Each year, contest judges select one piece of coverage from among the first prize winners as the recipient of EWA's top prize, the Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting. Named for the late New York Times education editor Fred M. Hechinger, the award includes a cash prize of $10,000.
View the list of previous Hechinger Grand Prize winners.
Each year, contest judges select one piece of coverage from among the first prize winners as the recipient of EWA’s top prize, the Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting. Named for the late New York Times education editor Fred M. Hechinger, the award includes a cash prize of $10,000.
View the list of previous Hechinger Grand Prize winners.
2018 Awards Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers about the Education Writers Association contest.
Most common questions about the awards are listed here.
2018 Award Categories
The Education Writers Association adjusted the awards categories for 2018 to account for changes in the ways journalists present their work and to emphasize the benefit that investigative and explanatory journalism offers communities.
Among the most important changes: a broadening of the standard categories to include journalism in any media. Now the News, Feature, Beat, Public Service and Eddie categories will accept entries of any and all media types. And the new Audio and Visual categories will accept entries from any independent news outlet.
Call for Education Journalism Awards Entries
National Awards for Education Reporting offer $10,000 top prize
The Education Writers Association is pleased to announce the launch of the 2018 National Awards for Education Reporting. Journalists may submit entries from 9 a.m. EST Nov. 15 through midnight PST Dec. 15, 2018.
Professional journalists who have published work in 2018 on any educational topic in any medium are encouraged to enter the contest, which features a total of 19 prizes with cash awards ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.
EWA Announces 2017 Winners of Top 3 Education Reporting Prizes
The Education Writers Association is delighted to honor “Children and Gun Violence,” a feature series from The Washington Post, with the top prize in the 2017 National Awards for Education Reporting. This year’s Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting will go to the reporter behind the series — John Woodrow Cox.
Bonus Episode: Revisiting Brian Rosenthal’s Award-Winning Piece
EWA Radio: Episode 124
2016 National Winners for the Hechinger, Moskowitz, Eddie Awards in Education Reporting
The Education Writers Association is delighted to honor “Denied: How Texas Keeps Tens of Thousands of Children Out of Special Education,” an investigative series from the Houston Chronicle, with the top prize in the 2016 National Awards for Education Reporting. This year’s Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting will go to the reporter behind the series – Brian Rosenthal.
EWA Announces Winners of Top Education Reporting Prizes
The Education Writers Association is pleased to announce that “Failure Factories,” an investigative series from the Tampa Bay Times, has won the top prize in the National Awards for Education Reporting. This year’s Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting will go to three writers of the series – Cara Fitzpatrick, Lisa Gartner and Michael LaForgia.
Hannah-Jones of ProPublica Receives the 2014 Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting
Highest Honor in Education Journalism
APRIL 20, 2015 (CHICAGO)—A ProPublica package of stories about the lingering effects of segregation in American schools by Nikole Hannah-Jones has been awarded the top prize in the Education Writers Association’s 2014 National Awards for Education Reporting.
Recipients of the EWA Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting.
1972–2017
John Matthews, Washington Star (1972)
William Grant, Detroit Free Press (1973)
James Nolan and Linda Stahl, Louisville Courier-Journal (1974)
Jonathan Neumann, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass. (1975)
James Worsham and Marguerite Del Guidice, Boston Globe (1976)
Lou Antosh, Philadelphia Bulletin (1977)
Stanley Moulton and Laurel Sorenson, Daily Hampshire Gazette (1978)