New England Awards

The AMWA New England Chapter is proud to sponsor the Will Solimene Awards for Excellence in Medical Communication, first presented in 1991. This biennial awards program recognizes New England chapter members for outstanding work in medical, biomedical, and health communication, based on accuracy of content, quality, originality, achievement of purpose, and overall impact. The 2008 winners are listed in the Awards Banquet brochure.

In honor of our long-term membership director and chapter mentor, the chapter has established the annual Judy Linn Membership Awards in 2001. These awards provide professional development and networking support to new medical and health communicators who live and work in New England, and who have less than three years of full-time experience as a medical writer. The awards include a complimentary one-year membership in AMWA and free admission to three chapter meetings. Candidates may apply on their own or be nominated by a chapter member. Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis, using the application provided here.

National Awards

AMWA sponsors two annual competitive writing awards – the Eric W. Martin Award and the Medical Book Awards. 

The Eric W. Martin Award is open to AMWA members only and is given for excellence in medical writing in three categories:  monographs, articles for a lay audience, and articles for a professional audience. In 2007, New England Chapter members won in two categories: Debra Ruder for "Life Lessons," a lay article published in the January-February 2006 issue of Harvard Magazine; and Diane Shannon, MD, MPH, for "Helping Your Patients Decide: Making Informed Health Choices About Hormonal Contraception," a monograph published in the July 2006 issue of the Clinical Proceedings of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals. Lonnie Christiansen won in 2005 for "Capturing the Potential: What Stem Cell Science Offers Diabetes," a lay article published in the fall 2004 issue of Joslin Magazine.

The Medical Book Awards were established more than 30 years ago to recognize the best of the best in non-fictional and fictional medical writing. Awards are presented to the author(s) of the best English-language medical book published each year in each of three categories: books for physicians, books for allied health professionals, and trade books. Authors need not be AMWA members to submit their books for consideration

Learn more about the competitive awards, application deadlines, and previous winners.

For more than 50 years, AMWA has also presented a number of honorary awards for excellence in biomedical communication, teaching, and leadership. These awards are presented at the annual conference. Previous recipients include representatives from biomedical journals, academic institutions, US government agencies, medical associations, and national media outlets.

Learn more about the noncompetitive national awards and previous winners.