NSNC 2026 Columnist Contest - Now Open

Sunshine Week March 15-21, 2026

Consider a Gift to the NSNC Education Foundation

Join NSNC and Reap the Benefits!

NSNC 2026 Columnist Contest - Now Open

Contest submissions now open! 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.

Sunshine Week March 15-21, 2026

We’re counting down to #SunshineWeek 2026, March 15-21. Together, we champion #OpenRecords and #OpenGovernment nationwide March 15-21. #FOIA #transparency. Free resources: sunshineweek.org

Consider a Gift to the NSNC Education Foundation

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

Join NSNC and Reap the Benefits!

We are excited for What’s in-store for NSNC members this year. We are gearing up to launch the NSNC Annual Columnist Contest on January 15, so you’ll want to be sure your membership is up-to-date. Also, if you have ideas, suggestions, etc., please share them with our President Meredith Cummings at meredithcummings@gmail.com or Executive Director Ginny McCabe at nsncdirector@gmail.com. Thank you for your support of NSNC!

New Book on Writing from Don Fry

Don Fry spoke to our National Society of Newspaper Columnists last  June. You may remember his striking common sense and optimism about  writing. He has just published a book entitled “Writing Your Way,  Creating Your own Writing Process that Works for You” (Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest, 2012). The book is available from local bookstores  and from Amazon…

President’s Message: Buy Low, Sell High

By Ben S. Pollock NSNC President   It must have been this time of year in 1999, I was on the phone with my mom about soon flying to Louisville, Ky., for that year’s NSNC conference. “You go there and ‘network’ your heart out. That’s what they call it now, right? Chat people up and…

Dave Astor’s Book Reveals 25 Years at E&P

A Book That Includes A Lot About Our Organization! Comic (and Column) Confessional, a memoir by NSNC board member Dave Astor, has found a publisher. The part-humorous book — which will be released this June by Xenos Press — is about Dave’s 25 years at Editor & Publisher magazine covering columnists, cartoonists, and newspaper syndication.…

Veteran Arkansas Columnist Honored for Humanitarian Work

An Arkansas journalist who has fought against injustice and strove to produce positive change over four decades is the 2012 winner of the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award. Mike Masterson, staff columnist and opinion editor for the Northwest edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, will be honored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists at its annual…

In the April Newsletter

It’s the National Columnists Day issue and President Ben Pollock tells how to get the most out of the conference and comments on plagiarism. A conference schedule shows what you’ll miss if you don’t sign up. Dave Lieber has another story about Ernie Pyle. Will Rogers Humanitarian Award winner is announced. Plus lots of “Columnews”…

Macon Whoopee! NSNC 36th Annual Conference May 3 – 6

Nancy Grace Love her or hate her, your readers know Nancy Grace. They know her as the outspoken legal analyst on CNN’s Headline News and ABC’s Good Morning America … or as a gritty competitor on last season’s “Dancing With the Stars” series. – You’ll get to meet her and judge for yourself when you…