The entry portal is open Jan. 22 through March 8. We can’t wait to see the creative, innovative and thoughtful pieces of visual journalism you or your organization produced this year! Here’s some important information about this year’s competition!
Deadline and Pricing
The deadline to submit entries is Friday, March 8, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. (GMT -5), and there will be no extension this year.
Pricing
Standard entry deadline (Jan. 22 through Feb. 23)
Member rates
- Single page entries: $25
- Multi page entries: $40
- World’s Best: Free for SND members
Non-member entry rates
- Single: $50
- Multiple: $80
- World’s Best: $80
Extended entry deadline (Feb. 24 through March 8)
Member rates
- Single: $30
- Multiple: $45
- World’s Best: Free for SND members
Non-member rates
- Single: $60
- Multiple: $90
- World’s Best: $90
The 45th creative competition is open to all media publications. You do not need to be a member of SND to participate in the competition. However, non-member prices will be $50 for a single page and $80 for multiple pages. An SND membership is $55, and you can become a member here.
Entries for World’s Best Newspaper are free for members. For non-members, there will be an $80 entry fee for this category.
Eligibility
The 45th Edition of the Best of Print News Design is open to all general-circulation newspapers and magazines. All entries must have been published between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023. Specialty publications, advertising, publicity and promotional materials are ineligible. Entries using AI are not accepted in the Illustration (7) or Information Graphics (9) categories. In other categories, entries containing AI content will be accepted if the story concerns AI. These entries may use AI generated content in their design for purposes of reporting, storytelling or to provide example. Credits for this content must be clearly marked as generated by AI. Entries may be moved to another category or disqualified if they fail to follow the rules as outlined.
How to enter
You must enter the competition using Award Force, which is an effective and simple platform to host this year’s competition. The entry portal will open on Monday, Jan. 22, 2023 for submissions. This platform allows entrants to create a profile, upload entries and pay for entries all in one place. If you’ve entered the competition in the past, you will no longer need your tearsheet, scissors and tape to put together those long entries. Instead, multipage entries should be bundled together into single PDFs. In some categories, such as illustration or graphics, entries will be viewed for the individual element, not the entire page. If only one element is to be judged, identify it when entering in the notes field. Do not mark on the PDFs.
PDFs
The Best of Print News Design competition will accept only PDF entries this year, except in Category One where both physical newspapers as well as PDFs must be entered. Entries must not be edited and must appear as they were published. If an entry was published in black and white, the PDF must also be entered in black and white. PDFs that have been altered after publication will be disqualified.
Judging
Judging for all categories will take place in-person this year. A team of judges selected by SND will evaluate each entry on how well it accomplishes its editorial and design objectives. In some categories, such as illustration or graphics, entries will be viewed for the individual element, not the entire page. If only one element is to be judged, identify it when entering. Do not mark or leave comments on the PDFs.
Sign up here to volunteer for the 2024 judging, May 8-10 in Minneapolis!
Awards
Winning entries will receive Awards of Excellence, Silver or Gold medals, for outstanding work. At their discretion, judges may choose to give no awards in one or more categories. Judges may also select a single Best of Show award from all Gold medal winners, if any.