Three Bay Area writers are among the finalists in the National Society of Newspaper Columnists column-writing contest.

Steve Symanovich of the San Francisco Business Times and John Philipp of the Sausalito Marinscope are among the three finalists in the humor category for papers under 50,000 circulation.

In the general interest category for papers over 50,000, one of the finalists is Joel Brinkley, whose column on foreign policy is syndicated by Tribune Media Services. Brinkley, a Pulitzer winner (and the son of the late TV newsman David Brinkley), is the Hearst Professional in Residence for the journalism program at Stanford, a position he assumed in 2006 after 23 years with The New York Times.

The winners will be announced at a column-writers conference in Detroit on June 25.