Minority writers seminar is on schedule for May 4-7.

The annual Minority Writers Seminar is geared toward journalists who are thinking about becoming editorial writers or who are new to editorial writing.

This year's event will be held May 4-7 in Nashville, at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute. Lodging and food will be covered for up to twenty-five participants. An additional travel stipend of two hundred dollars for airfare is also available. (In other words, we're talking about an almost-free trip to Nashville, people!) The application deadline is March 31.

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about opinion writing without having to officially cross over to the Dark Side. The people who run the seminars are good and experienced writers from around the country. Former participants tend to describe it as 1) a high-quality journalism seminar, packed with good advice; and 2) an excellent networking opportunity.

Many of the people who've gone through the program now have jobs as editorial writers or columnists or both. This is a great thing, since editorial staffs around the country are still far less diverse than they should be.

If you are interested, go to ncew.org for more information. You can contact program coordinator and NCEW board member Vanessa Gallman of the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky at [e-mail].