The nominees are Kathleen Thurber and Brock King. To learn more about the nominees, and to vote, visit the elections page .

Voting opens at 9:00am Eastern Time, on Monday May 14^th and closes on May 21^st  at 6:00pm Eastern Time.  All CSWA members in good standing can vote by clicking on the link for the candidate they choose.

OTTAWA, May 2, 2012 /CNW/ – The Canadian Science Writers Association (CSWA) and the Association des communicateurs scientifiques (ACS) are winners of the 14^th annual Press Freedom Award for their work in exposing government restrictions on federal scientists that prevent or delay the free communication of public science through the media.

Awarded each year by the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom, the prize goes to a Canadian person or group who has defended or advanced the cause of freedom of expression. The award includes a cash prize of $2,000and a certificate from the Canadian Commission for UNESCO whose Secretary-General, David A. Walden, presents it at a noon luncheon in Ottawa on May 3^rd  at the National Arts Centre.

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The Canadian Science Writers’ Association has announced the winners of the national Science in Society Journalism Awards competition to honour outstanding contributions to journalism in the Canadian media during the 2011 calendar year. Each award carries a $1,000 prize value.

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Canadian journalists who specialize in health and science reporting are doing a tremendous job of covering their subject matter but need to remain ever-vigilant about asking hard and sometimes uncomfortable questions when presented with new research, according to Brian Goldman.

“Anytime you’re seeing a brand new theory, be skeptical and ask lots of tough questions,” said Dr. Goldman, who will deliver a keynote address to the Canadian Science Writers’ Association when it holds its annual conference in Windsor June 2-5.

An emergency room doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto since 1984, Goldman is also the host of CBC Radio’s White Coat, Black Art, a weekly program which examines the culture of medicine and the health care system from the perspective of those who work in it.

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The general audience book winner is Cascadia’s Fault by Jerry Thompson.

The youth book winner is 50 Poisonous Questions by Tanya Lloyd Kyi.

Entries were judged on the basis of initiative, originality, scientific accuracy, clarity of interpretation and value in promoting a better understanding of science by the public.

Both of this year’s books appealed to the judges because they created a sense of mystery and discovery. Commenting on Cascadia’s Fault one judge said, “The writing was masterful and it read almost like a novel. I never felt bogged down in details, and yet the science about earthquakes was all there along with the controversies, descriptions of the sources, and stories about the people.”

The youth judges were equally enthusiastic about 50 Poisonous Questions, “There were very interesting facts that I didn’t know about and the explanations were easy to understand.” “It was a book I didn’t want to put down until I finished the whole book.” “It was a really fun book.”

The book awards will be presented at the CSWA annual conference in Windsor, Ontario on June 2, 2012.