ASJA member Howard Eisenberg established the Arlene Eisenberg Memorial Fund to honor his late wife, the author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting and other bestselling books that made a difference in the lives of mothers worldwide. The fund allows ASJA to give monetary awards to winners of the Arlenes, which are awarded annually for articles and once every two or three years for books. The winning book or freelance article must have “made a difference” by inspiring positive action within a locale or community, society, or the world. In the past, the award has been given for articles or books that inspired readers to do such things as lobby for legislation or form an advocacy group. Past winners have also stirred officials to launch an investigation, correct an injustice, or remove a hazard.

The Arlene Article Award is presented annually for an article published within the prior two years to allow time to show proof of its positive social impact. For 2025, the amount for the Arlene Article Award will be $1,000.00.

The Arlene Book Award will next be presented in 2026 and will cover books published in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

To be considered for an Arlene, articles and books must be:

• Published in the United States within the stated period
• Freelance written
• Accompanied by documentation supporting the positive impact of the book or article. This may include evidence of media coverage, testimonials, or other public recognition.

This award honors ASJA’s third president, a noted investigative journalist, and is presented each year. According to the Global Investigative Journalism Network, investigative reporting includes “systematic, in-depth, and original research and reporting, often involving the unearthing of secrets.” Articles entered should demonstrate outstanding writing and organization, plus new or previously unrevealed research. Or, if the topic frequently gets attention, the article should show it in a new light.

For 2025, the amount of the Donald Robinson Memorial Award for Investigative Journalism will be $1,000.00.

The work of any writer may be nominated, so long as it is freelance-written and published or released in the United States during the eligibility period. Staff-written work does not qualify.

If the work was supported by a grant or payment from a foundation or other organization, or if the author was otherwise aided (such as in data collection or statistical analysis), we ask that this be noted at the time of submission, along with the time period for any such support. This is solely for the purpose of establishing that the work was freelance-written.

These awards honor writers whose articles, produced on a freelance basis, have demonstrated excellence in writing, research, and clarity of presentation.

Categories:

• Personal Platform, Online Writing: Posts, or a collection of no more than three related posts on the same topic. (Articles appearing on third-party blogs should be entered in Opinion/Op-Ed or Reported Essays.) Note to entrants: In general, essays, commentary or content that includes the author’s personal experiences and/or opinions and expertise and for which the author does not work with an assigning editor. A nonfiction work (such as an essay, commentary or advice) may have been published on the author’s personal blog or a third-party site such as LinkedIn, Medium or Substack.
• Business Writing: Reporting on any business topic for a print or digital outlet.
• Excellence in Reporting: Stories that showcase superior reporting on relevant and universal topics.
• First-person Essays: Personal essays based entirely on the author’s personal experiences, reflections, or observations. Note: The author must have worked with an assigning editor.
• Wellness, Fitness & Sports: Wellness, running, fitness, and any sport or specific sporting event. Profiles may be entered here or in “Profiles,” but not both.
• Food and Drink: Stories about food, wine beer, vineyards, and restaurants, including chef profiles. Note: Entrants may choose to enter chef or industry profiles in this category OR in the profiles category.
• Health: Stories about all health topics other than wellness. Note: Entrants may choose to enter clinician, researcher or health advocate profiles in this category OR in the Profiles category.
• How-To (Service): Stories that help readers learn to do or change something, including advice, instruction and self-help.
• Lifestyle: Stories that address culture, style, leisure and home-related pursuits (such as decorating and pets), art and music criticism, and reviews. Note: Entrants may choose to enter artist or cultural influencer profiles in this category OR in the Profiles category.
• Opinion/Op-Eds: Commentary and essays that include the writer’s opinion, as well as reported evidence and research. Note: author must have worked with an assigning editor.
• Profiles: Stories about a single person in any field, industry, sport, profession or circumstance.
• Reported Essays: Personal essays that incorporate research supporting the topic. Note: Author must have worked with an assigning editor.
• Science: Stories about science topics in any field. Note: Entrants may choose to enter scientist or science-related profiles in this category OR in the Profiles category.
• Social Change: Stories that address equity, justice and changing aspects of society. Writers may enter personal or reported essays on social change topics written for edited print or digital outlets in this category.
• Technology: Stories about technology topics in any field. Note: Entrants may choose to enter technology-related profiles in this category OR in the Profiles category.
• Trade: Stories written about specialized industries for print or digital publications published specifically for audiences who work in those industries.
• Travel: Stories about destinations and the experiences of traveling.
• 2025 SPECIAL CATEGORY — Environment/Climate Change/Sustainability Award: This journalism award is given to the best article or series of up to three articles written by a freelancer in 2024 about the environment, climate change or sustainability. Entries should reflect strong reporting and insights about the environment, climate change or sustainability either globally, nationally or locally. Prize: $500.

Books must be nonfiction and written by independent writers. Entries may be written by an individual author or may be collaborative works. Unless otherwise noted for specific awards, books must have been published in the United States during the previous calendar year. Self-published books, eBooks, and traditionally published books may be nominated.

Judges will consider a book’s overall significance, the quality of the author’s research and the skill of the author’s writing.

Categories:

• Biography/History
• Children/Young Adult Nonfiction
• General Nonfiction
• Memoir/Autobiography
• Service/Self-help

Please note: Only PDF or eBook submissions will be accepted.

• B2B (Business to Business) Blog or Article: Content published in print or digital publications (including blogs and websites) created by a business or organization for other businesses or organizations.
• B2C (Business to Consumer) Blog or Article: Content published in print or digital publications (including blogs and websites) created by a business or organization for consumers.
• Long-Form Content: B2B and B2C content of more than 2,500 words published in print or digital publications (including eBooks, reports and whitepapers).