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

Government Funding of Public News Services

Should U.S. government funds continue to help fund NPR, a non-profit radio service? An October 2010 Poll Position nationwide survey found that 45 percent of Americans favor continuing government funding for NPR while 39 percent called for a halt to funding. Partisan differences were found among those who favor the funding versus those who did…

Milking the Writing Cow

Suzette Martinez Standring

From the November 2010 issue of the e-Columnist newsletter By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-05 NSNC Past President As a long time freelance columnist, I used to envy the steady paycheck and job security of my salaried colleagues as I chased after writing gigs and venues. Today, newspapers have decimated their ranks of columnists and reporters,…

Certifiably

Ben Pollock

President’s Message First published in the November 2010 issue of the e-Columnist By Ben S. Pollock NSNC President “Politics make strange bedfellows” goes the quote by 19th-century newspaperman Charles Dudley Warner, and this fall it’s been columnists getting renown for jumping on the mattress. Columnists, commentators, news analysts, bloggers, interest-group hacks, cable yaks — aren’t…

In the November Newsletter

President Ben Pollock explores the various aspects of certification and the values of being a member in good standing of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Past President Suzette Martinez Standring writes about “Milking the Writing Cow.” You’ll also see what some of your colleagues are writing about and what others are doing to advance…

Bennett Leads Ghost Tours

Former President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, Samantha Bennett, is one of several tour guides who will be telling scary ghost stories during walking tours of Pittsburgh this October. Sponsors believe it is a nice way to tell Pittsburgh history and ghost stories at the same time. After taking a buyout at the…

Standring Piece Takes First Place

Suzette Martinez Standring

Suzette Martinez Standring won First Place in the Unpublished Essay category in the 2010 Royal Palm Literary Awards competition sponsored by the Florida Writers Association. “The Height of Power: Petite Women Speak of Stature,” shares the experiences and challenges of women, 5-foot-3 and under, who successfully navigate the world at armpit level. The essay encapsulated the concept for Standring’s current…