National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest

Rules and Fees

This document contains the rules, fees and requirements for the 2018 NFPW communications contest.  To go directly to a section of this document, click the linked section below.

Eligibility
Membership Requirements
Categories
Deadlines
Judging
Awards
Fees
State Affiliate Contest Directors

Eligibility

The NFPW Communications contest is open to anyone over the age of 18 regardless of sex, professional status or location. College students do not have to be 18 to enter any of the categories in the Collegiate Division.

All work must have been published or broadcast between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017, to be eligible for entry. 

Membership Requirements

Entrants in most of the state-level contests are not required to be members of the state affiliate or NFPW, with the exception of entrants from Missouri, Nebraska and North Dakota. People residing in those three states must be members of their state affiliates to enter the contest.  For more information about joining your state affiliate please contact the National Federation of Press Women. 

First-place winners advancing to the National contest must be members in good standing of NFPW. Entrants from states with contests open to non-members, may join NFPW once they learn that their entry is eligible to advance to the national competition.

Categories

NFPW offers a wide range of communication categories:

A.     Writing

B.     Editing and Page Design

C.      Photography and Graphics

D.     Radio and Television

E.      Web and Social Media

F.      Advertising

G.     Communications Programs and Campaigns

H.     PR Materials

I.      Information for the Media       

J.     Speeches

K.     Collegiate/Education

L.     Books and Creative Writing

For a complete list of categories and entry guidelines CLICK HERE.

Each category and subcategory has specific guidelines and requirements.  If you have any questions about the guidelines or the category in which your entry should be submitted, please Contact Us.

Deadlines

The deadline for entry into the contest is midnight in your time zone on February 6, 2018.  

Judging

All NFPW judges, both at the state and national level, are experts in their fields. They are to judge each entry in accordance with the judging criteria outlined in the contest categories and guidelines.

Each entry will receive constructive comments from the judges. After all entries have been evaluated, the judge will assign first, second and third place winners, along with any honorable mentions he/she sees fit to award.

A judge can decide no entry in a given category merits a first-place award and may assign the other places accordingly.

The decisions of the judges are final.

Awards

Entries receiving first-place in their respective state or the at-large contest are eligible to advance to the National competition, providing the entrant is an NFPW member in good standing.

If there are co-entrants on a first-place entry advancing to the National contest, each co-entrant must be an NFPW member in good standing to be included on award certificates. If the co-entrants are not NFPW members, the entries can still advance to National level judging if the entrant is an NFPW member in good standing and was the primary lead on the project. 

National award winners will receive a Certificate of Achievement at the NFPW National Communications Conference Awards banquet. Award certificates will be mailed to award winners who are unable to attend.  Winners also are eligible to be featured in our Winners Showcase, both online through social media and at the National awards banquet. 

Entrants who have placed in multiple categories in the National contest are automatically entered into the National Sweepstakes contest.  Each winning entry will receive a weighted point score determined by the number of entries in the category of placing.  Cash prizes will be awarded to the entrants with the three highest point totals.

Fees

See the chart below for the fees for entry into the state-affiliate contests.

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State Affiliate Contest Directors