(N.B: These are awards offered by other organisations and groups, independent of SJAA.)
These awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science honour reporting on the sciences, mathematics and engineering by professional journalists from around the world. Categories including newspapers, magazines, television, audio, online and children’s science news. Entries are judged on “scientific accuracy, initiative, originality, clarity of interpretation, and value in fostering a better public understanding of science and its impact.” The award is open to entries published between 16 July the previous year and 15 July the current year, and the submission window for the 2020 awards closed on 1 August 2020.
In honour of cancer scientist, mentor and pioneer, the June L. Biedler Prize for Cancer Journalism – from the American Association for Cancer Research – recognises “outstanding journalistic coverage that enhances the public’s understanding of cancer, cancer research, or cancer policy”. The prize is open to print, online, television or radio works for a lay audience, published between January-November 2018, with a US$5000 cash prize. Entries for the 2021 awards closed January 29, 2021.
The American Geophysical Union has three journalism awards: the David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism for news writing, the Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism for feature writing, and the Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achievement in Science Journalism. Nominations are open from January 15 – March 15.
These awards, run by the American Institute of Physics, are designed to recognise the best science writing, which “improve the general public’s appreciation of the physical sciences, astronomy, math and related science fields.” Awards are given in the categories of books; science writing in newspapers, magazines and online; broadcast and new media; and writing for children. A prize of $3000 is offered for each category. Entries from the 2017 calendar year are due 30 March 2018. These awards are not being offered in 2021.
The ABSW runs these annual awards with a huge range of categories including awards for investigative journalism, writing for a specialist audience, podcasting, editing and many more. The entry window opens around January each year.
Run by the Association of Health Care Journalists, these awards honour “the best health reporting in print, broadcast and online media” from this calendar year. Categories include investigative, consumer, health policy, public health and trade. First prize is US$500, and entries for the 2021 awards closed on January 26.
Run by the Australasian Medical Writers’ Association, this award is intended to encourage AMWA members into full-time medical writing. Applications close on 31 March 2021 and the prize includes travel and accommodation for the annual AMWA conference, and advice and assistance from experienced medical writers.
In 2021, there are two science journalism prizes in the Australian Museum Eureka Awards, honouring Australian journalists or team of journalists “whose work is assessed as having most effectively communicated scientific or technological issues to the public.” These awards are open to Australian citizens or residents. Entries for the 2021 awards close 28 May 2021. The winners receive a $10,000 prize.
Established by UNSW Press – publisher of the Best Australian Science Writing anthology – this is an annual prize for the best short non-fiction piece on science written for a general audience. Entries open from 1 January and close 31 March, the first prize is $7000 and two runners-up receive $1500. All shortlisted entries will be published in the Anthology.
The international magazine Cancer World, published by the European School of Oncology, runs a journalism award that “encourages, celebrates and rewards journalists who deliver insights into the personal and social impact of the disease, and efforts to change policy, practice or advocacy.” The award is open to print, online, radio, video or television, in categories of patient and carer experience; research, science and treatment; policy, services and affordability; and prevention. The prize in each category is €1500. Entries close 30 April 2021.
The Crawford Fund is offering a food security journalism award to enable an Australian print, broadcast or online journalist to “undertake a ‘seeing is believing’ visit to agriculture for development projects in the field, and interact with students, researchers, and local farmers as passionate as those we have heard from today, and to share their stories with the Australian public.” Entries for the 2018 awards close on the 15 June, 2018.
The Dietitians Association of Australia runs these awards to “encourage accurate and responsible reporting on nutrition issues in the media [and] acknowledge and celebrate quality nutrition reporting by Australian journalists.” The two categories – short-lead and long-lead – each come with a $2000 cash prize. Entries are open until December 31. These awards do not appear to be offered at the moment.
The Endocrine Society (US) established this annual award to honour journalists for “outstanding reporting that enhances public understanding of medical and science issues pertaining to the field of endocrinology.” Entries are generally due in December, winners are announced in March, details are available here.
This joint award series from Schmidt Futures and the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine honours “science journalists and research scientists who have developed creative, original work that addresses issues and advances in science, engineering, and/or medicine for the general public.” It is open internationally, and the entry window for 2022 closes on 3 April.
This award from the US-based Council for the Advancement of Science Writing is “intended to encourage young science writers by recognizing outstanding reporting and writing in any field of science.” Applicants must aged under 30 years, and the prize includes US$1000. The award is open to international journalists but preferably ones that are writing in international or US publications. The entry window closes June 30.
This joint initiative of the Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Barilla Centre for Food & Nutrition honours “excellence in reporting and communicating issues related to food security, sustainability, agriculture and nutrition.” The awards are given in the categories of Written, Photography and Video, and can be awarded to unpublished as well as published work. Published winners receive a €10,000 cash prize, and unpublished winners receive an all-expenses paid trip to attend a Thomson Reuters Foundation media training course on food sustainability. Entry window is open from January-May. These awards haven’t been offered since 2018.
The Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources offers two separate grants designed to “help defray the costs of reporting projects that focus on natural resources, the environment, energy, development, agriculture, environmental justice, and public health.” The Frank Allen Field Reporting Award is a grant of up to US$500, and the Andrew Weegar Memorial Award is a grant of up to US$1000 that focuses on conservation, traditional agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Details for the 2021 awards are yet to be posted.
Sponsored by the American Chemical Society, this award aims to “recognize, encourage, and stimulate outstanding reporting directly to the public, which materially increases the public’s knowledge and understanding of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related fields”. Deadline for entries is November 1, and the prize includes US$5,000, and up to $2,500 for travel expenses to the meeting at which the award will be presented.
Awarded by the Columbia Journalism School in New York, in memory of John B. Oakes – former environmental journalist at the New York Times – this annual prize recognises “news reporting that makes an exceptional contribution to the public’s understanding of environmental issues”. It’s open to any article published in the United States, and entries for the 2021 award are due on April 22.
This award from PEN America recognises “writing that exemplifies literary excellence on the subject of the physical or biological sciences and communicates complex scientific concepts to a lay audience”. The winner receives a cash prize of US$10,000, and the 2021 submission window will be open from June 1 – August 1. Submissions must come from publishers or literary agents; authors may not submit their book directly.
The Melbourne Press Club’s annual Quill Awards for Journalistic Excellence now include a category for science, medicine and health reporting. Entries for the 2022 awards will open at the start of the year, and close around early February.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists‘ Media Award for Excellence “acknowledges the important role the media play in informing decision makers and the public about women’s health.” The award is open to journalists in print, radio, television, and online, as well as freelance journalists. Submissions must have been published between 1 October 2017 and 30 July 2018, and entries close 31 August 2018. This award has not been offered since 2018.
These awards, run by the US-based National Association of Science Writers, recognise “investigative or interpretive reporting about the sciences and their impact on society”. Submissions for the 2020 must have been published in North America in the 2020 calendar year, entries closed 1 February 2021. There are seven categories, including books, short, medium or long science reporting, opinion, and series, and each has a cash prize of US$2000.
The Australian Skeptics have launched The Barry Williams Award for Skeptical Journalism, named after the late Barry Williams, past president of the Australian Skeptics. The award recognises “the best piece of journalism (in any medium) that takes a critical and skeptical approach to a topic that falls within our remit, which is the scientific investigation of pseudoscience and the paranormal”. There is a prize of AU$2000 for a print, radio or TV piece, and the entry window closes 1 October.
This award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology honours “a member of the media for excellence in coverage of the personality and social psychology field.” The award can go to a particular piece of coverage or for a distinguished record of reporting. The prize is a US$500 honorarium, and the submission window is from March 15 to June 1.
Run by the US-based Society of Environmental Journalists, these awards honour the best environmental journalism across print, TV, radio and online, and for beat reporting, in-depth reporting and books, from around the world. The newly-introduced (2018) Nina Mason Pulliam Award for the ‘best of the best’ environmental reporting will award US $10,000 to one entry selected from the first-place winners of the other awards. Deadline for entry is 1 April, 2021 and entries are open to international journalists.