CWA COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST RULES

1. Entries for all categories must be postmarked by July 1, 2009, to qualify for the contest.

2. All entries must be sent in such a manner that they can be reasonably expected to arrive within 7 days of the July 1 postmark deadline. Regardless of the delivery method you choose, you MUST specify that the recipient need not be present in person to sign for the material. The Contest Chair cannot be home every day during business hours to sign for packages. It is the entrant's responsibility to package the entry carefully, so that it will not be damaged in transit. Posters and other large items should be packaged in tubes. The CWA will not assume responsibility for items that arrive damaged or do not arrive at all. If you wish acknowledgment of receipt of your entry, send a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the entry.

3. The contest is open to anyone whose work qualifies in any CWA contest category and was first published or broadcast between June 16, 2008, and June 15, 2009. Entries must not have been published before in any medium. Material published prior to the current contest period is not eligible, even if it was published in a different form. Publication date is the published date cited on the entry. When there is a question regarding eligibility, it is the entrant's responsibility to clarify the issue, that is, to include with the entry a signed letter from the publication's editor or publisher clarifying the date of publication.

4. The category Online Magazine or Newsletter will be judged directly from the entrant's web site between August 1 and August 30, 2009. (Since the judging of this category falls outside our normal time line, these entries will not be considered for Special Awards. The Special Awards judges do not have time to judge them.)

5. In order to be equitably judged against other contenders, entries in all categories should devote one third or more space to cats.

6. All contest entries must be published work. "Vanity" publications are not eligible. However, quality self-published professional work is eligible. It will be judged based on the same criteria as all the other entries in a given category. It is the entrant's responsibility to provide any supporting documents with self-published entries to clarify that the work does, indeed, qualify under this rule. SELF-PUBLISHED work MUST be offered for sale by professional outlets (that is, book stores, commercial web sites and other venues not owned by the author/artist).

7. Submit each regular category entry in triplicate (3 copies), with one entry form for each entry.

8. The CWA Entry Form, with category and subcategory noted, must accompany each entry and must be sent to the Contest Chair along with the total entry fee at the time of entry. Any entry that is missing any element (required number of copies, entry form, entry fee) will be considered incomplete and will not be judged.

9. All entries must be submitted either as originals or as high-quality photocopies. Bear in mind that the judges can judge only what is before them, in its published form, and cannot make allowances for editing, cropping or reproduction quality. Online articles/columns must be submitted in hardcopy with the original online URL and publication date included. The one exception is the category Online Magazine or Newsletter, which is judged live on the Internet during the judging period specified in Rule 3. For this category only, submit an entry form with the URL specified.

10. In the Newspaper categories, when an entry first appeared as a syndicated article, in those specific cases where a syndicated writer is not able to obtain actual copies of the published newspaper articles, the entrant may provide a copy of the original article and a letter of authentication from the syndicate editor.

11. For the Newsletter categories, a newsletter is distinguished from a magazine in that the newsletter does not take paid advertising and is sold only to subscribers (that is, it is not sold on newsstands). Single cat breed newsletters are the exception in that they may take paid advertising.

12. Entries in the Video or Television Production and Radio Presentation, Audiotape or CD categories must be submitted in their original form; that is, a transcript of a radio or television program is not acceptable-an actual audio or video recording must be entered. Video entries must be submitted as a VHS videotape or a DVD that plays in a standard DVD player. If an entire radio or television program is less than 10 minutes long, the entrant may select his/her three best programs and enter them as a single entry.

13. We will accept entries published in a foreign language, but they must be accompanied by a complete English translation. Entrants must provide three copies of the original that clearly show the date and name of the publication, and three copies of the translation. Bear in mind that the judges cannot judge the quality of the translation; they will base their decision solely on the English language content. Of course, entries in graphic arts categories are the exception and need no translation.

14. An individual person or entity may submit an unlimited number of entries, but each individual work can be entered only one time in one regular contest category. In other words, the same individual work may not be entered in more than one category. Photos or illustrations that are entered in a Graphic Arts category may appear again as a part of a writing entry (for example, as part of a magazine article or a book). Columnists must choose only their three best columns and submit them as a single entry for that column. This applies to all the Columns categories (magazine, newspaper, newsletter and online) and means no other individual installments of that particular column may be entered as single articles, except in the Editorial and Humor categories. (A column appears regularly in the same publication(s) with the same column title, byline, slug and/or artwork.)

15. An entry must be entered in a regular category to be considered for a Special Award. Send one additional copy for each Special Award entry. (Exceptions: Three copies of the nomination form should be submitted for the Shojai Mentor Award. No additional copies are needed for consideration for the President's Award, and no entry form is needed for this award; the winner of the President's Award is chosen from among the Muse Medallion™ winners, and all Muse Medallion™ winners are automatically considered.) Special Award entries are sent to the Contest Chair starting in 2009.

16. Anyone may submit an entry on behalf of an author/artist, but the award will be presented solely to the author/artist of the entry. The author/artist must be a current CWA member to qualify for the member's volunteer/judging discount entry fee and CWA membership dues must be paid current at the time of the contest deadline.

17. All judges are chosen by the Contest Chair and his or her Committee. Entries in the regular categories are reviewed and judged independently by three professional CWA members and their scores are averaged by the Contest Committee to determine the winner. Winners of Special Awards are selected by judges who are not members and are not affiliated with the award's sponsor; each Special Award is judged by one judge. Special Awards sponsors may be shown the winning entry before the award is given, but that announcement decision is at the discretion of the judge and the Contest Committee.

18. The Contest Chair has the right to make category changes as deemed necessary. The Contest Chair may also delete or combine categories if there are not sufficient entries. What constitutes sufficient entries is decided by the Contest Chair, but there is no absolute minimum number of entries for any category to be judged. If, in the opinion of the judges, no entry represents excellence within a category, no award will be given.

19. Entries will not be returned. Judges' decisions are final. Situations that may arise from time to time that are not specifically addressed in these rules shall be adjudicated by the Contest Chair and her or his committee.

20. Regular award finalists receive a CWA Certificate of Excellence and shall be notified in October. In order to earn a certificate, the individual must score an average of 90 or higher based on the scores submitted by the three judges for each category. The winner in each regular contest category shall receive the CWA Muse Medallion™. Special Award winners shall receive recognition as specified in the Special Awards list.

21. Contest results will be announced at the Annual CWA Awards Banquet and published in the Winter 2010 Meow newsletter and on the CWA web site at www.catwriters.org. Please do not call the Contest Chair or anyone on the Contest Committee to ask if you have won. Those who do not have access to the Internet or the CWA newsletter may enclose an SASE for a list of winners. Please mark on the back of the envelope "CWA Contest Winners."

22. The entrant must comply with all rules. Deviation from the rules will result in rejection of an entry and loss of the entry fee. Entrants will be notified of disqualification in as timely a manner as possible. However, CWA is not responsible for disputed entries.

Back to the contest page.