News about our annual conference – check back for updates!
By Suzette Martinez Standring NSNC Executive Director Putting a human face to a controversial issue is more difficult when that face is your own. NSNC keynote speaker José Antonio Vargas, founder of Define American, will share his story and the power of narrative at the NSNC’s Will Rogers Humanitarian Award banquet on Friday, June 8,…
By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist The last time Clarence Page spoke at a National Society of Newspaper Columnists conference, the syndicated Chicago Tribune writer was honored with our 2007 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award in Philadelphia. This year, Page will return as a June 9 keynoter at the 2018 NSNC conference in Cincinnati – not…
By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President There was once a folksy columnist and distinguished wartime chronicler who left such an indelible mark on journalism that NSNC gives its most prestigious award in his name, and celebrates National Columnists Day in his honor. That journalist was Ernie Pyle, and today NSNC is proud to announce a…
By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp Communications Director and NSNC18 Conference Chair The Cincinnati Zoo, Graeter’s Ice Cream, and Cincinnati Public Radio come together for a special afternoon on Friday, June 8th, during the NSNC annual conference. Attendees will enjoy “Sundae Service” courtesy of historic Graeter’s Ice Cream at the Treetops Facility in the Cincinnati Zoo while…
By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President Does this sound familiar? You’ve finally arrived home after numerous trips to the local strip malls to buy the latest toy for your niece, twinkle lights for the porch, ear warmers for your spouse, and supplies to bake 12 dozen pecan tarts for the neighborhood cookie exchange. Then, it…
by Rick Horowitz NSNC Member Can We Be Honest Here? “Society” is a ridiculous word to describe us. “Society” is posh. Precious. Pinkies are extended. Platitudes are uttered. We’re talking about columnists, for pity’s sake! A national “society” of columnists? You might as well speak of a “mob” of philatelists. A “coven” of neurosurgeons. An…
President’s Message By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President Unless you plan to spend the entire month writing your Thanksgiving dinner shopping list, November is the best time to finish those literary projects that never seem to get done. You know, the manuscript that you started years ago that is buried in your document files. Or…
By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist The National Society of Newspaper Columnists is proud to announce that our 2018 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is…Connie Schultz! Ms. Schultz – the much-admired, widely read 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner for commentary – received the award during the NSNC’s June 7-10, 2018, conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. When asked…
This is the 24th in a series of articles about winners of the NSNC’s annual Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award. By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist Three great writing names of the past and present came together last year when Leonard Pitts Jr. received the 2016 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award at the Will Rogers Ranch…
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…
By Suzette Martinez Standring Next year, the City of Seven Hills will be easy on our bills! The NSNC is happy to announce that our 2018 conference will be held at the Kingsgate Marriott Conference Center at the University of Cincinnati, 151 Goodman Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45219. Mark your calendars for Thursday-Sunday, June 7-10, 2018. The special…
By Robert L. Haught With the umpire’s cry of “Play Ball!”, writers from 24 states unofficially opened the NSNC’s 41st annual conference with a play night. They came from coast to coast and border to border to gather in Manchester, NH, for a long weekend of fun, fellowship, and learning. Thursday offered a perfect evening for…
by Suzette Martinez Standring photo by Cynthia Ballard Borris In Manchester, New Hampshire, Boston Globe columnist Derrick Z. Jackson opened with lyrics from the play “Hamilton,” which he customized to columnists. It was an apt segue into a talk by the Pulitzer finalist and multiple-award-winning writer about how he has kept readers engaged. He shared three…
By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President Registration is now open. Register HERE. You may have recently unpacked from our wildly successful #NSNC17 conference in Manchester, New Hampshire, but mark your calendars again, because you’ll be traveling to the Midwest next spring! In a unanimous vote on the final day of our June conference, NSNC’s general…
This is the 20th in a series of articles about winners of the NSNC’s annual Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award. By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist Five years after receiving the Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award at our 2012 conference in Macon, Georgia, how does Gail Collins feel about that honor? “Well, the plaque is standing…
On Saturday, June 10, 2017 Maureen Dowd of the New York Times received the 2017 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. The event was part of the NSNC’s annual conference held at the Manchester Radisson in New Hampshire. Lisa Smith Molinari is the 2017 president and Mike…
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire, June 10, 2017 — College humor columnist Archer Parquette penned a farcical story — on deadline — to win the 2017 Jeff Kramer Mystic Tie Award of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Mystic Tie is one of two NSNC contests where entries are gathered and judged within the conference, this year’s…
