NSNC to Recognize 2026 Annual Columnist Contest Winners

Join or Renew Your NSNC Membership

Consider a Gift to the NSNC Education Foundation

NSNC to Recognize 2026 Annual Columnist Contest Winners

The National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC) President and Board of Directors are pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Annual Columnist Contest at an online awards celebration on Thursday, July 23 at 7 p.m. EST. If you would like to join us for the awards ceremony, email nsncdirector@gmail.com for the Zoom link.

Join or Renew Your NSNC Membership

Welcome! Whether you write for newspapers, magazines, newsletters, trade journals or you create a podcast or write digital content, or you manage your own blog … whether you’re on staff, a freelancer, syndicated, self-syndicated or independent, if you write opinion or provide commentary, we invite you to join the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Join us at https://www.columnists.com/join-or-renew-membership/.

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

Luellen Smiley Making The Radio Rounds

NSNC member Luellen Smiley was guest of Philadelphia-based radio host and television personality Mike Smerconish on The Morning Mouth earlier this month. Smiley, is the daughter of reputed mobster, Allen Smiley. Smiley’s dad was a close friend and confidant of famous Las Vegas mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and he was sitting on the couch just feet…

Registration for Bombeck Workshop Opens Dec. 6th

University of Dayton ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Registration for the 2012 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, directed toward humor writers, will open Dec. 6, per Workshop Director, Matt Dewald. Space for this conference usually sells out fast, so if you are interested in attended, we recommend registering right away. The 2012 workshop at the University of Dayton will kick…

Penn State: “We Are — Going To Be OK”

By Russell Frank, NSNC Board Member & Penn State Faculty Member As Published at StateCollege.com 11/11/11 It’s time to stop calling this place Happy Valley. The name doesn’t fit. It never did.   The out-of-town reporters describe us as “an idyllic community,” “a tranquil football Eden” “nestled” in the mountains of central Pennsylvania.   Spare us. As many…

Andy Rooney was a close friend of Ernie Pyle during WWII

Courtesy of www.heraldtimesonline.com By Mike Leonard mleonard@heraldt.com 11/8/2011 Amid the many well-deserved tributes to the late Andy Rooney, it looks as though one of the things of which he was most proud is being greatly overlooked — his friendship with the famous columnist and war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Rooney was by his own account a…

How Journalism Jobs Stack Up

Some observations about journalism as an occupation were recently published by the Wall Street Journal. The statistics were based on 2010 U.S. Census statistics. The median annual salary for journalism majors is $50,000, per the latest data. This is about the same as majors in English, history, or communications. However, journalists have a 7 percent…

Looking for Crazy Genius

By Suzette Martinez Standring NSNC Past President                            The best storytellers are like keen-nosed truffle dogs, looking for riches below the surface. It’s what columnists do most days under deadline, usually in 750 words or less. Other writers have a lot more space. Recently, I went to see The New York Times best-selling…