Associated Church Press Entry Guide to the

2023 ACP Best of the Church Press Awards

For work published in 2023

Deadline for entries: February 26, 2024

ACP MEMBERS AND NON-MEMBERS ARE ELIGIBLE TO ENTER!

Each year, the Associated Church Press honors faith communicators’ best work with the ACP “Best of the Church Press” awards. New and established newspapers, newsletters, magazines, journals, news services, electronic publications, blogs, and websites earn recognition for the work they do, as do the many excellent entries in social media and visual communications.

The religious landscape has changed drastically in the past few years and the role of faith-based journalism has changed along with it. From the ways in which we gather to the ways we get our messages across, the role of communicators has been reinvented and reimagined.

All categories are eligible for electronic submission for the 2023 awards. We will exclusively be using the online submission and payment process at https://www.judgify.me/ACP2023. Winners will be announced at our in-person convention being held in Chicago, May 17-19, 2024.

Here are the steps to submit your entries:

Step 1: Choose your best material from 2023.

All work must have a cover date, dateline, online availability, or streaming date within 2023. Work produced in 2023 with a publication date in 2024 is not eligible until next year’s contest.

Step 2: Please convert printed entries to PDF files before uploading.

Exceptions include printed work that is also available in its printed format via a URL (pasted into the “Additional Information” section of the entry form.)

Additionally, individual photographs may be submitted as JPG files or, if submitted within the context of a story, as a link to the story or a PDF.

Step 3: Go to https://www.judgify.me/ACP2023 and log in using existing credentials or register for a new account by clicking the link next to the “new user” notification at the top-left of the page.

Step 4: Submit entries and pay contest fee online or remit check.

If you have not yet paid your 2023 or 2024 membership dues, please contact the ACP office for an invoice to bring your membership up-to-date.

Please remember the contest is open to original material only. Absolutely no reprints of text, artwork, or photography are allowed where the reprint would be the primary element judged in a category.

Any entry deemed unoriginal to the publication will be disqualified and its fee forfeited. Exceptions: (a) First-use-in-print of speeches or sermons; (b) Original artwork or photography that is creatively/substantially altered by the publication.

“Original to the publication” also includes a periodical’s website; submitting the same entry from both the website and a printed periodical is not allowed.

Unless otherwise noted, entries are open to all printed and online publication types.

For every category, except Best in Class, you may enter each category as often as you wish if you pay the entry fee for each. You may also enter copies of the same piece under as many different categories as it clearly fits; for example, Editorial Courage and Editorial/Opinion Piece.

ALL SUBMISSIONS to the contest will be electronic – links to stories and full issues or PDF uploads are preferred. We will not be able to accept or distribute printed “full issue” or tearsheet entries. Please contact us for instructions on uploading files larger than 250mb. We promise it will be easy and while judges won’t see the amazing printing format or paper selections you’ve made, your content will be fully available to them.

Entry Fees

BEST IN CLASS ENTRIES (Categories 1–12): Entries are $60 each and open to ACP members only.

BEST DISAPPROVING LETTER TO THE EDITOR (Category 59): FREE

BEST EMERGING JOURNALIST (Category 60): FREE

ALL OTHER ENTRIES (Categories 13-58,61-89): Entries are $30 each and open to both ACP members and non-members.

Please Note: A small platform fee will be charged for each entry.

One standard category entry is free AFTER submitting six standard category entries by using the promotion code ONEFREE at checkout. Only one free entry will be issued to each entrant – it is ONE FREE entry, not one free for every six entries. There is no discount for Best In Class entries.

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