Last summer, 807 participants from 77 countries met in Helsinki, Finland, to attend the 8th World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ). Over the course of five days, more than 50 sessions, workshops, and plenary talks together with social events ranging from cocktails aboard an Ice Breaker to traditional Finnish dancing on an open-air stage took place. From the Fall 2013 ScienceWriters.
Science writing news
Each February, NASW hosts an internship fair at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). And each year, editors and science communicators from esteemed media outlets take part to assess the next batch of bright-eyed students who might one day work beside them. From the Fall 2013 ScienceWriters.
Special online event: Join us January 15th at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific for a talk with the writers and editors of The Science Writers' Handbook. To join the conversation, simply visit http://shindig.com/event/scilance at the appointed time.
The only time most of us think of doing something about our federal income taxes is once a year — the hours we spend actually grappling with Form 1040 or when gathering records to deliver them to a paid preparer. From the Fall 2013 ScienceWriters.
On November 2, 2013, Michael Newman received the Diane McGurgan Service award in recognition of his efforts to contribute to the annual ScienceWriters meeting.
Matthew Bettelheim teamed up with illustrator Nicole M. Wong to write a children’s book about the Lange’s metalmark butterfly, an endangered species found only in one California wildlife refuge. In 1999, the peak butterfly count in a single day totaled 2,342; in 2012, the daily count peaked at 32. Writing the book in verse proved challenging, Bettelheim says, as “not much rhymes with ‘metamorphosis.’”
Throughout the year, we will be releasing videos or excerpts of selected NASW professional development workshop session to share with those unable to attend [ScienceWriters2013](http://www.sciencewriters2013.org). The first session released is [The XX Question](http://www.sciencewriters2013.org/sessions/d1-xx-question.html), taped on Saturday, November 2, 2013.
The National Association of Science Writers is pleased to offer a new benefit to its members. "The Fine Print" is a searchable database of writing and editing contracts, donated by members, for other members to read, compare and cite. Members can search the database by type of work, medium, and client category, and for clauses dealing with copyright, warranties, and other provisions. For all rewards of NASW membership, see our member benefits page.
The unearthing in the 1990s of a cemetery for black slaves in New York City prompted curiosity about a little publicized fact of colonial American life, slavery of blacks in the North. A costly study of human remains from the cemetery yielded little useful information, David Zimmerman asserts.