SFJ Webinars
We host online sessions based on our members’ interests and needs. Most revolve around developing the craft, from reporting to writing to editing. Recent examples include our discussions with Pulitzer Prize winners Eli Saslow and Lane DeGregory and a presentation on narrative investigations by Andrea Ball of the Houston Chronicle. We also hold occasional online networking events.
We’re delighted to hear your ideas for future sessions. Please share them with us at [email protected].
Events
Moni Basu and Jan Winburn spoke at the 2026 Society for Features Journalism conference in Phoenix about the challenges and benefits of writing feature stories at organizations that prioritize hard news. They currently teach through the University of Georgia’s Low-Residency MFA in Narrative Nonfiction program.
The 2026 SFJ conference held a warm opening reception at the Phoenix Art Museum’s Alden restaurant. Attendees were treated to deliciously crafted dishes and drinks, and heard from three food journalists and three Phoenix chefs.
Mitchell S. Jackson, an award winning journalist and author, spoke at the 2026 SFJ conference about the power of voice and perspective. He was in conversation with Mesfin Fekadu, SFJ board president.
Shelby Grossman, a professor of practice at the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, led an interactive session on using agentic AI during the 2026 SFJ conference. Joining her were Robert Morast of the San Francisco Chronicle and Lizzie Tomlin, an ASU graduate student.
New York Times journalist Kurt Streeter at the 2026 SFJ conference in Phoenix. In conversation with Mark Armstrong, Nieman Storyboard editor, Streeter talked about how he found the story of a young female boxer in East Los Angeles.
Tom Sietsema spent nearly 26 years as the food critic for The Washington Post. His earliest memories of the journalism business are as a newsroom office cleaner in Worthington, Minnesota. We are thrilled to induct him into the SFJ Hall of Fame at our conference in October.
SFJ is thrilled to induct Robin Givhan into the SFJ Hall of Fame at our conference in October. The honor recognizes journalists who have made incredible contributions to arts, entertainment, culture, lifestyle and narrative journalism. Robin shares her earliest memories of journalism in this Q&A.
On Feb. 12, 2026, SFJ hosted a timely webinar with Minnesota Star Tribune features journalists who have spent more than two months covering the impacts of the ICE surge on the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Watch the replay and read the stories that were discussed.
At a free SFJ webinar on Feb. 12, 2026, a panel of Minnesota Star Tribune feature writers will share their experiences covering the activities of immigration and border control agencies in their Minneapolis communities. Register for the webinar to save it to your calendar.
In a keynote presentation at the Society for Features Journalism conference, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Eli Saslow described his process for illuminating large, thorny issues through small, important moments.
Mark Warren won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing for the Esquire story “A Death in Alabama,” a narrative about a big event in a small Alabama town: The death of Bubba Copeland, a Baptist pastor and small-town mayor who ended his life after his private life was exposed on a right-wing media site. Warren shared the story behind that story at the 2025 Society for Features Journalism conference in Phoenix.
The dynamic duo of writer Lane DeGregory and editor Maria Carrillo shared their tips for telling a great narrative. They stressed the importance of four essential ingredients: character, action, setting and theme.