Eligibility and Rules
The 33rd Annual National Magazine Awards competition is open to Canadian magazines published
at least twice per year and to Canadian citizens or landed immigrants whose work has appeared in them during
the 2009 calendar year. Certain categories also have specific rules. Please see the list of Categories for further
information.
For rules specific to Online awards please see below.
- A Canadian magazine or magazine supplement is one at least 51% Canadian owned and published in either
English or French or a combination of both.
- Original work which appears in the December
2009-January 2010 issue of a bi-monthly magazine is eligible, but not that which appeared in a December
2008-January 2009 bi-monthly issue. A single issue dated January or Winter 2010 (even if it appears on the
newsstand in December 2009) is NOT eligible for submission.
- INDIVIDUAL entries, written or visual, displaying advertorial and/or promotional content will be ruled
inadmissible.
- Magazines that contain significant violations of the Canadian Magazine Industry Advertising-Editorial Guidelines may be considered
ineligible for an award.
- Awards for illustrations are limited to Canadian illustrators and are open only to work commissioned by
the magazine.
- Awards for photography are limited to Canadian photographers. Previously published photos and/or stock
photography will be ruled inadmissible except in the Integrated categories of "Words & Pictures" and
"Magazine Covers."
- Awards for art direction are open to Canadian art directors and their staff or freelance associates.
- Awards for writing are open to Canadian staff or freelance contributors.
- Excerpts, serializations or condensations from books or books in progress are inadmissible - except when
the writer's/photographer's work originated as a magazine assignment and was primarily financed by the
magazine and edited as the magazine's own copy.
- Work entered as Fiction is not eligible for entry in other categories.
- Except where stated, there is no limit on the number of entries submitted per category.
- The SAME work may be submitted in a maximum of two (2) written categories where permitted, provided that
each entry is accompanied by the proper entry forms and payment. Please check category definitions for
any restrictions.
- Finalists will be proportionate to the number of entries submitted in a category up to a maximum of ten
finalists.
- No entries will be returned.
- All submissions must be accompanied by
permission, not for sale or profit, to use the entries of finalists in the Awards presentation program,
exhibit and Web site, and to include any winning entry in perpetuity in the Award Archive on the Foundation’s
Web site. The Foundation reserves the right to use the entries of finalists in the Awards presentation
program/exhibit/Web site but not for sale or profit.
- Entries that do not conform to the rules or fit
category definitions may be disqualified without notice. Entry fees for disqualified submissions will not be
refunded.
- The decision of the judges will be final.
Rules for Online Awards:
To qualify for any of the NMAF online categories, a magazine’s Web site or an
online-only magazine must be editorial in nature; that is, a site whose primary function is to inform or
entertain rather than to sell products or promote a business. It must include a significant amount of
original content and have at least one editor (producer) who makes key creative decisions about the content,
tone and point of view of the site. It cannot be a personal blog, although blogs may be elements on the
site. NMAF reserves the right to decide whether an online entity qualifies as a magazine.
Submissions for Online categories are subject to the
rules above as well as the following:
-
Entries may be original online pieces, or may be
adapted from a print counterpart for use online.
-
All entries are to be provided as URLs entered into
the online entry system. Entries must have been created and in general use for at least part of the current
calendar year. All entries must be live and available from the date of entry through to the close of judging.
All Flash, video and other rich media elements must be posted online and available for review at a specified
URL or Web page. A screen shot of the entry must be included as a PDF or JPEG with the submission.
-
Entries that contain significant violations
of Canadian Magazine Industry
Advertising-Editorial Guidelineswill be considered ineligible for an award. Similarly, Internet
sites should follow ASME’s Best Practices for Digital
Media in order to be considered for
an award.
-
Awards are limited to Canadian content
creators—including but not limited to editors, designers, freelancers—and are open only to work commissioned
by the magazine / Web site.
-
Entries that rely on excerpts, serializations or
condensations from books or books in progress are inadmissible—except when the writer's / photographer's work
originated as a magazine (online or offline) assignment and was primarily financed by the magazine (online or
offline) and edited as the magazine’s (online or offline) own copy.
-
Judges are encouraged to place special emphasis
on entries that are original to the Web. Entries that were first published in another medium are still
eligible for entry, but emphasis is placed on entries that demonstrate mastery of the special
characteristics of the Web.
CLICK HERE TO ENTER YOUR SUBMISSIONS
