Greetings, professional communicators!
The 2017 Arkansas Communications Contest is now open for entries!
You will find complete information for entering the all-electronic 2017 competition on the Communications Contest pages on the NFPW website at nfpw.org/communicationsContest.php, and within the pages of the electronic contest itself.
DEADLINES: You may submit all entries at one time or at various times from now until the contest ends. There are two electronic contest / postmark deadline dates to consider.
- Tuesday, January 17, 2017: Early Bird discount period ends.
After January 17, $25 will be added to the cost of the first entry only, whether an entrant submits one entry or many.
- Monday, February 6, 2017: All other entries.
NOTE: hard-copy entries may be submitted in categories 56A–59F & 64 ONLY.
ELIGIBILITY: Anyone who is a member of Arkansas Press Women or who is a professional communicator and lives and works in Arkansas is eligible to enter. Former members of Arkansas Press Women in a state without an affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women also are eligible to enter.
Work published from January 1 through December 31, 2016, is eligible for this year’s contest. Anyone who receives a first-place award in the APW statewide contest will be eligible to enter the NFPW National Communications Contest, providing 2017 NFPW membership dues have been paid.
ENTRY FEES:
Members: $10 for the first entry; $5 for subsequent entries.
Non-members: $25 for the first entry; $20 for subsequent entries.
Note: If you are not an APW member but would like to be and pay at the member rate, you may join through the NFPW website and then enter as a member.
For contest information, you also may go to www.nfpw.org and click on Competitions. The first link on the Competitions page – NFPW Communications Contest – will take you to the information about the professional contest as well as to a link to the electronic contest.
You are welcome to pass this information and the links along to communications friends and colleagues.
CONTEST TIPS
Here are a few tips to give you a running start once you are on the contest Welcome (login) page
The ENTRANT FORM
· READ THE DIRECTIONS to orient yourself, then click the REGISTER link in the upper right corner of the contest site. Enter your email address and click SUBMIT to get the Entrant Form.
· Entrant Form (about YOU, not the entry): Enter your email address and click SUBMIT. Note that if you entered the contest last year and you submit the SAME email address you used then, your entrant form should appear with all of the information you provided for the 2016 contest. If any of that information has changed, or if you want the 2017 contest based on a different email address, simply update the email address and any other fields needing new information.
· To put yourself into the contest, click Member or Non-member (If you’re not sure, please write to me atdebmiller25@cox.net and ask; this choice, once clicked on the entry form, cannot be changed.
· If you are not a member but would like to enter at the member rate, please pay dues to join as directed above, and then proceed.
· Choose Arkansas from the dropdown list of affiliates.
· Finish filling out or making changes to the Entrant Form.
· At the end of the form, enter a username and password. Write them down. Keep them simple and know that the username and password a) are case sensitive; b) can be the same username and password you used last year; c) can be identical: you could use your initials or something easy to remember; and d) you can retrieve them through the contest system (or me) if you forget them.
· Check that you agree to the rules (there is a link to the rules beside the checkbox you may click to read them first).
· SAVE the Entrant Form (click SAVE button at top or bottom of page).
NAVIGATING THE CONTEST SITE: Anytime you enter the site to submit an entry or to review work you already have entered, type in the username and password, and from the navigation bar that is always visible at the top of the contest page, choose one of the following:
· ADD ENTRY to get the electronic Entry Form. Read the directions (in red) at the top of the ENTRY FORM (this form is about a specific entry). You will click Add Entry to get a new auto-filled form for each entry. You will see 5 tabs along the top of the form. You MUST click each tab (except for Hard-copy Entries, unless you will be entering a book in hard-copy format) to complete the entry process. Click Add Entry to get a new entry form for each separate entry.
· VIEW/EDIT ENTRIES to see what you have entered, or to make changes to any of your entries (click the title of the entry to go directly to the Entry Form for that entry, and later on to submit the completed entry. Entries are not official until they have been submitted and paid for.
· PAY NOW to pay for your entries. If you will be entering work into the contest over time, you do not need to pay until you have submitted all of your entries. To avoid the $25 add-on fee, be sure to submit and pay for all entries by January 17. You may pay by credit card or by check (instructions as to where to send the check are on the Pay Now page).
· GET HELP to find answers to questions or get help in entering the contest. Click the FAQ or Contact Us tabs on the contest navigation bar. Also, you may contact me at 479-936-1228 or debmiller25@cox.net.
For more information, download steps for easy entry into the 2017 NFPW affiliate contest.
Good luck and have fun entering the 2017 Arkansas Press Women Communications Contest.
— Debbie Miller, APW President