The National Federation of Press Women’s 2021 communications contest is open and accepting entries. The year 2020 has been a year of constant changes, surprises, and the unexpected. Many of our members have been documenting this year via methods including the written word, photographs, books, campaigns, and presentations. Now is the time to recognize some of those efforts by entering the NFPW communications contest. Entries for the 2021 contest must be published or broadcast in some format between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020. The NFPW professional contest is a two-tiered contest. Entrants first enter a state-level contest in the state they live in or are a member of — people living in a state without a state contest, are encouraged to enter the at-large contest. When entries warrant the at-large contest, the contest may be split into regions to create a more level playing field. First-place winners in the state-level contest and the at-large contest are eligible to move to the national level of judging. To be eligible to compete at the national level, the entrant must be a member in good standing with the National Federation of Press Women. Unless the affiliate contest requires membership to participate, the entrants can join NFPW once they learn of their winning status. The deadline to join to compete in the national contest is March 15, 2021.

The 2021 contest is available here. The professional contest deadlines are:

• Early entry deadline — Jan. 27, 2021, at noon in the entrant’s time zone (the first entry submitted by an entrant after this deadline will be charged a $25 fee)
• Final book deadline — Feb. 3, 2021, at noon in the entrant’s time zone
• Final contest deadline — Feb. 10, 2021, at noon in the entrant’s time zone
• National winners announced and honored at NFPW conference — June 11, 2021