On November 2, 2013, Michael Newman received the Diane McGurgan Service award in recognition of his efforts to contribute to the annual ScienceWriters meeting.
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Matthew Bettelheim teamed up with illustrator Nicole M. Wong to write a children’s book about the Lange’s metalmark butterfly, an endangered species found only in one California wildlife refuge. In 1999, the peak butterfly count in a single day totaled 2,342; in 2012, the daily count peaked at 32. Writing the book in verse proved challenging, Bettelheim says, as “not much rhymes with ‘metamorphosis.’”
Throughout the year, we will be releasing videos or excerpts of selected NASW professional development workshop session to share with those unable to attend [ScienceWriters2013](http://www.sciencewriters2013.org). The first session released is [The XX Question](http://www.sciencewriters2013.org/sessions/d1-xx-question.html), taped on Saturday, November 2, 2013.
NASW members and other ScienceWriters2013 meeting attendees have contributed photos from conference events. Use the "read more" button to see them.
The National Association of Science Writers is pleased to offer a new benefit to its members. "The Fine Print" is a searchable database of writing and editing contracts, donated by members, for other members to read, compare and cite. Members can search the database by type of work, medium, and client category, and for clauses dealing with copyright, warranties, and other provisions. For all rewards of NASW membership, see our member benefits page.
The unearthing in the 1990s of a cemetery for black slaves in New York City prompted curiosity about a little publicized fact of colonial American life, slavery of blacks in the North. A costly study of human remains from the cemetery yielded little useful information, David Zimmerman asserts.
Few people would assume that starting a publication is easy. But the take-home message of Saturday afternoon’s session on the topic drove home just how taxing the process can be. “It will leave you nerve-wracked and reaching for sedatives,” said panelist Bobbie Johnson, co-founder of the online publication Matter, which has been publishing long-form articles about science, technology, medicine and the environment since November 2012.
NASW member Sharon Guynup teamed up with National Geographic photographer Steve Winter to illuminate the lives of the world’s endangered tiger population.
Sunday morning began as sweetly as the late Lou Reed’s until Maryn McKenna stepped in. Leave it to “scary disease girl” to scare a captive audience with a panel on pandemics. Grab a raisin danish and tune into a talk about a new SARS-like virus sweeping Saudi Arabia and cholera in Haiti.