Benefits of NASW membership

ScienceWriters, NASW's quarterly newsletter, reports on trends, issues and controversies, news of regional events, and includes practical advice on freelancing, teaching, public affairs, and other professional specialties. The newsletter is available in both print and online PDF versions.
NASW's annual workshops, which provide opportunities for both entry-level and advanced training as well as networking.
Job leads. The jobs mailing list offers more than 250 announcements per year.
Educational resources and mentoring programs. More than 300 people have spent a day with a veteran science writer covering a conference.
A freelance grievance system, designed to give members leverage against the publishing industry.
Several lively (perhaps even contentious) listservs.
Members-only sections of the NASW Web site, which include professional development primers and the online roster of all members.
NASW's annual "Science in Society" awards, for hard-hitting analyses of how science and technology affect people's lives. These awards are the only such honors given to science writers by their peers.
Free hosting of your Web site, up to 10 MB. (Not available to student members.)
Insurance. Health, long-term care, vision, and dental insurance are available to NASW members in Connecticut, New Jersey, parts of New York, Greater Chicago including parts of Indiana, California, and Florida through TEIGIT, The Entertainment Insurance Group Insurance Trust. CIGNA Dental insurance is available in most parts of the country. Individual insurance (Golden Rule) is available in Arizona, Virginia and Texas.
Travel Fellowships, including awards to attend the annual ScienceWriters meeting, Van Dam fellowships for travel to the World Conference of Science Journalists, and grants for experience to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings to name a few. Student members are eligible for special travel grants to the annual ScienceWriters meeting as well as the AAAS annual meeting, where NASW conducts education activities like the internship fair and mentoring program.
Access to Words' Worth to help improve your freelance business. Here you can report your own experiences and find valuable information from other members about what they did, what they charged, and how it went.

To join

For regular membership, submit five samples of work you produced for a lay audience in the past five years; you must include the publication or airing dates for each entry. Also, submit the names of two NASW members to sponsor you.

Please complete and return this application form (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) with the associated other materials to the address below.

If you don't know two members try 1) searching members' home pages, 2) log on to the nasw-talk@nasw.org list to find potential sponsors, and 3) search the local science writing groups to see if there's one near you.

For further information, contact:

Tinsley Davis, executive director
Organizer, NASW ScienceWriters annual meeting
P.O. Box 7905
Berkeley, CA 94707
Phone: (510) 647-9500