Kessler and Graham Awarded 2019 Nell Ann Pickett Award

Congratulations to Molly M. Kessler and S. Scott Graham who were awarded the Nell Ann Pickett Award for their article, “Terminal Node Problems: ANT 2.0 and Prescription Drug Labels,” published in Technical Communication Quarterly, Volume 27.2, 2018. 

The Award Selection Committee noted that “Kessler and Graham ambitiously challenge presuppositions of actor-network theory research in technical communication, in particular past synchronic approaches and explanations of durability.  But they do not limit their research to critique, also offering innovative ways to reframe such problems. Their demonstration of diachronic processes of PDL construction opens up new research pathways, and we believe this article will be a reference point for scholars applying actor-network theory for years to come.”

The Nell Ann Pickett Award is given annually for the best article in ATTW’s journal, Technical Communication Quarterly, for the previous publication year. Judges for the award are previous award winners. It is named for a founding member of the association who initiated the award and originally funded it.

The Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW) is an active professional organization of teachers, researchers, and practitioners of technical communication. Formed in 1973 to encourage dialogue among teachers of technical communication and to develop technical communication as an academic discipline, the organization boasts an international and interdisciplinary membership. ATTW produces Technical Communication Quarterly, a leading academic journal, and it collaborates with Taylor & Francis/Routledge to publish the ATTW Book Series in Technical and Professional Communication.