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.
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
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
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!
Luellen Smiley, NSNC member, is the daughter of reputed mobster, Allen Smiley, who was a close friend and confidant of famous Las Vegas mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and was just feet away from Siegel the night he was murdered. She has been a columnist since 2004 when she began writing a weekly column in San Diego called “Smiley’s Dice.”…
In the annual Pennsylvania Press Club competition, Walter M. Brasch took 1st place in features; 2nd in environmental writing; and 2nd for his syndicated newspaper column, Wanderings. In addition, Brasch and his wife, Rosemary, took 2nd place in specialty articles/labor and business. Brasch recently retired as professor of mass communications/journalism at Bloomsburg University, but is…
A Columnist’s Scrapbook By Ben S. Pollock NSNC President The NSNC Conference, three days out of 365, is a highlight of my year. Apparently, I mustn’t have a life. Actually, I do have a grand life, and NSNC has been a huge part of it. So there. The conventions are a blast. I have a…
Suzette Martinez Standring is now writing a humor column for The Milton Patch, “The Funny Side of the Street.” The Milton Patch is part of AOL’s national network of on-line local newspapers. She continues to write her syndicated religion column for GateHouse News Service. Suzette also landed an agent, Rita Rosenkranz of the Rita Rosenkranz…
Congratulations to NSNC members Mary Curtis, Philip Martin, Mike Argento and Roger Ebert for being named winners in The Society for Features Journalism 23rd Annual Excellence-in-Features Writing Competition. Contest categories included general features, short features, features specialty reporting, general commentary, arts and entertainment coverage, blogging, reader engagement and multimedia storytelling. First place winners in each…
It’s that time we’ve been awaiting all year: The results of the NSNC column-writing contest have been determined. The judges have pored over the entries (they may have poured over them, too, when the judging went late into the night, but if nothing spilled on the entries, we don’t ask about such things and they…
NSNC member Paul Lander’s new video, “54321: Five Rejected Peanuts Specials,” is a fast, funny parody poking fun at those classic Peanuts holiday specials. It’s one installment in a growing humor series ‘54321,’ Paul co-wrote, executive produced, co-created with filmmaker Matthew Clark. Watch here Lander’s new video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn5vf2M8Ls0
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
NSNC 2026 Columnist Contest Read the Rules, Select Your Category, and Enter HERE Beginning on January 15, 2026, we are accepting entries from columnists, bloggers, and serial essayists for our Annual Columnist Contest (for work published in 2025). Enter here. We are accepting entries from columnists, bloggers, and serial essayists published in 2025. Everyone is welcome to…
The National Society of Newspaper Columnists 2026 Annual Columnist Contest is open and accepting entries through April 17. “We are accepting entries from columnists, bloggers, and serial essayists for work published in 2025. Everyone is welcome to submit. You don’t have to be an NSNC member to enter. However, you can save on entry fees by…
Join NSNC and Google at 7 p.m. EST on Jan. 21 for an “AI Tools for News” webinar. Topic: AI Tools for News Description: Whether it’s helping reporters sort through thousands of documents, or enabling people to access information in their own language, AI opens up new opportunities that could significantly improve billions of lives. Google’s mission…
