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!
By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President Sometimes, we writers take ourselves too seriously. Many have implied that they wouldn’t exist without their craft, claiming, “I write; therefore, I am.” However, a more realistic statement for columnists today might be, “I write; therefore, I have a day job to pay the bills.” Perhaps a more apropos…
This is the 23rd in a series of articles about winners of the NSNC’s annual Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award. By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist Judith “Miss Manners” Martin received the 2015 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award at our conference in Indianapolis, but I didn’t take notes during her acceptance speech. Bad manners by me?…
The National Society of Newspaper Columnists is pleased to announce we are now accepting article submissions from NSNC members for our monthly newsletter and website. If you’re not a member, become one. Read the full guidelines and see what themes we’d like to highlight in our Editorial Calendar. We feel strongly that writers should be compensated…
By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp Communications Director Many of us are freelancing these days — which means we’re looking for leads, reading submission guidelines, and pitching stories to new publications on a regular basis. Ideally, every publication would have clear writer’s guidelines that include the managing editor’s name, contact, columns accepting submissions, and desired word count. However,…
By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President This time of year always reminds me of my mother coming into my room on the first day back to school, ruffling the tangled hair on my sleeping head, and singing her own version of mess call, “Soupy, soupy, soupy, cornbread, and beans!” It was the undeniable signal that…
This is the 22nd in a series of articles about winners of the NSNC’s annual Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award. By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist It’s fitting that Gene Weingarten received our 2014 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award just a year after Dave Barry won the 2013 Pyle prize. They’re both humorists (though Weingarten is…
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…
