With the end of the year quickly approaching, journalists have an opportunity to reflect on a year of work well-done. This period of reflection also happens to coincide with the journalism award season.
So take some time away from watching football and avoiding political discussions over Thanksgiving dinner to polish up your submissions.
And please note, this is not an exhaustive list. Journalists love giving each other awards! Be sure to check your state or local regional press association for upcoming awards. Minority journalism organizations, like the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Association Lesbian and Gay Journalists, and beat organizations, including the Society for Environmental Journalists and the Society for Features Journalism, have awards but are not yet accepting submissions.
If you would like your organization to be added to list, please send me an email at advorak@poynter.org.
GLAAD Media Awards
Deadline: Nov. 23, 2018 (because of the holidays, submissions received Nov. 26 will also be accepted)
Prize: Statuette
Description: "The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community and the issues that affect their lives."
Goldsmith Book Prize
Deadline: Dec. 1, 2018
Prize: Framed certificate and $5,000
Description: "The Goldsmith Book Prize is awarded to the trade and academic book published in the United States in the last 24 months that best fulfills the objective of improving democratic governance through an examination of the intersection between the media, politics and public policy."
J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize
Deadline: Dec. 10, 2018
Prize: $10,000
Description: "The J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, in the amount of $10,000, is given annually to a book-length work of narrative nonfiction on a topic of American political or social concern that exemplifies the literary grace, commitment to serious research, and original reporting, that characterized the distinguished work of the award’s namesake."
J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards
Deadline: Dec. 10, 2018
Prize: $25,000
Description: "Two J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards, in the amount of $25,000, are given annually to aid in the completion of a significant work of nonfiction on a topic of American political or social concern."
Edwin Gould Foundation’s Eddie Prize
Deadline: Dec. 10, 2018
Prize: $7,500 and a bowler hat (a tribute to the award’s namesake)
Description: "Judges will evaluate the entries for ingenuity of reporting and depth of analysis that uncovers, highlights or furthers the discussion about the challenges low-income students face, and problems or conditions related to their efforts to obtain a degree.”
National Magazine Awards for Print and Digital Media: The Ellies
Deadline: Dec. 11, 2018
Prize: Finalists receive a certificate of recognition and winners receive an “Ellie,” a statue reproduction of Alexander Calder’s stabile elephant
Description: "The Ellie Awards honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design.”
National Awards for Education Reporting
Deadline: Dec. 15, 2018
Prize: 16 awards with $1,000 cash prizes. The top award will be given $10,000 Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting.
Description: "The awards' goals are to encourage and inspire more and better education journalism; and underscore the importance of excellent coverage and storytelling as a cornerstone of democracy and education."
Goldsmith Investigative Reporting Prize
Deadline: Dec. 28, 2018
Prize: $25,000 for the winner and $10,000 for five finalists
Description: "The annual Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting honors investigative reporting that best promotes more effective and ethical conduct of government, the making of public policy, or the practice of politics.”
James Beard Broadcast and Journalism Awards
Deadline: Jan. 2, 2019
Prize: Bronze medallion etched with the image of James Beard and a certificate
Description: "The James Beard Foundation’s mission is to celebrate, nurture, and honor chefs and other leaders making America's food culture more delicious, diverse, and sustainable for everyone."
Peabody Awards
Deadline: Jan. 9, 2019
Prize: Bronze statuette
Description: "Since 1940 the Peabody award has steadily grown from being the ‘Pulitzer Prize for Radio’ to recognizing excellence in a wide range of electronic media. In 1948 the Peabody Awards began recognizing television programs, and eventually cable TV was included beginning in 1981. By 2003, the first website had been included in the list of winners and 2012 saw the first Peabody Award given to a blog."
George Polk Awards
Deadline: Jan. 11, 2019
Prize: Unspecified monetary amount
Description: "Winners are chosen from newspapers, magazines, television, radio and online news organizations. Judges place a premium on investigative work that is original, requires digging and resourcefulness, and brings results."
IRE Awards
Deadline: Jan. 11, 2019
Prize: Plaques. Three awards receive cash prizes: the Tom Renner Award for crime reporting ($500); the student award ($250); and the Gannett Award for Innovation in Watchdog Reporting ($5,000).
Description: "The IRE Awards is the annual contest of Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. recognizing the best in investigative reporting by print, broadcast and online media."
Excellence in Health Care Journalism
Deadline: Jan. 14, 2019
Prize: $500 and a framed certificate, plus lodging and registration to the annual Association of Health Care Journalists conference in May
Description: "Since 2004, the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism have recognized the best health reporting in print, broadcast and online media. Entries can include a wide range of health coverage including public health, consumer health, medical research, the business of health care and health ethics."
The Canadian Hillman Prize
Deadline: Jan. 15, 2019
Prize: Each winner receives $5,000
Description: "Since 1950, the Sidney Hillman Foundation has honored journalists who pursue investigative reporting and deep storytelling in service of the common good. Recipients exemplify reportorial excellence, storytelling skill, and social justice impact."
The Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics
Deadline: Jan. 15, 2019
Prize: $1,000 and travel expenses to accept the award at a ceremony in Spring 2019
Description: "The Shadid Award is different from other journalism prizes in that it seeks to recognize the difficult, behind-the-scenes decisions reporters make in pursuing high-impact stories and in fulfilling their ethical obligations to sources, to people caught up in news events, and to the public at large."
James Foley Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism
Deadline: Jan. 18, 2019
Prize: $5,000 and a medal
Description: "The award is given to the individual or team of journalists, working for a U.S.-based media outlet, who best displayed moral, ethical or physical courage in the pursuit of a story or series of stories. The contest is open to journalists from newspapers, television stations, online news operations, magazines or radio stations. The story subjects may be local, national or international in scope."
The Pulitzer Prizes
Deadline: Jan. 25, 2019
Prize: $10,000
Description: "The Pulitzer Prizes, established and endowed by Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism founder Joseph Pulitzer (1847–1911), are American awards regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements and musical composition. They are administered by Columbia University in New York City."
Selden Ring Award
Deadline: Jan. 25, 2019
Prize: $50,000
Description: "Since 1989, the Ring Foundation has partnered with USC Annenberg as the home of the Selden Ring Award for Investigative Journalism. The $50,000 annual award, established with the support of Southern California businessman and philanthropist Selden Ring, has highlighted the impact investigative journalists have on local, national and global communities."
Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism
Deadline: Jan. 25, 2019
Prize: $20,000
Description: "The $20,000 Worth Bingham Prize honors investigative reporting of stories of national significance where the public interest is being ill-served. These stories may involve state, local or national government, lobbyists or the press itself, wherever an “atmosphere of easy tolerance” exists, as journalist Worth Bingham himself once described public misconduct in his reporting on the nation’s capital."
Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Journalism
Deadline: Jan. 25, 2019
Prize: $10,000 for the first place finisher and $1,000 for second and third places
Description: “The Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Journalism was established by members of the Taylor family, who published The Boston Globe from 1872 to 1999. The purpose of the annual award is to encourage fairness in news coverage by American journalists and news organizations.”
Society of American Business Editors and Writers Best in Business
Deadline: Jan. 30, 2019
Prize: Crystal trophy
Description: "The SABEW Best in Business awards are the only comprehensive set of awards honoring excellence in business journalism."
ACES Headline Contest
Deadline: Jan. 31, 2019
Prize: $300 and a plaque for first; $125 and $75, plus a certificate, for second and third respectively.
Description: "ACES’ annual headline contest rewards good headline writing in print and digital media. Entries are evaluated not just on the cleverness of the headlines, but on their sophistication, uniqueness, appropriateness and likely success in capturing readers’ attention."
Robinson Prize
Deadline: Jan. 31, 2019
Prize: $2,000 and a “spiffy crystal trophy”
Description: "Nominees are evaluated on a combination of elements, which can include editing, design, mentoring and training, fostering a sense of teamwork and pride among colleagues, and anything else that furthers the craft of professional editing."
The Michael Kelly Award
Deadline: Feb. 1, 2019
Prize: $25,000
Description: The Michael Kelly Award honors a writer or editor whose work exemplifies a quality that animated Michael Kelly’s own career: the fearless pursuit and expression of truth. The award is sponsored by the Atlantic Media Co., where Michael Kelly worked from 1997 until his death in 2003."
Simon Rockower Award for Excellence in Jewish Journalism
Deadline: Feb. 1, 2019
Prize: Certificate
Description: “In 1979, as a century tribute to him by his sons, the Rockower family created the Simon Rockower Jewish Journalism Awards to honor Simon Rockower and his deep love for the craft of Jewish Journalism.”
The Livingston Awards for Young Journalists
Deadline: Feb. 1, 2019
Prize: $10,000
Description: "The Livingston Awards for Young Journalists honor outstanding achievement by professionals under the age of 35 in local, national and international reporting. The largest all-media, general reporting prize in American journalism, the Livingston Awards judge print, broadcast and online entries against one another, a practice of increasing interest as technology blurs the traditional distinctions between the branches of journalism."
Herblock Prize
Deadline: Feb. 1, 2019
Prize: $15,000 and a sterling silver Tiffany trophy
Description: "The Foundation created the Herblock Prize in 2004 to encourage editorial cartooning as an essential tool for preserving the rights of the American people through freedom of speech and the right of expression."
The Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards
Deadline: Feb. 1, 2019
Prize: $2,500 for professional categories, plus a bust of RFK; students receive $500 and a bust of RFK for their schools
Description: "In its 47th year, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards honor outstanding reporting on issues that reflect Robert Kennedy’s concerns, including human rights, social justice, and the power of individual action in the United States and around the world. Winning entries provide insights into the causes, conditions, and remedies of human rights violations and injustice, and critical analyses of relevant policies, programs, individual actions, and private endeavors that foster positive change."
Best of News Design Creative Competition
Deadline: Feb. 1, 2019
Prize: All winners receive certificates, and the World’s Best-Designed™ Newspapers receive trophies.
Description: "The competition invites entries from all magazines and general circulation newspapers — daily or non-daily, broadsheet or tabloid, traditional or alternative — published anywhere in the world, as well as syndicates and cooperatives providing material used in newspapers.”
Scripps Howard Awards
Deadline: Feb. 8
Prize: $170,000 in prize money distributed across 17 categories
Description: "Since 1953, the Scripps Howard Foundation has been honoring the nation’s finest journalists with meaningful awards for significant work. Over the years, contest categories have evolved to reflect the changing communications industry but the standards for excellence – accuracy, fairness, context, storytelling and a deep respect for the First Amendment – have remained unchanged."
Sigma Delta Chi Awards
Deadline: Feb. 19, 2019
Prize: Plaque with an SPJ medallion
Description: "The awards recognize the best in professional journalism in categories covering print, radio, television, newsletters, art/graphics, online and research."
New America Award
Deadline: Feb. 19, 2019
Prize: Plaque with SPJ medallion
Description: "SPJ’s New America Award honors public service journalism that explores and exposes an issue of importance to immigrant or ethnic communities currently living in the United States."
The MOLLY National Journalism Prize
Deadline: Feb. 28, 2019
Prize: One $5,000 grand prize and two $1,000 honorable mention awards
Description: "Judges will value work that reflects Molly’s ability to look critically at the issues of the day with compassion and/or humor, tell the stories that need telling, challenge conventional wisdom, and focus upon civil liberties or social justice."
Berger Award
Deadline: March 4, 2019
Prize: $1,500
Description: "The Meyer "Mike" Berger Award and its $1,500 prize is awarded for outstanding human interest reporting across platforms."
The Hillman Prize
Deadline: Nominations open Nov. 20
Prize: Each winner receives $5,000
Description: "Since 1950, the Sidney Hillman Foundation has honored journalists who pursue investigative reporting and deep storytelling in service of the common good. Recipients exemplify reportorial excellence, storytelling skill, and social justice impact."
Newhouse School Mirror Awards
Deadline: The Mirror Awards begin accepting nominations in December
Prize: Range from $1,000 to $5,000
Description: "The competition is open to anyone who conducts reporting, commentary or criticism of the media industries. Eligible work includes print, broadcast and online editorial content focusing on the development or distribution of news and entertainment."
The Edward R. Murrow Awards
Deadline: Applications open in December
Prize: Trophy
Description: "The Radio Television Digital News Association has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Murrow’s pursuit of excellence in journalism embodies the spirit of the awards that carry his name. Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the electronic news profession. Learn more about Edward R. Murrow from a CBS profile and read about his most famous speech."
Maria Moors Cabot Prizes
Deadline: Nominations open January 2019; deadline to be announced
Prize: A Cabot medal and $5,000
Description: "The prizes recognize a distinguished body of work that has contributed to Inter-American understanding."
John Chancellor Award
Deadline: Nominations open March 2019
Prize: $50,000
Description: “The recipient of the $50,000 John Chancellor Award is selected each year by a distinguished panel of journalists who look across the media landscape to identify a reporter who may not be widely known by the public but who is highly respected within the profession for the caliber of his or her work."
John Bartlow Martin Award
Deadline: Nominations for 2019 will open in late 2018
Prize: $4,000
Description: "John Bartlow Martin advanced the tenets of public interest journalism. His magazine stories about labor racketeering, poor working conditions, racism, crime and abuse of mental patients were marked by careful reporting, incisive writing and a palpable concern for victims."
The Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma
Deadline: To be announced later
Prize: $5,000
Description: "Since 1994, the Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma have recognized exemplary journalism on the impact of violence, crime and other traumatic events on individuals, families and communities. Spotlighting the experiences of victims and survivors, Dart Award winners make significant contributions to public understanding of trauma-related issues."
NABJ Salute to Excellence National Media Awards
Deadline: Spring 2019
Prize: Not listed
Description: "NABJ recognizes journalism that best covered the black experience or addressed issues affecting the worldwide black community during 2014. The Salute to Excellence National Media Awards competition is open to all media organizations and individuals involved in print, broadcast and/or online journalism media. Submissions must cover people or issues of the African/African American Diaspora. Entries will be judged on content, creativity, innovation, use of the medium and relevance to the black community in 69 categories."
Former managing editor Benjamin Mullin contributed to this piece.
