by Janet Stilson and Sandeep Ravindran
Editor’s Note: This piece is part of a series celebrating fellow literary nonprofits. We are honored at SFWA to be working alongside so many organizations serving writers and other creators, both within our target genres and in service to improved literary outcomes in general.
Journalists and authors who specialize in real-world science confront any number of issues. Press freedom? Check. Layoffs? You betcha. Generative AI? Absolutely. And that’s just for starters. At the center of that swirl is the National Association of Science Writers, whose many members lend each other support in an impressive variety of ways.
Leading the charge is NASW President Sandeep Ravindran, who engaged in the following Q&A interview with SFWA member Janet Stilson. In addition to discussing the organization’s full scope, Ravindran gives guidance on the ways fiction writers can tap into the deep resources that NASW provides—and the best ways to approach its members. He also explains why he became such a dedicated member of the organization and how he eventually rose to lead it.
How big is NASW’s team, and how big a community does it serve?
While we serve more than 2,000 members in the US and abroad, NASW is primarily a volunteer-run professional association. Many, many volunteers support the myriad projects, programs, and awards that NASW is known for, including the 15-person NASW Board and more than 100 committee members. NASW has one full-time staff member, our amazing Executive Director Tinsley Davis, as well as several excellent contractors and vendors.
Our community includes journalists, authors, editors, producers, institutional communicators, students, and people who write and produce material intended to inform the public about science, health, engineering, and technology. The organization serves 1,719 professional members, 108 affiliate members, and 172 student members.
How did you get involved in NASW, and what got you excited, or interested, in joining the fold?
I’ve always been interested in both science and writing. I grew up reading a lot of science fiction and science nonfiction books and was an avid reader of the weekly science column in our local newspaper. But it was only towards the end of my PhD that I realized I could pursue science writing as a career. I went on to earn a graduate degree in science communication, and that was when I first came across NASW, including its book intended to introduce people to the field: A Field Guide for Science Writers. I remember attending my first Science Writers meeting and realizing I’d found my people.
NASW played a huge role in launching my science writing career, from finding out about jobs and freelance work to meeting editors at pitch slams. Most of all, it provided a community, which was particularly helpful once I started freelancing. I soon joined NASW’s freelance committee and started organizing pitch slams at the annual meeting and finding other ways to help the science writing community.
A few years later, I was elected to the NASW Board, and after stints as Secretary, Treasurer, and Vice President, I’ve been the President for the past year and a half. These leadership roles have been extremely fulfilling and have provided me with the opportunity to give back to this community that has meant so much to me, while also allowing me to exercise other skillsets besides just writing and reporting—from organizing events to managing people.
Our community tends to be enthusiastic about collaborations and love to offer their expertise.
Does the organization work more with individual authors or trade organizations that cater to the needs of authors?
NASW primarily serves individual authors. We have multiple resources for individual authors, from our “Advance Copy” column, which highlights NASW authors, to book and publishing-related events at our in-person and virtual conferences. In addition, we are grateful for our partnerships with other Authors Coalition of America members and have found it very rewarding to work with and co-organize events and webinars with our colleagues, including the Association of Health Care Journalists and SFWA.
Is there a stronger focus on science journalism, academic publishing, or popular science publishing? And are there differences in how you support writers in different spaces?
NASW is really a big-tent organization. We try to offer something for all those who produce material intended to inform the public about science, health, engineering, and technology—no matter what stage of their career they are in or what subjects they cover or whether they freelance or are staff or what medium they work in.
Our membership is varied enough that no matter what you’re focused on or want to learn, there’s someone out there with the same interest who can provide information and support. Organizationally, that support and programming often comes from various committees, including the freelance committee, institutional communicators committee, and journalism committee.
What NASW events, publications, and resources would you recommend to authors in the broader community, to learn more about your work and impact?
Our annual conference is our flagship event and is an excellent way to get a sense of our work and community. The in-person component of the conference moves from region to region every year, all across the country and in both big cities and smaller towns. No matter where it’s held, about 30% of our attendees are first-timers, and we do our best to make sure any interested people can walk in and feel welcome.
This year’s in-person conference will be held in Corvallis, Oregon, from September 25-28, and the virtual-only component will be held on October 14-16. In addition to the Field Guide I mentioned earlier, NASW publishes a monthly email newsletter that highlights our latest news and events. Until 2023, we published a print magazine called ScienceWriters. We also work with a lot of local science writers’ groups, and that’s another way to learn more about our community.
If a writer researching a fictional story thinks they could benefit from conversation with NASW’s members or its staff, what are the best ways to approach the organization (or specific people within it)?
An interested writer is welcome to check out our Find a Writer resource to look for members with specific expertise. They can also follow NASW on Bluesky and LinkedIn and engage in conversations with our organization and community there. The NASW annual meeting and virtual events are other good places to meet our members.
If fiction writers do reach out, what can they do to improve the experience? What are some healthy expectations that should be set in advance by anyone asking a science writer for help with their project?
In general, our community tends to be enthusiastic about collaborations and love to offer their expertise. Of course, like any freelance work, it’s important for people to be paid for their creative efforts and expertise and for activities such as editing or proofreading, so it’s best to be upfront about rates and expectations to avoid later misunderstandings. A great way to reach our members for any type of freelance gig is to post a job ad in the NASW newsletter/mailing list. Ads for single, one-time assignments are free.
Our mission feels more critical now than ever as we see increasing challenges to the First Amendment and freedom of information.
Has the nature of NASW’s work changed over the years? If so, in what ways and why? And if not, has the challenge of fulfilling the organization’s mission changed instead?
NASW has been around since 1934, and as you can imagine the science writing environment has changed considerably during that time, although it feels like the field has been changing particularly rapidly over the last two decades. Among other things, we’ve seen a decline in staff science writing jobs and an increasing number of freelance members. In response, our organization has adjusted to better serve and represent freelancers.
The internet also brought with it many opportunities beyond print, including podcasts, newsletters, and videos. And we have been doing our best to incorporate these different media, including having a series of workshops this summer to provide people with the tools and support to help incorporate multimedia in their work.
The past few years have also raised a lot of concerns in our field and among members of the Authors Coalition about AI, particularly the use of copyrighted material to train generative AI models. We released a statement about our use of generative AI and have organized webinars to help our members learn more about AI tools and issues.
Science writing has also seen a lot of recent layoffs, with journalism publications closing and many university and federal science communication jobs affected by recent cuts in federal funding. We have tried to provide resources and support to help people affected by such layoffs, including sessions on career and mental health support.
What hasn’t changed throughout the years is NASW’s mission to fight for the free flow of science news, including promoting press freedom and improving access to information related to science and scientific research. Our mission feels more critical now than ever as we see increasing challenges to the First Amendment and freedom of information. Among other things, we have organized webinars, including a 2025 SciWriRoundtable, “Reporting in Challenging Free Speech Environments.” We’ve published many statements both by ourselves and in partnership with other organizations on these issues, and it’s something that we will continue to track.
What does a typical year of NASW events look like, and what initiatives and opportunities should writers look for in the coming months?
NASW has activities throughout the year, including regular webinars and virtual networking socials organized by our committees or co-organized with partner organizations. The NASW Board also organizes virtual SciWriRoundtables each summer; this year’s offerings will be announced soon.
Also this year, several of our Board members are organizing a series of workshops on multimedia, including vertical and explainer videos, podcasts, and newsletters, and these will be announced soon. We offer a mentoring program for students over the summer, as well as various awards, grants, and fellowship opportunities throughout the year. As I mentioned, our annual conference is always in the fall, with both an in-person and virtual component. We hope to see some of you there or online!
Explore more articles from SFWA Presents: Get to Know…
For over 90 years, the National Association of Science Writers has built upon the aspirations of science writers and educators, in large part with the help of fellow dreamers working toward a more scientifically curious and literate world. Does their work align with any of your projects? You can learn more about their Awards & Grants opportunities at nasw.org/awards.
Sandeep Ravindran is President of NASW and a freelance science journalist whose byline has appeared in The New York Times, TIME, Smithsonian, National Geographic, Science, Nature, WIRED, and other outlets. He is now serving his fourth term on the NASW Board, and previously served as vice president, treasurer and secretary during preceding terms. Additionally, in 2023 and 2024 Sandeep chaired the NASW Programs Committee, which curates the NASW professional development sessions and plenaries for the annual ScienceWriters national conference.
Interviewer Janet Stilson’s work as a sci-fi novelist has garnered IPPY and NYC Big Book awards. As a film writer, she was selected to be part of the Writers Lab for Women, sponsored by Meryl Streep. Her sci-fi novels, The Juice and Universe of Lost Messages, were inspired by her work as a journalist reporting on the crazy media industry. Janet’s short fiction has appeared in Asimov’s, Metastellar, and Pink Hydra.