The 34th annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists will be the first on a university campus and attendees will “Get Schooled” in sessions on writing and contemporary media through of the resources of Indiana University and the cultural and culinary amenities of IU and Bloomington, Indiana.
We’ll celebrate our Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Miami Herald columnist and award-winning author, Carl Hiassen. We’ll have a session to examine the life and writing style of Pyle, our patron saint and a native Hoosier who left IU a semester short of graduation. And we’ll take a little field trip to the picturesque, 108-acre Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center just outside of town, where we’ll have a Tibetan buffet lunch and hear from lama Arjia Rinpoche, author of the current book, “Surviving the Dragon” and director of the center. We will miss the 14th Dalai Lama’s sixth visit to the monastery and cultural center by a few weeks, however.
There will be music. It’s no accident that there is a piano on stage of the Frangipani Room, where we’ll conduct our sessions. As the birthplace of the classic American songwriter, Hoagy Carmichael, the virtuoso violinist, Joshua Bell, and the longtime home of Hall of Fame rocker John Mellencamp, there is a rich musical heritage here that encompasses many genres. IU’s Jacobs School of Music is the largest and some say best in the country, its Musical Arts Center is one of the nation’s finest opera halls and the jazz studies department under David Baker (conductor and artistic director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra) is world renowned.
We also are the harp capital of America and there happens to be an international harp competition in town when we meet. We plan to kidnap at least one harpist for our enjoyment.
Come for the workshop sessions, the camaraderie, the hospitality. Take time to tour what has been rated as one of America’s top five most beautiful college campuses, with its predominant use of local limestone. And think about coming early or staying late and bringing the family. Our central location in Bloomington, Indiana is within a day’s driving distance of more than half of the nation’s population and we have plenty of things to see and do locally and within an hour in every direction --- from Indianapolis to the north to the jaw-dropping restored resort complex to the south at French Lick/West Baden.
In fact, we’re going to offer an optional Sunday trip to stunning French Lick-West Baden, in which conference attendees can visit or stay overnight. Golfers might note that an overnight stay will enable them to play, if they wish, the jaw-dropping pairing of a Donald Ross-designed course next to a Pete Dye course. The two greatest course designers of their generations in one place.
Room rates at the three-star hotel within the castle-like Indiana Memorial Union are very favorable and for the nostalgic or budget-minded, we’re also offering another NSNC first: a dorm room option in the nicely renovated Wendell Willkie Residence Hall.
Make your reservations now. Space is limited (but Hoosier Hospitality is not).
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FINAL WEEK TO ENTER!
SEND IN YOUR CONTEST ENTRY!!
For full details including a link to the CONTEST ENTRY FORM click here. Get your submissions ready. They need to be postmarked no later thanMarch 15th!!
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Deadline March 15 for Will Rogers Humanitarian Award
Nominations are being accepted for the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award, presented annually to a columnist whose work has positively affected readers' lives and produced tangible benefits for the community served by the columnist's newspaper.
Winners of the prestigious Erma Bombeck Writing Competition have been announced. Winners will receive $100 cash and have their essays published in the Dayton Daily News.
First Place in Humor went to Barb Best of Sherman Oaks, CA, while Human Interest First Place winner was Rita Lussier of Jamestown, RI.
In addition to the first place winners, four honorable mention winners each were announced for Humor and Human Interest categories and also two Dayton, OH, winners and two local honorable mentions were selected in each category.
Wonder what ever happened with that Membership Survey you took your valuable time to answer? No, it did not fall into the black hole or get filed in the infamous circular file. It was compiled by the NSNC Director and carefully read by every single board member. We are working right now to implement as many of your thoughtful suggestions as possible. A news release summarizing the results has been sent to media. If you are interested in the overall results, and of course you are, go here.
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President's Message
By Samantha Bennett, NSNC President
In this month's Presidential Message, an invitation to become involved...
"Meanwhile, the board is also sifting through and analyzing the results of the recent membership survey. One consistently hot topic among NSNC membership is the columnists.com Web site, and new Vice President Ben Pollock (a stalwart and engaged NSNC leader who is both full of ideas and practical about implementing them) has asked me to call for volunteers for a committee for revising the Web site. "
Undergraduates (including seniors) who write bylined general interest or editorial page columns that appear in the print or on-line editions of college newspapers. A college newspaper is one whose main circulation is on a college campus. Specialized columnists, such as movie reviewers and sports commentators, are not eligible. Columns carrying dual by-lines are eligible but only one prize will be awarded.
Instructions and the entry form are located here. No entry fee is required.
The first-prize winner, determined by judges chosen by the NSNC, will receive a scholarship of $1,000 and will be the guest of the NSNC at its 2010 convention in Bloomington, Ind., July 8-11, 2010. Second-prize winner will receive $500. Third-prize winner will receive $250.
APPLICATION MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN MARCH 31, 2010. PLEASE SEND YOUR ENTRY TO: Russell Frank, College of Communications, Carnegie Building, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802.
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GREAT QUOTES
It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper. ~~ Jerry Seinfeld
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Need more reasons to attendent the NSNC Conference in 2010?
If the Kinsey Institute Isn't Enough ...
By Suzette Martinez Standring Author, "The Art of Column Writing"
If you miss the July 8-11, 2010 NSNC conference in Bloomington, Indiana, you will miss your best chance to become an even better columnist. Carefully crafted emails will never replace face-to-face camaraderie. There is no substitute for hearing in person how one's peers successfully navigate our ever-changing terrain. Don't give up. Industry layoffs and lulls between freelance gigs will not silence the voices of columnists permanently. CONTINUED
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DID YOU KNOW??? The Columnist.com website welcomes article submissions. See the submission guidelines for more information.
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Renew Your Membership Today
Did you forget? It’s time again to renew your membership in NSNC, the oldest and largest professional organization for news and online columnists. We want and need you as part of our columnist family. Please don’t leave an empty spot where your face used to be. It’s never been easier to renew than it is right now with online, credit card, and check options. Invest in yourself. You're worth it!
EASY RENEWALMembership is less than a dollar a week.
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Celestine Sibley honored in Georgia
The Georgia Women of Achievement will induct Celestine Sibley into its Hall of Fame in 2010. Sibley was a syndicated columnist who received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists in 1999. She is also a member of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. The mission of the Hall of Fame is to recognize and honor women native to or clearly identified with the State of Georgia, who have made extraordinary contributions within their fields of endeavor.
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"Miracle on the Hudson" Sullenberger retires
Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger announced that he is retiring. Sullenberger became a national hero when he landed a U.S. Airways jetliner in the Hudson River and all 155 people aboard the plane survived. He is making a round of national appearances to promote his new book, “Highest Duty” co-authored by NSNC member Jeff Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal, who authored three best-selling books in 2009. After retirement, Sullenberger plans to make public speaking appearances and to write another book.
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Supreme Court rules on Freelance Copyright Case
On March 2, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision involving payment to freelance writers for online use of their work. This ruling means that freelancers have the right to make infringement claims on works whether a copyright is registered or not. The judgement followed a landmark Supreme Court ruling for writers in 2001 saying that freelance writers have online rights to their work.
Anyone can become a fan of NSNC Facebook and get news and make comments.
Open access to Columnists' Channel. A YouTube or Google account is needed to subscribe. To upload video, click on Contact to send message to moderator.
NEW conference sponsors for 2010!
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The National Society of Newspaper Columnists was founded in 1977 and exists to promote professionalism and camaraderie among North American newspaper columnists. Membership is open to general interest, humor, op-ed, online, or other newspaper columnists. Academics and student columnists also are eligible to join. The annual conference is NSNC's primary event. The group also publishes a monthly newsletter, maintains this website and advocates for columnists and free-press issues. New members are welcome - please join us!
National Society of Newspaper Columnists
P.O. Box 411532
San Francisco, CA 94141
Phone: toll free (866) 440-NSNC (6762) / Fax: toll free (866) 635-5759
Room rates at the three-star hotel within the castle-like Indiana Memorial Union are very favorable and for the nostalgic or budget-minded, we’re also offering another NSNC first: a dorm room option in the nicely renovated Wendell Willkie Residence Hall.
Deadline March 15 for Will Rogers Humanitarian Award 
Winners of the prestigious Erma Bombeck Writing Competition have been announced. Winners will receive $100 cash and have their essays published in the Dayton Daily News.
By Suzette Martinez Standring
Did you forget? It’s time again to renew your membership in NSNC, the oldest and largest professional organization for news and online columnists. We want and need you as part of our columnist family. Please don’t leave an empty spot where your face used to be. It’s never been easier to renew than it is right now with online, credit card, and check options. Invest in yourself. You're worth it!
The Georgia Women of Achievement will induct Celestine Sibley into its Hall of Fame in 2010. Sibley was a syndicated columnist who received the 
