We invite you to enter your favorite pieces of work in the annual Arkansas Press Women’s Professional Communications Contest.
Prospective entrants should note the early deadline for entries vying for state and, possibly, national recognition: noon on Jan. 21, 2026.
Contest information can be found on APW’s contest page of the National Federation of Press Women website.
Contest Details
APW contest categories reflect today’s responsibilities of professional communicators, including writing and editing for print, broadcast or the Web; photography; graphic design; advertising; and public relations. The professional contest includes categories for work appearing in college media and a category for college media advisers.
The categories and category requirements are described on this page of the NFPW website.
This link is to the Arkansas contest home page, from which entries can be submitted in the professional or high school contests. There is information on this page about entry fees and deadlines, which differ in the two contests.
For professional entries submitted after noon on Jan. 21, 2026, a one-time processing fee of $25 is charged in addition to entry fees. The final deadline for books is noon on Feb. 4, 2026; for all other entries, noon on Feb. 18, 2026.
Who is Eligible
An entrant in the Arkansas professional contest does not need to be a member of Arkansas Press Women, but entry fees are lower for APW members. A first-place entry in the Arkansas contest is eligible to advance to the national tier conducted by NFPW, but the entrant must be a member of NFPW. For a non-member, the deadline to join NFPW for these entries is March 25, 2026.
For entries that place first in the Arkansas contest, an e-mail will be sent asking the entrant to reimburse APW for the national fee of $20 per entry. APW is charged for national entry fees but requests reimbursement from entrants advancing to national rather than increasing entry fees for all contestants.
Individuals with entries that place first through third – or that earn honorable mention – in the Arkansas contest will be recognized at an APW event in spring 2026. Results will be posted on the APW website.
Individuals with entries that place first through third – or that earn honorable mention – in the national contest will be notified in June 2026. Awards in the national contest will be presented during a September 2026 banquet in Maryland.
Questions?
Contact Arkansas professional contest director Kristin Netterstrom Higgins at zesty_krstn@yahoo.com if you have questions about the contest and/or need assistance.
