The ScienceWriters conference is a meeting for science writers, by science writers.
The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (CASW) is committed to improving the quantity and quality of science news reaching the public. Led by a board of directors composed of senior journalists and others committed to excellence in the communication of science, CASW develops and funds programs to help reporters and writers produce accurate and informative stories about developments in science, technology, medicine and the environment. Sixty years after its founding in 1959, CASW adopted a new focus on the quality, diversity and sustainability of science journalism, in response to the challenges facing the field in the 21st century. CASW honors superior writing by bestowing the Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award, the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting and the Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for a Young Science Journalist. The Council’s contributions to science writing and public understanding of science were recognized in 2003 when it received the prestigious Public Service Award of the National Science Board (NSB). CASW is a non-profit charitable organization chartered under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
The National Association of Science Writers (NASW) is a community of ~ 2,300 journalists, authors, editors, producers, institutional communicators, students and people who write and produce material intended to inform the public about science, health, engineering, and technology. NASW promotes the professional interests of science writers nationally and globally, plays an active role in supporting efforts to ensure writers are paid for their work, and advocates for copyright protections for writers.
NASW fights for the free flow of science news and actively promotes press freedom and facilitates efforts to preserve and improve access to information related to science and scientific research. NASW recognizes excellence in the field with its annual Science in Society Journalism Awards, which honor innovative reporting that goes well beyond the science itself and into ethical problems and social implications for communities and society at large, and the Excellence in Institutional Writing Awards, which recognize high-caliber, publicly accessible science writing produced on behalf of an institution or other non-media organization.
NASW is committed to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. We value these principles for how they enrich our profession. This commitment applies to every aspect of NASW and extends to the broader field of science writing. We believe that it is impossible to identify and communicate the full range of stories about science without incorporating the perspective of storytellers, subjects, and sources that represent the breadth of human experience.
