Welcome to the Web site of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers, a new 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 Charlotte, N.C., April 23-25, 2009.

SPOW announced the recipients of 2008 SPOW Awards at a professional obit writers workshop in Portland, Ore., in May 2008. Details on those writers, who were recognized for obits that were published in 2007, and the first recipient of the SPOW Lifetime Achievement Award are available on our Awards page and on our Obituary Forum blog.

Direct comments and questions to info@obitwriters.org.