| 20th Annual AASFE Excellence-in-Feature-Writing Competition |
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The 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. The American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors also presents a Best Feature Section competition, which honors regularly scheduled feature sections that present lifestyle and arts and entertainment coverage with authority, utility, energy and wit. More detailed rules for this category are included below. AASFE will accept entries for both competitions starting in early January, with an entry deadline of early March. Winners will be announced at AASFE's national convention in Houston in October 2008. The winners will include 5 finalists from each circulation division and a Top 10 selected from all finalists. Plaques and certificates will be awarded. WHAT ARE THE PRIZES?
First-place winners in the general feature category in all four circulation divisions will receive $1,000. First-place winners in the remaining seven individual writing categories in all four circulation divisions will receive $500. Second and third place winners receive plaques. Honorable mentions receive certificates. In the Best Feature Section competition, top sections in each circulation category will receive certificates; the Top 10 will receive plaques. Please Note: Entries must have appeared in daily newspapers between Jan. 1, 2007, and Dec. 31, 2007. The postmark deadline is Wednesday, March 12, 2008, for writing entries. The postmark deadline is Wednesday, March 19, 2008, for section entries. WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
For the individual story categories, any staff writer -- full time or permanent part time -- for a daily newspaper or wire service in the United States or Canada may enter. Freelancers and staffers of weeklies are not eligible. Stories written by more than one writer are not eligible. For the feature section competition, any newspaper in the United States or Canada that publishes a daily feature section is eligible. WHAT ARE THE CATEGORIES?
AASFE has nine categories in each of four circulation divisions:
HOW DO I ENTER?• Entries must have appeared in daily newspapers between Jan. 1, 2007, and Dec. 31, 2007. Story and headline writing entries are accepted in three forms: original published copies, photocopies of originals or computer printouts of stories from the newspaper's archives. Editors from the submitting papers must verify the authenticity of the printout as being the version of the story that originally appeared. To confirm authenticity, the submitting editor must initial the entry form where indicated. • Each entry should be taped or glued to an 8 ½-by-11-inch paper and placed in a plain manila folder. Computer printouts from the archive may simply be stapled together and placed in a plain manila folder. In either case, the entry form should be stapled or glued to the front of each entry's manila folder. • TWO COPIES are required for every writing competition entry. • Do not send cover letters. DO NOT include photos, illustrations, photo illustrations, charts, maps, graphics, etc. except in the headline category noted above. 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 only ONE entry per category (in the feature specialty reporting, general commentary, headline and arts/entertainment commentary categories, one entry consists of three samples). 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 general interest narrative could be entered in both general feature and narrative categories. Another example: A narrative of less than 1,000 words could be entered in both narrative and short feature. But two separate entries -- two entry forms, two copies of the text and two entry fees -- must be submitted. • Fees are $25 per entry, with three exceptions. The fee for the general feature category and the narrative feature category will be $35. 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. AASFE's TIN is 94-294-1661. • Writing contest entries must be postmarked by March 12, 2008. Be sure to include TWO COPIES of each entry. Indicate circulation division (1, 2, 3 or 4) in the return address of the envelope. Mail your entries to the address on the entry form. • Winning entries for story and headline categories, as well as 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. HOW DO I ENTER THE BEST FEATURE SECTION CATEGORY?Visit this page to learn more. DOWNLOAD AN APPLICATIONDownload a PDF application to submit by mail. MAIL ENTRIES TO:
AASFE QUESTIONS?
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