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

No Cons, Just Pros for Protégé Program

Member Ship By Amanda Beam Membership Chair National Society of Newspaper Columnists Fire baptizes those of us new to the writing business nowadays. Like risk-taking toddlers, we jump in feet first into the profession without checking if the opportunities float in hot lava or chocolate sauce. Part of the problem stems from a lack of…

La La L.A. Conference 2016

Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles, California

#NSNC16 – Los Angeles The 2016 conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists will be June 23-26 in Los Angeles. Here is the secure link to register for the conference: tinyurl.com/nsnc16la . It’ll be based at the Hotel Angeleno. Here is the link for making reservations in its NSNC room block: tinyurl.com/NatlSocietyNewspaperColumnists. We have a limited…

Membership Magic – The Other Kind

Member Ship By Amanda Beam NSNC Membership Chair We are you. Hold on a minute. That sounded a little too I’ve-been-eating-special-brownies-in-Denver Zen. Let me explain. Our members create the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Every volunteer on the board, all contributors, each due-paying supporter is this organization. Our existence would cease without your backing. You…

2015 Will Rogers Writing Contest Winners Announced

Will Rogers Writers Foundation

Eileen Mitchell has added another award to her collection. The writer-author-blogger from Palatine, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, is the first-place winner in the 2015 Will Rogers Writing Contest. Her essay, “Roped in by Technology,” was judged the top entry in a national competition to find the best examples of the style of writing practiced by…

Does Free Writing for HuffPost Make Cents in the End?

Logo of Huffington Post

The Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 NSNC President Many columnists write for free on The Huffington Post, with the aim of parlaying the exposure into money elsewhere. But does it happen? Many writers have long been angry with HP for not paying its writers, but today is that feeling just as…

California Screamin’

Hotel Angeleno, Los Angeles

President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists It’s October, the month that ends with Halloween, so I’ll begin this message with both a trick and a treat by saying that I have great news about the 2016 NSNC conference, which will be held June 23-26 in Los Angeles: We are not,…