Meet the FSNE 2026 Paul Hansell Winner!

Amy Bennett Williams came to The News-Press as an ashtray-emptying, obituary-writing clerk/reporter, then moved through a series of assignments at the paper, covering everything from cake contests to tuberculosis. In addition to writing features and news articles, Williams conceived the paper’s weekly Tropicalia magazine, now in its 25th year. Her focus is largely on the environment and her work can range from sewage spills to the private lives of barnacles. Her reporting examines the tension between growth, habitat loss, water management and wildlife in one of the nation’s fastest-changing regions, where development pressures and restoration promises often collide.

Williams won FSNE’s 2026 Paul Hansell Award for Distinguished Journalism in Florida for a wide-ranging body of work that included investigations, features and breaking news.

She embodies the quintessential Florida journalist: part investigative reporter, part narrative storyteller, expert at all those traits that make Florida Florida.

That includes its characters, its politicos, and its swampy, steamy essence.

Williams lives in rural Alva with her writer husband, Roger, two sons and an ever-changing menagerie.