Welcome to the Web site of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers, an organization created for folks who write about the dead for a living. Most of us are journalists, who work for news organizations.

We want those who write articles about the recently deceased to regard obituaries as once-in-a-lifetime stories that should be researched, reported and penned with as much care and attention as any other newsroom assignment.

We hope to help obit writers improve their skills and to elevate their stature in the newsroom, in the eyes of their editors and in the field of journalism.

We invite other obit writers to join SPOW - which, like this Web site, is in its formative stages - and to attend the SPOW Convention in Philadelphia, Pa., April 22-24, 2010.

SPOW will present the 2010 SPOW Awards at the convention. Contest details have been posted on the Awards page.

Recipients of 2009 SPOW Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and a special award created to honor the late Gayle Ronan Sims are available on our Obituary Forum blog and at 2009 SPOW Awards.

Direct comments and questions to info@obitwriters.org.