Writing a book sometimes seems like shooting for the moon, so New England science writers got a welcome boost early in February from two experienced writers on outer space. Marcia Bartusiak and Andrew Chaikin suggested ways to turn reams of research, acquired over months and years, into inviting narrative. Bartusiak wrote Thursday's Universe (Times Books, 1986) and Through a Universe Darkly (Harper/Collins, 1993). Viking published Chaikin's A Man On The Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts in 1994.
The D.C. Science Writers' Association (DCSWA) has grown to over 300 paid active members and holds an event every month in or near Washington, D.C. On February 9, DCSWA, with the help of 17 sponsors, threw a party at the Camden Club at the Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore for about 500 science writers who were in that city for the AAAS/NASW annual meeting. Dugout tours were very popular! In January, DCSWA met at the NIH Clinical Center and heard researchers from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Johns Hopkins Department of Neurology discuss their use of brain scans to discover mind\brain connections responsible for normal and abnormal behavior. DCSWA is planning a session with science journal editors to discuss embargoes, especially now that many journals are going online.
#