TON and CASW launch “story diagrams” series

Today we’re thrilled to announce a new collaboration that we hope will benefit science writers at all levels of experience, from students to veterans. With support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, CASW and The Open Notebook are partnering to produce a series of annotated stories aimed at shedding light on what makes some of the best science writing so outstanding.

A group of distinguished judges will select stories from among winners of major science-writing awards to be presented as “story diagrams,” or Storygrams. The Storygrams will be featured at TON, along with Q&A interviews with the stories’ authors.

Additionally, they’ll be featured at the soon-to-launch CASW Showcase website, which will republish additional selected award-winning science stories and provide community updates on award programs. Through the Storygrams, both TON and CASW hope to show how tough challenges in science journalism and communication can be surmounted as well as amplify the impact of these exceptional stories.

In the first annotation, coming next week, environmental and science journalist Tom Yulsman, a professor of journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder, dissects science journalist Cally Carswell’s award-winning 2013 High Country News story “The Tree Coroners.” TON and CASW look forward to bringing more Storygrams to the science journalism community soon.