Contest Rules: BATW Best 2010 Travel Writing & Photography — Deadline Sept. 15

BATW BEST 2010
TRAVEL WRITING and PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

(BATW Members Only)

Contest Rules/Preparation of Entries

NEW DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

Eligibility: all Active, Provisional and Associate members of Bay Area Travel Writers whose dues are paid in full by August 31, 2009.

Publication Dates: articles, books and photos submitted must have been published between July 1, 2007 and July 1, 2009.

Deadline: submissions will be accepted between August 1 and September 1, 2009. Entries must be postmarked no later than September 1, 2009.

Entry Fees: a fee of $15 per individual entry is required. Make your check for the total of your entries payable to BATW. Entry fees may be tax-deductible; check with your tax advisor.

You may submit up to 4 individual entries per category in as many categories as you wish.  Articles, books and photos may be entered into more than one category. For example, you may enter a book in the Travel Literature category and the Planet Earth category, etc. The fee of $15 per entry applies to each individual entry.

Material that is not eligible: advertorials, work produced under contract for commercial promotion, articles published only on your own Web site, blog or newsletter.

Prizes! Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in each category will be awarded in February, 2010. Winners will receive cash and/or other prizes, and awards certificates suitable for framing. News releases will be sent to Bay Area and national media and posted on BATW.org. (An individual winning the top award in a category three years in a row is retired from that category competition for two years.)

Active/Provisional Member Writing Categories

1. Magazine Travel Article

2. Newspaper Travel Article

3. Travel-Related Essay/Article in an Anthology

4. Travel Article/Photography Combination (by one writer/photographer)

5. Internet Travel Article (not published on one’s own Web site)

6. Travel Guidebook

7. Travel Literature Book

8. Travel Writer Web site

Active/Provisional Member Photography Categories

9. Newspaper or Magazine Travel Photograph

10. Internet Travel Photograph (not published on one’s own Web site)

Associate Member Categories

11. Travel-Related Press Kit

12. Travel-Related Web Site

Member and Non-Member Categories Below:

BATW Planet Earth Travel Writing Awards 2010

13. Best Travel Book for Planet Earth

14. Best Travel Article/Essay for Planet Earth

Travel writing that helps to sustain or enhance the unique and valuable character of a place—its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and/or the well-being of its residents. (The Planet Earth Awards have a separate, different set of Contest Rules; see http://www.batw.org/contests/planetearth2010/)

PREPARATION OF ENTRIES

These Contest Rules and guidelines are available at http://www.batw.org/news/batw-news/2010-contest-rules/.

A cover sheet (see below), entry fees and 2 copies of published materials for each entry are required. No entries will be returned. Submission packages must be accompanied by the required entry fees, and they must be postmarked by the deadline.

Materials: for each entry, submit 2 copies of original clippings, tear sheets or photocopies, or two printouts from Web sites, or two copies of books (to be seen by two judges in each category). Prepare your materials so that they can be easily read by judges.

Each entry should show the name and date of publication, and the headline, with your byline blinded. Any mention of your name must be blinded. Take care to remove or cover your name, wherever it appears. (In the case of the Travel Writer Web site category and Associate categories, this does not apply.) Categories 8 and 12 must include URLs.

Code Number: give yourself one 4-digit code number to use on all entries; print that number clearly on each entry. Also, print the category name and the category number onto each entry.

Your Contact Information/Cover Sheet: in each entry package, include a cover sheet with the following information:

4-digit code number

Name

Mailing Address

Phone Number

E-mail address

List of entries, including for each entry the category name and the category number, the title or headline of your entry, the name of the publication, and the date of publication. (judges do not see your cover sheet)

Photography Preparation: You may submit up to 4 images in each category.

Submit two copies of each print or two CDs of your images (do not send entries by e-mail). You must submit proof of publication—for example, two original copies, or two tear sheets or photocopies of tear sheets, from a magazine, book, newspaper or Web site.  For websites submit URL and printout of photo on website.

Mark a 4-digit code number on each photograph or CD; and indicate a title for each image.

Submit photographs no larger than 11″ x 14″, and no smaller than 8″ x 10″. Digital images should be no larger than 1024 pixels high and 1280 pixels wide.

Slides will not be accepted. Color correction and cropping is acceptable; images that have been significantly modified or appear unnatural will be disqualified.

Adding or replacing elements in an image is not permitted. Photographers must hold the copyright to each entry.

Mailing: prepare your package(s) with your entries, materials and cover sheet(s); enclose a check or money order payable to BATW for the total amount of entries in each package. If you need confirmation that your entries have been delivered, please mail or ship them in a manner that provides such confirmation.

Mail Writing categories 1-8 to:

Pat Arrigoni
BATW BEST 2010
P.O. Box 1030
Fairfax, CA 94978-2010

Mail Associate Member categories 11 and 12 to:

Stephanie Levin
BATW BEST 2010
1368 Sanchez Street
San Francisco, CA 94131-2054

Mail Photography categories 9 and 10 to:

Lee Daley
BATW BEST 2010
P.O. Box  927
Sausalito, CA 94966-0927

Questions? After reading the Contest Rules, if you have questions, contact Karen Misuraca at kmworld@vom.com.

– Karen Misuraca