The Kansas Professional Communicators’ annual communications contest is still accepting entries. Administrated by our national parent organization, NFPW, this year’s contest has undergone several changes, ranging from the types of categories to the requirements for submission. All entries and payments will be handled digitally.
Because communicators now do all kinds of work, several new categories have been added. New categories include ghostwriting, web content writing, personal website, essay writing, social media management, authoring novellas and more.
The contest is open to both members of KPC/NFPW and nonmembers. Winning first-place entries in the state level will advance to the NFPW contest
if the entrant is a member. A nonmember first-place winner will be given the option to join KPC/NFPW to move on. KPC will pick up the cost of NFPW contest entries.
Here are some tips and the deadlines you should be aware of:
• Go to nfpw.org, hover over the Events option in the upper-right-hand corner to find the Professional Contest option on the dropdown menu.
• Read through the categories and descriptions and the rules to find out eligibility of entries and also requirements. The categories are defined by genres, such as writing, editing, radio and television, web and social media etc.
• You can create your profile and begin the entry process now. For example, if you plan to enter a newsletter that has finished publishing for the year, go ahead and upload that entry now. It will be saved and you can continue uploading other entries at a later date.
• To save on entry fees, enter by Wednesday, Jan. 9. All entries received after that date will be charged a one-time $25 late fee. The final deadline for book submissions is Tuesday, Jan. 15 midnight in your time zone. The final deadline for all other entries is Tuesday, Jan. 22 midnight in your time zone.
• Cost to enter is first entry $25, all other entries $20 each for members; first entry $30, all other entries $25 each for nonmembers.
KPC contest winners will be determined in late February, with national winners determined in March.
– Amy Geiszler-Jones, WPC president