ObitCon 2019
The sixth conference of The Society of Professional Obituary Writers was held Oct. 3-5, 2019 in Washington, D.C.
On Thursday, ObitCon attendees enjoyed a meet-and-greet event followed by dinner at the National Press Club.
On Friday, attendees met at the Kaiser Family Foundation and engaged in discussions about obits and obituary writing. Topics of discussion included: how to write advance obituaries, how to pen obits for organ donors, the podcasting of obits, how to write about people who've done terrible things, how to handle the #MeToo movement in obits, diversity in obit coverage, the future of the death beat and more.
Our special guest was: Mo Rocca, the Emmy-winning correspondent for "CBS Sunday Morning," a frequent panelist on NPR’s hit weekly quiz show "Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!" and the host of the new podcast "Mobituaries with Mo Rocca."
On Saturday, Grimmys were awarded 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.
For those who were unable to attend, all events were tweeted using the hashtag #obitcon.
On Thursday, ObitCon attendees enjoyed a meet-and-greet event followed by dinner at the National Press Club.
On Friday, attendees met at the Kaiser Family Foundation and engaged in discussions about obits and obituary writing. Topics of discussion included: how to write advance obituaries, how to pen obits for organ donors, the podcasting of obits, how to write about people who've done terrible things, how to handle the #MeToo movement in obits, diversity in obit coverage, the future of the death beat and more.
Our special guest was: Mo Rocca, the Emmy-winning correspondent for "CBS Sunday Morning," a frequent panelist on NPR’s hit weekly quiz show "Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!" and the host of the new podcast "Mobituaries with Mo Rocca."
On Saturday, Grimmys were awarded 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.
For those who were unable to attend, all events were tweeted using the hashtag #obitcon.