The American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors’ Best Feature Section competition honors regularly scheduled feature sections that present lifestyle and arts and entertainment coverage with authority, utility, energy and wit. Sections will be judged on a point system. Criteria will include content, service to readers and presentation.

AASFE will accept starting entries in early January, with an entry deadline of March 19, 2008. Finalists for the Best Feature Section will be announced in late summer, with the winners and Best Section Top 10 honored at the AASFE convention in Houston in October.

Top sections in each circulation category will receive certificates; the Top 10 will receive plaques.

Click here for an entry form (PDF format).

Please Note:  The postmark deadline for the Best Feature Section competition is March 19, 2008. Three copies of each entry are required.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

Any newspaper in the United States or Canada that publishes a daily feature section is eligible.

WHAT ARE THE CIRCULATION DIVISIONS?

(1) Up to 75,000
(2) 75,001 to 175,000 
(3) 175,001 to 300,000
(4) more than 300,000
Use official daily Audit Bureau of Circulation figures to determine your division. Check with your circulation department. In addition, the Audit Bureau of Circulations publishes circulation figures online.

HOW DO I ENTER THE BEST FEATURE SECTION CATEGORY?

An entry in the Best Features Section category consists of five sections published during the calendar year. Each entry must include three copies of the selected sections, as follows:
1. Of the five sections, four must come from one of these two weeks. Those weeks are Sunday, March 25, through Saturday March 31, and Sunday, Nov. 11, through Saturday, Nov. 17.
2. Two of the sections must be from the paper's weekday feature section, published Monday to Friday.
3. Two can be any daily or weekly section produced in the features department in that same week, including Saturday and Sunday. For example, a weekly Food, Arts, or a weekend entertainment guide.
4. The fifth section is an "editor's choice,'' chosen among any regularly scheduled sections published in the features department during the year.
5. You should have chosen five sections in all. Please make sure you have three copies of each section for a total of 15 before submitting your entry.
6. Best Features Section entries must be postmarked by March 19, 2008. Indicate circulation division (1, 2, 3 or 4) in the return address of the envelope. 
7. The fee for the best feature section contest is $50. Send a check payable to the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors with your material and entry form.

Mail entries to:

AASFE
College of Journalism
1117 Journalism Building
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-7111

Questions?

AASFE Best Feature Section Contest ChairChristine LedbetterAME/Features
Minneapolis Tribune
612-673-7918
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AASFE Best Feature Contest Co-chair
Betsy Guzior
The State (Columbia, S.C.)
803-771-8441
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AASFE Executive Director
Kalyani Chandha
301-314-2631
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