EVENTS: American Geophysical Union #AGU2013 conference and @NCSWA dinner in December (San Francisco, CA)

One of Northern California’s time-honored science traditions is the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meetings held annually in San Francisco. This year, the AGU Fall Meeting will be from December 9th through 13th. Not coincidentally, the annual conference is one of the biggest gatherings of science journalists from all over the world, and also hosts a diverse exhibits hall. It’s a great event to meet other science communications colleagues.

Registration for news media workers is still open. Qualified industry personnel receive free access to the conference. Eligibility is limited to the following:

• Working press employed by bona fide news media outlets who regularly report news on the Earth and space sciences. These registrants must present a press card, business card, or a letter from an editor of a recognized news media outlet assigning you to cover Fall Meeting.
• Freelance science journalists and science bloggers who present evidence of three (3) bylined news reports in the Earth and space sciences intended for the general public and published in 2012 or 2013.
• Creators of long-form stories or compositions about Earth and space sciences, such as books/feature-length documentary films, who are currently working on one or have published at least one in 2012-13.
• Public information/press officers of scientific societies, educational institutions, and government agencies.

For full information, registration form, and a list of “who’s coming?”, go to fallmeeting.agu.org/2013/media-center/. For further questions on eligibility (especially for those of you students transitioning into professional writing), contact AGU media officers.

And with AGU week, our colleagues at the Northern California Science Writers Association (NCSWA) will once again host their annual Holiday Dinner on December 11th.

This year’s dinner speaker is Alexandra Witze of Nature and Science News. Witz will discuss her new book Island on Fire, written with her husband Jeff Kanipe. Island on Fire describes the extraordinary 18th century eruption of Laki, a toxic and explosive Icelandic volcano that darkened Europe and killed thousands of people.

Dinner registration information, including student discounts, are available at http://www.ncswa.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1288738&eventId=772902.

— Ben Young Landis