Contest submissions will be accepted through May 1! We are accepting entries from columnists, bloggers, and serial essayists for our 2026 Annual Columnist Contest (for work published in 2025). We will accept entries from columnists, bloggers, and serial essayists published in 2025. Everyone is welcome to submit. You don’t have to be an NSNC member.
The National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education Foundation is a tax-exempt charitable organization [501(c)3] devoted to the education and training of new and experienced columnists everywhere. Donate here: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/NSNCEdFnd
A major highlight of this year’s columnists conference, “Macon Whoopee,” was a first-hand accounting of the creation of the Center for Collaborative Journalism at Mercer University in the Georgia city. Word is spreading on how Mercer’s journalism and media studies department now is in the same building cluster on campus as Macon’s daily Telegraph newsroom…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring Past President National Society of Newspaper Columnists No matter what our specialty is, we can learn from columnists with a very different focus. Joel Brinkley, who also serves as the NSNC education chair, is one of only a handful of foreign affairs op-ed columnists in the United…
Larry Cohen, NSNC 2012-14 president, died Monday, Aug. 27, 2012, of a heart attack in Florida. He was 64. He had been elected May 6 by unanimous vote at the annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, in Macon, Ga. Laurence D. Cohen joined the NSNC in 1996 and had experience in government,…
When you stay in one job for a quarter century as Comic (and Column) Confessional author Dave Astor did, it helps to have good reasons for doing so. Here are a few: Heloise, Arianna Huffington, Ann Landers, Abigail Van Buren, David Broder, Ellen Goodman, George Will, Erma Bombeck, Dave Barry, Art Buchwald, Walter Cronkite, Hillary…
President’s Message By Larry Cohen President National Society of Newspaper Columnists Decades ago, the Hartford (Conn.) Courant shipped me off to the national conclave of the Episcopal Church, in Louisville. The Anglican natives were restless. There was news to be reported. Sure enough, the assembled faithful slapped around the sort-of-liberal church leadership at the time…
As the country mourns the tragic shooting in a movie theater early Friday, July 20, 2012, in Aurora, Colo., we’re also trying to think it through. Twelve people died and 58 were injured in the shooting at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie; a lone gunman is suspected. We’re all talking about it.…
Save the Date NSNC 2026 Columnist Contest Virtual Awards Ceremony – July 23, 2026 at 7 p.m. EST Mark your calendar for the 2026 NSNC Virtual Awards Ceremony, which will be held on Thursday, July 23 at 7 p.m. EST. Winners will be announced at an online celebration on July 23 at 7 p.m. EST.…
NSNC 2026 Columnist Contest Deadline Extended – Enter by May 1 National Society of Newspaper Columnists Annual Column Contest Deadline Extended – Contest Closes: May 1, 2026 11:59 p.m. (EST) For Registration & General Guidelines visit: nsnc.submittable.com/submit Email Joanne Browkaw, contest chair, with any questions at joannebrokaw@gmail.com. “The NSNC Annual Columnist Contest gives columnists a chance to…
National Society of Newspaper Columnists Annual Column Contest Last Call to Enter! Closes: April 17, 2026 11:59 p.m. (EST) For Registration & General Guidelines visit: nsnc.submittable.com/submit Email Joanne Browkaw, contest chair, with any questions at joannebrokaw@gmail.com. “The NSNC Annual Columnist Contest gives columnists a chance to win awards for their submissions and be acknowledged by their peers.”…
Christine Heinrichs recently published a significant story that is raising awareness of elephant seals. Here is a link to the story: https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/avian-flu-strikes-californias-northern-elephant-seals-area-quarantined/ Heinrichs has published other important works about elephant seals. Her articles and books are featured at www.christineheinrichs.com.
