Farewell Editorial: Anne N. Connor, Editor-In-Chief
As term comes to an end, Anne N. Connor, editor-in-chief of The Science Writer, reflects and bids farewell
June 30, 2023
Anne N. Connor, TSW Editor-in-Chief (2021-23)
“The past two years with The Science Writer have been phenomenal. I joined for the magazine’s mission: to help science writing students get published. I quickly found that simulating the editorial experience of the paying market was equally valuable – not only to the writers but to the alumni editorial board. This insight has guided many of our decisions.
I appreciated working with our talented editorial management team, Saheel Mehta and Catherine Evans, on building the magazine’s structures and processes. It was perhaps not glamorous work, but it enabled The Science Writer to run smoothly and professionally. We worked hard in the first few months, learning and adjusting daily. It stood us in good stead, as the editors knew their roles and next steps. We have a fabulous team, some of whom have been with us since the beginning. Some came more recently, and we wonder how we ever did without them.
Issue 3, Scale, was among my favorite issues. By then, we had settled into a groove as an editorial team, and the stories fit the theme so beautifully. And Tara Holley’s theme art was stunning. Maria Leuzinger’s essay on ants was outstanding, taking the reader from the scale of a tiny creature to a vast biomass of beings. The fact-checking was so helpful there. Mark Jordan’s video feature on why glaciers are blue is still one of my favorite pieces, representing a deep collaboration between the author and the editorial team. Of course, I have favorites from every issue, especially the current one.
I will miss The Science Writer, but I’m sticking around the science writing program. I’ll teach a course, ‘Principles of Editing,’ starting this fall. The past two years have been a master class for all of us on the editorial board, from selecting pitches to avoiding pitfalls to polishing each story. I hope to bring much of what we learned at The Science Writer into the course, equipping future alumni volunteers to carry the magazine into future iterations.”
- Anne N. Connor
Anne N. Connor was the founding Editor-in-Chief of The Science Writer. She is a freelance science writer and editor with a master’s degree in science writing from Johns Hopkins University and bylines in Undark, Vox, Knowable, Modern Farmer, and The Scientist, among others. She is a solutions-focused journalist emphasizing climate resilience and environmental solutions stories. She will offer a course, Principles of Editing, in the science writing program starting in the Fall 2023 semester. Find her online at https://annenconnor.com.