Obituary Journalists from US, Canada Chronicle Histories of Our Times

A screening of the critically acclaimed documentary “Obit” and a discussion of the film with director Vanessa Gould will highlight the fifth annual conference of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers (SPOW) Oct. 13-15, 2017 at the Legacy.com offices in Evanston, IL.

SPOW is marking its tenth anniversary as an organization providing professional training and resources to help journalists who write about the dead for a living. SPOW helps its members develop reporting, interviewing, writing and new media skills for creating and disseminating outstanding obituaries.

“Obituaries are often the best-read stories in newspapers,” says Maureen O’Donnell, president of SPOW and obituary writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. “They tell the stories not only about famous and not-so-famous people, but about the times, events and places that shaped them, and that they influenced during their lives.”

On Saturday Oct. 14, about 20 participants from the U.S. and Canada will gather at Legacy.com in Evanston (820 Davis Street) to discuss obits and obit writing. Speakers include Adam Bernstein of The Washington Post and Susan Soper of ObitKit. At 2 p.m., there will be a screening of the documentary, "Obit," followed by a discussion of the film with director Vanessa Gould.

On Sunday Oct. 15, the SPOW awards (called “Grimmys”) will be presented in the following categories: best short form obit (under 800 words), best long form obit (over 800 words), best obit of an “ordinary Joe/Jane,” obituary writer of the year and lifetime achievement in obituary writing.

“We’re very grateful to Vanessa Gould, Legacy.com and all our speakers and attendees for helping to make our tenth-anniversary conference a special event that will benefit obituary writing for the participants, and, most important, for our readers,” O’Donnell said.