2 ABSW members are finalists for the European Science Journalist of the Year award

Helen Pearson, journalist and editor for Nature, and Michael Peel, Financial Times’ science editor, are two of the finalists in this year's European Science Journalist of the Year Award, EFSJ announced. Jonas Reese and Christopher Weingart are a joint entry nominated by the German association Wissenschaftspressekonferenz (WPK). 

The winner and runners-up will be announced at an awards ceremony held jointly with the Prix Média award in Bern, Switzerland, on 24 October 2025. The first-place winner will be awarded a prize of €1,000; second- and third-place winners will receive €500 each.

The award was founded in 2014 by the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW) and has been organised by the European Federation for Science Journalism (EFSJ) since 2020. Elsevier supports the award.

Usually, national science journalism associations put forward their candidates, and that's what ABSW used to do, nominating for these awards the British Science Journalist of the Year. As the British Science Journalist of the Year is no longer in place, ABSW decided to publicise the award to all our members and support the fee if members chose to self-nominate.

ABSW members who self-nominated were Robin Andrews, Miriam Frankel, Lizzie Gibney, Oliver Heffernan, Helen Pearson, Michael Peel, Tereza Pultarova, and Kit Yates. (Find all the nominees here.)

Each entry requires three pieces of work published or broadcast in European media during 2024. The award celebrates journalists whose work has promoted excellence and creativity in science journalism, is innovative, has societal impact, and is independent and objective.