Behold! Here’s the full program for the SFJ 2025 conference in Phoenix
The Society for Features Journalism’s first national conference since the pandemic will be November 6-8 in Phoenix. The focus will be on craft, camaraderie, education and inspiration with speakers like Eli Saslow, Lane DeGregory, Mike Wilson, Mark Warren and many more. See the full conference program.
Why and how we’re spotlighting AI at our SFJ conference in Phoenix
SFJ is partnering with Arizona State University’s Knight Center for the Future of News to present “The Power of AI: 9 Ideas You Can Take Home and Try” at our comeback conference. The workshop will be on Saturday morning, Nov. 8, 2025, and you can now register just for that day for only $50.
From gorgeous hikes to golfing, you can turn the 2025 SFJ conference into a cool November getaway
The Society for Features Journalism conference runs Nov. 6-8, but SFJ’s $189-a-night room block stretches from Nov. 3-11, making it easy to add vacation days to the start or end of the conference. It’s a great reason to join other talented features journalists as we reinvigorate our craft and spend a few days exploring Phoenix, the fifth largest city in the United States.
The SFJ conference is back! Join us in Phoenix in November
The Society for Features Journalism is bringing back an in-person national conference from Nov. 6-8, 2025 at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in downtown Phoenix. Speakers will include Eli Saslow, Lane DeGregory, Mike Wilson, Mark Warren, Kim Cross and more, and AI realities will be tackled head-on.
This will be SFJ’s first official national conference since the pandemic. The theme is “Rewriting the Narrative.”
Watch replay: Mallary Tenore Tarpley shows journalists how to weave personal narrative with strong reporting
Journalist Mallary Tenore Tarpley, author of “Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery,” led an SFJ webinar about how to blend personal narrative and reportage in essays and books. Watch the replay here.
Webinar: Mallary Tenore Tarpley on blending personal narrative and reporting in essays and books
On July 15, 2025, Mallary Tenore Tarpley will join SFJ in a free webinar on how to blend personal narrative and reporting. Tarpley is an assistant professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches journalism and writing classes. Her upcoming nonfiction book, “Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery,” is equal parts memoir and journalism.
Division 1 winners of SFJ 2025 Excellence-in-Features journalism awards
Here are the winners in Division 1 of SFJ’s 2025 Excellence-in-Features journalism contest! First-place winners receive $300.
Division 2 winners of SFJ 2025 Excellence-in-Features journalism awards
Here are the winners in Division 2 of SFJ’s 2025 Excellence-in-Features journalism contest! First-place winners receive $300.
Division 3, Combined winners of SFJ 2025 Excellence-in-Features journalism awards
Here are the winners in Division 3 and the Combined division of SFJ’s 2025 Excellence-in-Features journalism contest! First-place winners receive $300.
Show & Steal: How features writers are making Trump administration news local and useful
SFJ members gathered for a virtual Show & Steal story session on March 27 to learn what Trump administration related stories have resonated with readers and share ideas that others may want to replicate. From covering the cost of eggs to tariff impacts to what to do if you see ICE agents, features writers across the country have been finding angles that are useful and local.
SFJ’s 2025 Excellence-in-Features contest launches with new divisions, categories
Society for Features Journalism’s 2025 contest to honor excellence in features storytelling is open for entries. New this year: updated contest divisions and new categories. There’s an early-bird entry free until February 18.
Watch: 3 lessons on inclusive journalism — collaborate, make space, be vulnerable
Four SFJ Excellence in Features award winners share how they collaborated with community members to tell rich and personal stories in a webinar on Nov. 13, 2024. Watch the replay here.
Webinar: SFJ award winners on how they practice inclusive storytelling
In a webinar on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, four SFJ Excellence in Features award winners will discuss how they find stories, build trust, and prove that community-led narratives can transform both newsrooms and the communities they serve.
Watch replay: Pulitzer winner Katie Engelhart shares tips for reporting, outlining, writing complex stories
Katie Engelhart, winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing, talked about her winning New York Times Magazine story with Maria Carrillo, a veteran editor and Pulitzer juror, at a Society for Features Journalism webinar on Oct. 15, 2024. They discussed a wide range of skills and techniques that can help journalists hone their craft.
Webinar: Pulitzer winner Katie Engelhart to share tips for managing complex stories
The Society for Features Journalism will host a free virtual event on Oct. 15, 2024, with Katie Engelhart, winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing, and Maria Carrillo, a veteran editor and Pulitzer juror.
Watch replay: Mike Hixenbaugh of NBC News on his book writing process, from pitch to print
NBC News journalist Mike Hixenbaugh, the author of the new book “They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms,” shares the story of how his book came to be and shows how journalists can transform their own beats into books .
Mike Hixenbaugh of NBC News will share how he turned his beat into a book
Mike Hixenbaugh, a senior investigative reporter for NBC News and author of “They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms,” describes how to turn work done on a journalism beat into a nonfiction book.
Division 3, combined category winners of SFJ 2024 Excellence-in-Features journalism awards
Winners from the largest circulation publications and from digital-only organizations in the 2024 SFJ Excellence-in-Features journalism contest.
Division 1 winners of SFJ 2024 Excellence-in-Features journalism awards
Division 1 covers publications with circulation of up to 90,000. Judges comments are included. First-place winners receive $300.
Division 2 winners of SFJ 2024 Excellence-in-Features journalism awards
The Division 2 winners of the 2024 SFJ Excellence-in-Features journalism contest. Division 2 covers publications with circulation of 90,001 to 199,999.