VFW Announces Publications Contest

Jan 04, 2017

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is now accepting submissions for its 2017 National Publications Contest. Similar to last year, VFW publications published up to four times annually, or five or more times annually, will be judged in four categories.

The categories are:

Department-level publications:

• Overall Design and Content of Newspaper 
  (Defined as being printed on newspaper stock.)
• Best Feature Story 
  (All publications judged together in this category and submitted separately. The story must be a published article of at least 300 words. It can be originally written by your newspaper staff or by a freelance writer, or be reprinted from a newspaper within your state.)
• Magazine 
  (Defined by physical size and paper stock.)

District/Post-level publications:

• Overall Design and Content

Each category will be awarded three places: a grand award (first overall), silver (second overall) and bronze (third overall). Grand prize winners will receive a plaque, and the silver and bronze awards will take the form of a certificate suitable for framing. 

The VFW Publication Department’s awards system conforms to that of professional societies within the association publishing industry: National Mature Media Awards, Association Trends, Society of National Association Publications, Society of Professional Journalists and Communications Concepts. In other words, the same types of awards for which VFW magazine competes.

All entries submitted must have been published sometime between Jan. 1, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2016. 

Examples of eligible subjects for the Best Feature submissions include operations of state VA departments, National Guard/Reserve unit deployments overseas, troop-support activities, Department VFW programs, dedication of state memorials, state or local commemorative events for the 50th anniversary of Vietnam, and editorials advocating positions on veteran issues within your state or departments. 

All entries should be sent directly to the VFW National Headquarters. This year, the competition will be open to any submission, not just the winning submissions from the Department level. This is to remove any bias at all levels. One copy of each submission should be mailed by April 3, 2017, to:

Publications Contest
VFW Magazine
406 West 34th Street, Suite 523
Kansas City, MO 64111

All issues and articles published between Jan. 1, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2016, qualify.

Download the 2017 contest entry form.