NSNC 2026 Columnist Contest - Now Open

Sunshine Week March 15-21, 2026

Consider a Gift to the NSNC Education Foundation

Join NSNC and Reap the Benefits!

NSNC 2026 Columnist Contest - Now Open

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.

Sunshine Week March 15-21, 2026

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

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

Join NSNC and Reap the Benefits!

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!

Selling Reprints

[Note: A 6:34 audio podcast of this column can be streamed or downloaded at this Soundcloud page.] By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp Most publications purchase columns for First North American Serial Rights. This means they get to publish it first and after an embargo period, usually specified in your contract, the writer is free to reprint…

Plagiarism Fiasco at the New York Daily News – An Analysis

New York Daily News logo

Guest Column By Joseph E. Rathjen Member, National Society of Newspaper Columnists Attribute … Attribute … Attribute. Authors hear that word constantly from responsible editors who have only their publication’s and their writers’ best (legal) interests at heart. Plagiarism is an accusation that echoes through a newspaper’s editorial halls like a sonic boom and one…

2016 Column Contest Finalists

#NSNC16 Annual Contest Judges have completed their task and chosen the finalists of the 2016 Annual Column Contest of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. They’ve also ranked them, but that’s a secret until the June 25 Awards Banquet of the 40th annual NSNC Conference, June 24-26 at the Hotel Angeleno in Los Angeles. Finalists…

Hospitality: Yeah, We’ve Got That!

Logo -- The 40th annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists will be June 24-26, 2016, at the Hotel Angeleno in Los Angeles.

#NSNC2016 – Los Angeles By Michele “Wojo” Wojciechowski By now, you’ve read a lot about this year’s NSNC Conference: the big names in the writing business who are speaking, the opportunities to pitch and the places you’ll go. But have you really thought about how much fun you’ll have? Well, let me tell you. ……

Longhorn Wins 2016 Scholarship

Jake Schmidt

Jeff Zaslow College Columnist Award A Longhorn has been named the 2016 recipient of the Jeff Zaslow College Columnist Award. Jake Schmidt of the University of Texas at Austin will receive $1,000 from the scholarship contest sponsor, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education Foundation. The check will be presented in a ceremony Saturday, June…

Nonfiction Conference Offers Columnists Discount

The sixth annual Nonfiction Writers Conference will be May 4-6, 2016. This is a virtual (online) event featuring 15 speakers over the three days. The NWC is offering members of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists a special 30 percent-off discount code. It is NSNC30. When you register at the conference website, enter NSNC30 where…