NSNC 2026 Columnist Contest - Deadline Extended to May 1

Consider a Gift to the NSNC Education Foundation

NSNC 2026 Columnist Contest - Deadline Extended to May 1

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.

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

The NSNC’s New Veep Has a Résumé Quite Deep

By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist Tony Norman, a longtime Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist and former NSNC treasurer, is now back on our board as vice president. In this email Q&A from September 17, Tony seriously/humorously/eloquently discusses everything from the NSNC to his unusually varied, multi-award-winning P-G career – including why he left a music beat to…

My ‘Cinderella Story’: Following Leads to Success

By Susan Moore Jordan NSNC Member In the performing arts, we often hear about an overnight success that isn’t really that at all; it generally follows many years of hard work. But we love the glamour of the myth. A few years ago, I heard this from a former private voice student near the end…

Three Things to Consider Before Becoming a Columnist

By Chris Carosa NSNC President In July, shortly after our wildly successful annual conference in Buffalo, Michael Marrer? posted this in our private member-only Columnist Clubhouse Facebook page: CURRENT STATE OF NEW SYNDICATION? Wanting to know in advance if I am engaging in a fool’s errand and/or just beating my head against a wall, given…

And the 2019 Columnist Contest Winners Are…

A. General Interest – Print — Publications Over 50,000 Circulation First Place Dave Lieber: The Dallas Morning News “Through a lively combination of consumer advocacy and investigative reporting, Lieber’s columns were models of suspenseful storytelling and public service.” Links to winning columns: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2018/01/19/thanks-readers-waitress-beat-auto-dealer-court-gets-surprise-lifetime https://www.dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2018/11/19/jfks-assassin-shot-husband-wants-buried Second Place Maria Panaritis: The Philadelphia Inquirer “With the persistence of…

Buffalo Speaker Dave Lieber Adds Playwright to His Long Résumé

By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist Dave Lieber will talk about TED at our annual conference, but Amon is also on his mind. When Dave speaks at our Buffalo conference June 22, the Dallas Morning News “Watchdog” columnist will tell attendees what a TED talk is, why they should do one, and how to make that…