The first-ever SWARM writing awards

Congratulations to the winners of SWARM's 2025 writing awards! 

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Category: Journalism

First place: Sarah Scoles, for Her Discovery Wasn't Alien Life, But Science Has Never Been The Same, published by the New York Times

Honorable mention: Evelyn Lamb, for The Mathematical Mysteries of Fireflies, published by Nautilus

Honorable mention: Stephanie Pappas, for The Truth About Testosterone, published by Scientific American

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Category: Institutional Science Communication

First place: Amber Carlson, for 'Cyborg jellyfish' could aid in deep-sea research, inspire next-gen underwater vehicles, published in CU Boulder Today

Honorable mention: Josh Rhoten, for With new database, researchers may be able to predict rare milky seas bioluminescent event, published by Colorado State University

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No award is being made in the multimedia category for 2025. 

 

Judges for 2025 were Bradley Allf, Sara Reardon, and Alexandra Witze (chair).

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Contest rules (old):

 

• Entries will be accepted in three categories: Science Journalism (written), Institutional Science Communication (written), and Multimedia (any type of content).

• The deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. MT on November 1, 2025.

• Prizes are TBD, but there will be a monetary prize for first place in each category, and likely additional prizes.

• Only dues-paying members of SWARM are eligible to enter. If you're not sure if you are a paying member, log in to your account in the upper right-hand corner of this page and look under 'My Subscriptions'.

• One entry per category per member.

• Multiple-authored entries are fine as long as the person entering is a SWARM member and played a major role in the production of the piece.

• Work without a byline will be accepted with proof of authorship.

• There is no entry fee.

• Entries must have been published or broadcast between January 1, 2025, and November 1, 2025.

• Entries should be no longer than 3,000 words for written pieces or 10 minutes for multimedia pieces. 

• Entries will be judged by members of the SWARM board. SWARM board members are not eligible to enter the contest.

• Individual judges will recuse themselves from judging entries in which they have a substantial professional or personal conflict of interest.

• Judges reserve the right to not award in a category at their discretion.

• Winners will be announced at the annual SWARM holiday party in December.

• Any questions? Email sciwrirockies-at-gmail-dot-com.​