Winners of the ABSW Awards 2026 Announced
On the hottest day of the year so far, the UK and Ireland's science media gathered to celebrate excellence in science journalism
Winners of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW) Awards 2026 were announced at an Awards Ceremony tonight (Wednesday, 24 June 2026). The UK’s leading science journalists and broadcasters joined host Roger Highfield, ABSW Honorary President & Science Director of the Science Museum Group, at the Royal Society to learn who had won in the eleven categories open to entry in the 2026 awards.
Martin Ince (pictured right), a former Chair of the ABSW and Freelance Science and Education Writer, received the ABSW’s most prestigious award – the Lifetime Achievement Award - for his lifelong career in journalism and his invaluable contributions to the ABSW.
Aisling Irwin, Board Member, and herself an award-winning journalist, introduced the Award and outlined Martin’s many achievements, from saving the ABSW from ‘financial ruin’ through to co-founding the World University Rankings.
Martin was the finance director of the World Conference of Science Journalists hosted by the ABSW in London in 2009. Hosting the Conference was a high-risk strategy to save the ABSW by turning a profit. With Martin’s expert guidance, the Conference did exactly this and gave the ABSW the financial security it so desperately needed.
Aisling also praised Martin’s prolific output of books and his writings on the politics of British science and technology.
One of his contemporaries said Martin’s mind is “a huge filing cabinet full of knowledge”, with a particular expertise in Astronomy.
Earlier in the evening, Martin Ince, who was chair of the ABSW Awards judging panel, spoke about the judging process:
The ABSW awards are a showcase for UK and Irish journalists who produce excellent science writing for every imaginable medium, in every possible format, and for every community of interest here and around the world.
For those that didn't make it as a finalist you are all commended for your contribution to science and technology journalism in 2025. I look forward to seeing your varied, vital and insightful work continue in 2026 and beyond.
Of note in the 2026 Awards were the range of pieces focused on the cuts to scientific research funding in the USA. From Opinion pieces to Radio Programmes, the UK and Ireland’s science media investigated the impact on individuals, institutions and communities both in the USA and internationally.
The journalist with the most to celebrate this year was Natasha Loder, Health Editor at The Economist, who was a finalist in three categories. Natasha didn’t quite make it a hat trick by winning all three, but did win both Opinion Piece or Editorial of the Year, and the Royal Society Audio Award – an award she also won in 2025.
The ABSW Awards are open to entry throughout January each year and are supported by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, the Royal Society, Dr Katharine Giles Fund, and AlphaGalileo.
Winners receive a certificate, £500 and the much-coveted ‘award-winning science journalist’ mug.
