Nominations open for Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award 2025

The award, to be given annually, will recognize and support reporting and writing that embodies the high standards exemplified by Sharon Begley (1956–2021), a science journalist of unflinching dedication, skill, moral clarity, and commitment to mentoring.

Benefits

• The budget may include:
  • Reporting expenses
  • Examples: travel, equipment, data, FOIA costs
  • Living expenses during writing and pitching
  • Pitching expenses (for example, meeting with editors to pitch a book proposal)
  • Multimedia production costs

Award Information

• The Sharon Begley Award comprises a career prize, recognizing the accomplishments of a mid-career science journalist, and a grant of at least $20,000 to enable the winner to undertake a significant reporting project.

Eligible Projects

• Eligible work includes:
  • News
  • Features
  • Heavily reported columns, analysis, and other commentary
  • Newsletters
  • Book chapters (not entire books)
  • Podcasts
  • Video, audio, and multimedia storytelling

Eligibility Criteria

• Candidates should have been working journalists for at least 8–10 years, including significant experience in science journalism, or provide equivalent evidence of commitment to the field. Time spent as an editor counts toward eligibility.
• CASW aims to consider a highly competitive and highly diverse pool of candidates and encourages all mid-career science journalists to consider entering. Toward that end, there is no entry fee, and applications will be accepted online. Staff and independent journalists living and working anywhere in the world are eligible if they have published in news outlets that are available to international audiences. Although the award can be won only once, there is no limit of the number of times one can enter.
• Journalists who have served on the Sharon Begley Award Advisory Committee become eligible three years after their service ends.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Current CASW board members, staff, and contractors, as well as members of their households, are ineligible.

Judging Criteria

• Although the award is not given to recognize character or virtue, the judges may also consider evidence of a candidate’s:
  • Advocacy for journalism, fact-based public discourse, public accountability, quality and rigor in the communication of science
  • Collaborative skill and successful work as a member of a team
  • Mentorship and professional generosity
  • Courage, toughness in the face of barriers; leadership and trailblazing
  • Attention to social issues in journalism, including equity and inclusion in newsrooms and sourcing, and coverage that attends to issues of marginalization and injustice
  • Commitment to high-quality journalism and service to readers

Application Requirements

• Elements of a successful letter:
  • Summary of applicant’s work in science journalism and examples of how that work has had an impact.
  • Personal statement conveying motivation and commitment.
  • Additional personal information:
    • may have to do with journalism advocacy or teaching work, mentoring, or innovation;
    • may be about the arc of the applicant’s career: education and experience, the pivot into science journalism, excursions into other fields;
  • Overall “why now? Why me?” pitch for proposed project.
• The resume should include, as applicable:
  • A summary of published work and/or a link to a portfolio website.
  • Contributions to science journalism including:
    • Volunteer service, collegial and leadership activities
    • Journalism advocacy
    • Teaching
    • Mentoring
    • Innovation
    • Outreach activities such as public lectures, workshops, residencies, and presentations
• The entry should include one to three supporting letters:
  • A letter of support or nomination from an editor or publisher who is familiar with the candidate’s work
  • One or two additional letters from a senior colleague or second editor.
• The proposal:
  • Should show that the project is viable, novel, and well-conceived.
  • Should demonstrate that the candidate has done enough research to know that there is a story and has thought through how to approach the project.
  • Should describe the research already done and outline a plan of work that the grant would support.
  • Should include a project timeline.

For more information, visit CASW.