The ABSW (ABSW) runs annual Awards for British and Irish science journalists supported by Janssen Research and Development. ABSW has been working with Janssen since 2010 and has most recently negotiated continuing support through to and including 2016. During these negotiations, Janssen Research and Development were keen to extend their support to a European Award, and after consultation and discussion, the ABSW decided to introduce an award for ‘European Science Writer of the Year’.
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There are obviously many potential logistical problems with opening an award for journalism right across Europe. So in the first instance, it was decided to limit the Award to the written word, including print or written online journalism in the form of news, features or blogs. ABSW also decided to engage the European Associations representing science journalists, asking each Association to put forward a nomination for their chosen ‘Science Writer of the Year’.

The method by which the Association chooses its nominee is entirely down to that Association. The ABSW is choosing its nominee by asking the ABSW membership to make nominations which can then be judged by the ABSW Board, a process  successfully used for the annual Lifetime Achievement award for many years.

The nominations received from throughout Europe will then be assessed by the judging panel of science journalists established every year to judge the ABSW Science Writers’ Awards.

There are full details on our website along with the entry form. The closing date for entry is Wednesday 18 March 2015.

The winner will be invited to attend the ABSW Awards Ceremony which will be held at The Royal Society, London on Thursday 25 June 2015.   Funds are available to pay expenses for this trip.

«The ABSW Awards are a celebration of science journalism in Britain and Ireland, and are much appreciated by journalists as they are always judged and/or nominated by their peers. We are therefore delighted that this ethos can now be extended to our science journalism colleagues throughout Europe» reads the announcement sent by the ABSW.