing about my experience for my lifestyle column. Can I write off the cost of the gadget as a business expense even though it wasn’t purchased with that intent? Sincerely, Hoping for a Tax Break     This Month, NSNC Vice President Chris Carosa…