The Science in Society Journalism Awards have been presented annually by the American National Association of Science Writers (NASW) since 1972 to recognize "...investigative or interpretive reporting about the sciences and their impact on modern society". Over the years, the particular categories for which they have awarded prizes has evolved, and in their words, they "seek to recognize science writing that is shaped by a variety of perspectives".
Past recipients
2024 Books: Pitfall: The Race to Mine the World's Most Vulnerable Places by Christopher Pollon (Greystone Books) Science Reporting: "Should beetles be named after Adolf Hitler?" by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega, published by Science magazine Science Features: "In the Lab Oppenheimer Built, the U.S. Is Building Nuclear Bomb Cores Again" by W.J. Hennigan, published by TIME magazine Longform Narratives: "The Mining Industry's Next Frontier Is Deep, Deep Under the Sea" by Vince Beiser, published in WIRED Series: "Bleeding Out" by Lauren Caruba and Ari Sen, co-published by The Dallas Morning News and the San Antonio Express-News Commentary: "I Worked in Antarctica for Three Years. My Sexual Harasser Was Never Caught" by Elizabeth Endicott, published in Scientific American
2023 Books: When Children Feel Pain: From Everyday Aches to Chronic Conditions by Rachel Rabkin Peachman and Anna C. Wilson (Harvard University Press) Science Reporting: "How Indigenous Sea Gardens Produced Massive Amounts of Food for Millennia" by Ashley Braun, published by Hakai Magazine Science Features: "Thousands of Migrant Workers Died in Qatar's Extreme Heat. The World Cup Forced a Reckoning" by Aryn Baker, published by Time Longform Narratives: "A Field at a Crossroads: Genetics and Racial Mythmaking" by Ashley Smart, published by Undark Magazine Series: "Fighting for Air" by Talis Shelbourne, published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Commentary: "We Can Fight Monkeypox Without Hysteria or Homophobia" by Kai Kupferschmidt, published by The New York Times
2022 Books: Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World, by Emma Marris (Bloomsbury Publishing) Science Reporting: "How Heat Waves Warp Ecosystems" by Julia Rosen, published by High Country News Science Features: "Brazil Shows You Can Harvest Sugar Cane Without Polluting the Air: What Florida's Sugar Farmers Can Learn About Burning Cane" by Nadia Sussman (reporting and production, cinematography), Joseph Singer (video editing), Mauricio Rodríguez Pons (graphics and animation), Letícia Klein (additional reporting, production assistance), with Lulu Ramadan (additional reporting) and Kevina Tidwell (archival producer), and executive producer Almudena Toral and series editor Michael Mishak, co-produced by WGCU and ProPublica Longform Narratives: "The Pain Was Unbearable, So Why Did Doctors Turn Her Away?" by Maia Szalavitz, published by WIRED Series: "Unsalvageable: Preventable Amputations Rise During COVID" by Eli Cahan, published by WebMD/Medscape Commentary: "Why are Police Using a World War I-Era Chemical Weapon on Civilians?" by Jennifer L. Brown, Roman Tyshynsky, Timothy Monko, Carlee Toddes, and Carey Lyons, published by Scientific American
2021 Books: What Can a Body Do? How We Meet the Built World by Sara Hendren (Riverhead Books) Science Reporting: "How to Dodge the Sonic Weapon Used by Police" by Lynne Peskoe-Yang, published in Popular Mechanics Science Features: "In Collecting Indigenous Feces, a Slew of Sticky Ethics" by Katherine J. Wu, published by Undark Magazine Longform: "America's Radioactive Secret" by Justin Nobel, published by Rolling Stone Series: "Where Will Everyone Go? How Climate Refugees Might Move Across International Borders" by Abrahm Lustgarten, Meridith Kohut, Sergey Ponomarev, Al Shaw, and Lucas Waldron, published by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine
2020
Book: Katherine Eban for her book Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom (Ecco/HarperCollins) Science Reporting: "Cigarette Butts Are Everywhere. Is Banning Filters a Viable Solution?" by Robin Kazmier published in Audubon Science Features: "The Confession: A psychologist has shown how police questioning can get innocent people to condemn themselves" by Douglas Starr, published in Science Magazine Longform: "The Final Five Percent" by Tim Requarth, published in Longreads Series: "Polluter's Paradise" by Tristan Baurick, Joan Meiners, Claire Perlman, Gordon Russell, Sara Sneath, Mark Schleifstein, Al Shaw, and Lylla Younes, published by ProPublica and The Advocate
2019 Book: Carl Zimmer for his book She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions and Potentials of Heredity (Dutton) Science Reporting: "In the Land of Quakes, Engineering a Future for a Church Made of Mud" by Michelle Donahue published in The New York Times Science Features: "Scientists think Alabama's sewage problem has caused a tropical parasite. The state has done little about it" by Arielle Duhaime-Ross, published in VICE News Longform: "Surrendering to Rising Sea" by Jen Schwartz, published in Scientific American Series: "Poisoned Cities, Deadly Border" by Ian James and Zoë Meyers in The Desert Sun
2018 Book: Maryn McKenna for her book Big Chicken: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats (National Geographic) Science Reporting - Short category: "The Mystery of the Wasting House-Cats" by Emily Anthes, published in The New York Times Magazine Science Reporting - Medium category: "Accidental Therapists: For Insect Detectives, the Trickiest Cases Involve the Bugs That Aren't Really There" by Eric Boodman, published in STAT Science Reporting - Long category: "The Detective of Northern Oddities" by Christopher Solomon, published in Outside Science Reporting - Series: "United States of Climate Change", by the United States of Climate Change Reporting Team, published by The Weather Channel Digital Local or Regional Science Reporting: "Doomed by Delay" by Patricia Callahan, published in Chicago Tribune
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