Awards
Stories featured on CASW Showcase are selected by a panel of volunteer judges from work recognized by recent awards given by scholarly and professional organizations. The awards from which Showcase stories are drawn include the following:
AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards
AAAS award winners in the Showcase collection
Established in 1945 and endowed in 2009 by The Kavli Foundation, these awards are designed to recognize distinguished science reporting by professional journalists. In 2015, the competition became fully international, allowing journalists across the globe to enter the competition. The awards are presented every year at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in February. Awards are given for newspaper, magazine, television, radio and online news and children’s science news. In each of eight categories, there are two awards: Gold, with a prize of $5,000, and Silver, with a prize of $3,500.
More information can be found on the AAAS website. Entries are typically due August 1st of each year.
CASW’s Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award
Clark/Payne award winners in the Showcase collection
This award, established in 1989 and presented by CASW, is intended to encourage young science writers by recognizing outstanding reporting and writing in any science field. Each year, the winner receives $1,000 and expenses to attend the ScienceWriters conference. The awards honor two Business Week journalists who offered friendship and advice to generations of young journalists.
More information can be found on the main CASW website. Entries are due by June 30th of each year. The recipient must be 30 years old or younger on that date.
CASW’s Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting
Cohn Prize winners in the Showcase collection
Since it was established by CASW in 2000, this prize has sought to honor not a single story but a body of work published by a single journalist that has made a lasting contribution to the public’s understanding of critical advances in medical science and their impact on human health. As of $5,000, thanks to underwriting by Michelson Philanthropies, the winner receives an award of $5,000 and expenses to attend the ScienceWriters conference. The prize honors the late science editor of the Washington Post.
More information can be found at the main CASW website. Entries are due by June 30th of each year.
NASW’s Science in Society Journalism Awards
NASW award winners in the Showcase collection
These awards, which were established by the National Association of Science Writers in 1972, honor and encourage outstanding investigative reporting about the sciences and their impact on society. Winners in each of four categories receive a cash prize of $2,500, typically presented at the ScienceWriters meeting.
More information can be found on the NASW website. Entries are typically due by February 1st of each year.
Victor K. McElheny Award
McElheny Award winners in the Showcase collection
The Victor K. McElheny Award was launched by the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT to recognize outstanding local and regional journalism covering issues in science, public health, technology, or the environment. Each year the award honors a series or standalone piece with a $10,000 prize.
National Academies Keck Futures Initiative Communication Awards
National Academies award winners in the Showcase collection
Established in 2002 by the National Academy of Sciences with funding from the W. M. Keck Foundation, these awards were designed to promote effective communication in science, engineering, medicine, and any interdisciplinary work within and beyond the scientific community. The final awards under this program were bestowed in October 2019.
European Science Writer of the Year
European Science Writer award winners in the Showcase collection
The European Science Writers Award is delivered to editors and writers for their achievements for the promotion of science journalism in Europe. The senior prize is given for a lifetime achievement and two junior prizes are awarded every two years.
More information can be found here.
AGU’s David Perlman and Walter Sullivan Awards
AGU award winners in the Showcase collection
Established in 2000 by the American Geophysical Union, the David Perlman award recognizes excelled in science news reporting and the Walter Sullivan award recognizes excellence in science features. Both awards consist of a plaque and a $5,000 prize.
More information can be found on the AGU website.
AIP’s Science Communication Award
AIP award winners in the Showcase collection
Established in the 1960s, this award recognizes some of the best science writing of the previous year. Winning authors receive a prize of $3,000, an engraved Windsor chair and a certificate of recognition.
More information can be found on AIP website.
