The American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors’ Excellence-in-Feature-Writing awards honor the craft of feature writing and the people who do it for a living at daily newspapers and for wire services. AASFE also presents a Best Feature Section competition, which honors regularly scheduled feature sections.

AASFE will accept entries now with an entry deadline of March 31, 2010. Winners of the writing contest will be announced in mid-summer and will be honored at AASFE's national convention in St. Petersburg, Fla. Oct. 6-9, 2010.

WHAT ARE THE PRIZES?

Writing contest: First-place winners in each category in all three circulation divisions will receive $500. NEW: First-place winners in the writing contest now can choose either a $500 prize or the opportunity to attend the 2010 AASFE conference -- three days of intensive training at the Poynter Institute. Second- and third-place winners and honorable mentions will receive certificates.

Best Sections: NEW: Five top sections will be chosen in three circulation categories. Those publications will be announced at the 2010 conference.

Please Note: Entries must have appeared in daily newspapers or their affiliated Web sites between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2009. The postmark deadline is Wednesday, March 31, 2010, for entries.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

For the story categories, any freelancer or writer whose work appears in a daily newspaper, its affiliated Web site or for a wire service in the United States or Canada may enter. Stories written by more than one writer are not eligible. For Best Sections contest: Any regular feature section, Sunday section or special section published by the newsroom in 2009. Best blog, multimedia effort and social media enterprise can be group efforts, but there must be one name chosen as the point person for either the $500 check or the Poynter Conference trip in case of a first-place win. NEW: You may enter specialty publications as part of your entry in the Best Section contest, and choose sections from any time in 2009.

CIRCULATION DIVISIONS

AASFE has eight categories in each of three circulation divisions:
(1) up to 90,000
(2) 90,001 to 199,999
(3) more than 200,000
Use official daily average Audit Bureau of Circulation figures as of Sept. 30, 2009, to determine your division. Check with your circulation department or search the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Wire service entries must be submitted in Division 3.

CONTEST RULES

Please note: Some rules have been revised from previous years where noted.

Best Sections: The best your publication has to offer in features, lifestyle, arts and entertainment. Pick five sections from the 2009 calendar year - one must be a Sunday section, another an arts and entertainment themed section, and a third, a regularly appearing feature section. The remaining two section can by anything you'd like, including a niche publication produced by your newsroom.

1. General Feature: REVISED Feature treatment of any lifestyle or news topic. Entries can be trend stories, profiles, interviews, news features, general features or narrative stories of 1,000 words or more. Sidebars may be included. Please include any box or sidebar that explains how the story was reported.

2. Multimedia Storytelling: This category honors creative use of emerging techniques to cover an event or tell a single story, with an emphasis on the appropriate use of technology, such as interactive databases, online polls, alternative platforms (texting to cell phones). Entrants should submit the URL address for a single Web page as their entry and a short (one page) explanation of the campaign.

3. Blogging: REVISED A regularly appearing online lifestyle or entertainment blog that's well written, makes good use of photos, video and other elements, and elicits lively reader engagement and/or action in the community. Entrants should submit two sample blog entries and the URL address for the blog.

4. Social Media Enterprise: NEW Best use of social media on a single topic related to lifestyle or arts and entertainment. Entrants should submit relevant URL addresses and a short (one-page) explanation/backgrounder on the endeavor.

5. Short feature: Tight, bright writing of fewer than 1,000 words. (About 1½ standard newspaper columns in 9-point type.) No series packages or sidebars. A word count is required with each entry in this category (see entry form). Each word is included in the 1,000-word count, and entries with more than 1,000 words will be disqualified.

6. Feature specialty reporting: Three examples from one specialty topic such as religion, health, technology, fashion, travel, food, arts and entertainment, etc. Examples can include trend stories, profiles, interviews, news features, general features or narratives from the same specialty topic. Excluded are columns and commentary.

7. General commentary: A collection of columns or essays on any human interest or specialty topic from any section of the paper, excluding editorials. NEW This includes commentary in arts and entertainment, including arts and movie reviews. One entry in this category consists of three examples of the writer's work, showing a range of personal and reported styles.

8. Arts/entertainment feature: Feature treatment on any arts and entertainment topic (on movies, music, dance, art, architecture, television, books, theater, opera, etc.). Entries can be trend stories, profiles, interviews, feature stories or narratives of 1,000 words or more. One sidebar may be included. Series or packages not eligible.

HOW DO I ENTER?

  Entries must have appeared in daily newspapers or their Web sites between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2009. Entries are accepted in three forms: original published copies, photocopies of originals or computer printouts of stories from the newspaper's archives.

• Each entry should be taped or glued to an 8½-by-11-inch paper and placed in a plain manila folder. Computer printouts from the archive may be stapled together and placed in a plain manila folder.

• TWO COPIES of the story are required for every writing competition entry.  Also, one entry form should be stapled or glued to the front of each entry's manila folder, while a second entry form should be placed as the first page in the folder.

• Do not send cover letters except for the multimedia storytelling and social media enterprise categories. DO NOT include photos, illustrations, photo illustrations, charts, maps, graphics, etc.  Entries submitted with art and/or graphics will be disqualified. Cut out or black out these art elements before submitting your entry. Headlines, sigs and bylines may be included with story entries.

• Writers may submit UP TO THREE entries per category (in the feature specialty reporting, general commentary, and multimedia categories, one entry consists of more than one sample). There is no limit to the number of entries each newspaper may submit.

• A single story may be entered in no more than two categories. For example, a narrative of less than 1,000 words could be entered in both general and short feature. But two separate entries - each with two entry forms, two copies of the text and entry fees - must be submitted.

• Fees are $25 per entry, except for the general feature category, which is $35.  The fee for the Best Section contest is $50. Send a check payable to the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors with your material and entry form. AASFE's TIN is 94-294-1661.

• Entries for both the writing contest and the Best Section contest must be postmarked by March 31, 2010. Mail your entries to the address on the entry form.

MAIL ENTRIES TO ...

Download a PDF application to submit by mail. 
AASFE
1100 Knight Hall
Philip Merrill College of Journalism
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742

QUESTIONS?

AASFE Writing and Best Section Contest Co-Chairman
Betsey Guzior
Features Editor
The State
(803) 771-8441
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AASFE Writing Contest Co-chair
AASFE Writing and Best Section Contest Co-Chairman
Kathy Blackwell
Executive Features Editor
Austin American-Statesman
and Glossy Magazine
(512) 445-3607
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AASFE Executive Director
Kalyani Chandha
(301) 314-2631
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