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!

Columnists Cover ‘Charlie Hebdo’ Attack

NSNC is honored to stand among these journalism organizations. Graphic courtesy of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Journalists, American ones at least, keep a rope line between reportage and commentary, and by extension between photojournalism and illustration. U.S. discussions on news concentrate on the presentation of factual material. If we accept, though, that journalism is inclusive in this continuum — and the major media practitioner societies show this by endorsing the “Je…

NSNC Condemns ‘Hebdo’ Attack

“A journalist’s most important and powerful tools are words, but even they are inadequate in expressing the horror we at the National Society of Newspaper Columnists feel about the attack on the staff of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. It also was an attack on freedom — and free speech — everywhere. “Thomas Jefferson said,…

2015 Columnist Scholarship Extended to April 1

Click to open an 8 1/2 by 11 PDF of the poster.

Jeff Zaslow College Columnist Award Contest Each year, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education Foundation sponsors a unique scholarship for student columnists. College writers are encouraged to enter our 17th annual contest for collegiate newspaper columnists. The winner receives a $1,000 scholarship. Second- and third-place finalists receive certificates of achievement. In addition, the winner…

2015 Column Contest Extended to April 1!

The annual contest of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists is open! The deadline this year is: Sunday, March 15, midnight Pacific Has been extended to midnight Pacific on Wednesday, April 1! Besides fame, winners and finalists get a token of fortune: $300 for first place, $200 for second and $100 for third. Finalists and…

Payment Options for 2015 Column Contest

Entering the 2015 NSNC Column Contest requires two steps: Completing the entry form and paying the fee. Each has convenient options. The 2015 Contest Entry Form is available in two versions: Entry form as PDF Entry form as Word doc Print out your choice, fill out and postal-mail to NSNC headquarters with a check. Mailed-in…

Rules of 2015 Column Contest

These are the rules for the 2015 column contest, covering columns published in the 2014 calendar year. First place in each category will receive $300, second place $200 and third place $100, in addition to certificates. Honorable mentions receive certificates. Deadline for entries is Sunday, March 15, 2015, now Wednesday, April 1, 2015, midnight Pacific.…