Writers Contest FAQ's |
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What Are the Categories?
Category 1 is for articles between 1,000 and 2,000 words in length. Category 2 is for articles under 1,000 words in length. Both categories are for family- or local-history stories, memoirs, or character sketches. Submissions may be either unpublished or previously published. If previously published, please include written permission from the publisher for permission to reprint—even if you retain the copyright. * Are ‘Fictionalized’ Stories or Memoirs Acceptable? Sorry, but no! All submissions must be factual, honest, and as accurate as possible. We regard family- and local-history articles as historical documents that will be consulted and relied upon by future researchers. Information may be included that is speculative or impossible to verify, but the writer should indicate that this information is unproven, either in the text itself or in endnotes. Send entries as hard copy only — please don’t send e-mail attachments or any electronic media. Each entry should be sent to us in triplicate, with a cover letter stapled to the top of each copy, containing the author’s name, address, phone number and e-mail, the title of the entry, and the category entered, and, if it has been previously published, the information about where and when it appeared. * What Should I Put in the Cover Letter? Here’s a sample cover letter. Entries must be received between November 1 & December 31, 2009. * Where Should I Mail My Entry? Southern California Genealogical Society * What Happens If I Miss the Deadline? Entries received after Dec. 31, 2009 will not be considered, with
the exception of entries mailed from overseas. If an entry has been mailed
from outside North America, and was postmarked prior to Dec. 1, 2009,
and received by us no later than Jan. 15, 2010, we will get that entry
to the judges. The contest is for factual articles: either family-or local-history, character sketches, or memoirs. The entries should capture a sense of a family’s experience(s), or the character of a locality, or reveal an individual’s character and personality. The best articles will help illuminate the human drama—and will also illuminate the era, and/or the historical or social context of the subject. * What Kind of Articles Do You NOT Want? Accounts of genealogical research procedures, “how-to articles,” advice, and/or general genealogical columns are not appropriate for this contest. * How Can I Read Previous Winning Entries? In November, 2005, Heritage Books, Inc. published an anthology of some of the most memorable entries to our contest in the contest’s first five years. The anthology is called Celebrating Family History, and is available for $25 plus shipping and handling through the SCGS Website. It is also available from heritagebooks.com. Your local bookstore can also order you a copy from Heritage Books. Some of the winning entries are posted online here. New articles will be added in the future. Check back often. A number of previous winning entries have also been published in the SCGS quarterly, The Searcher. A limited number of past issues are available for $5 plus shipping and handling through the SCGS Website. * Does My Article Have to Relate to California? Not at all. We welcome stories that concern any aspect of family or local history from anywhere and from any era. We believe that, as family historians, we’re all in this together! The contest is open to the public, and to both amateur and professional writers. You need not be a member of the Southern California Genealogical Society to enter. * What Will the Judges Look for? Entries will be judged on four criteria:
* How Many Finalists and Honorable Mentions Will There Be? As many as the judges choose. There is no set number. Usually about 20% of the entries are selected as finalists, and about 20% of those are selected as honorable mentions, but the judges are not required to select any specific number. * Where Should I Indicate the Word Length? Please show the word length on the cover sheet (see the sample cover letter). * May I Resubmit an Article That I Sent to You Before? No, please submit only new stories. * Should I Include Photographs or Charts? It is OK to incorporate reproductions of photos into the body of your text, but please do not send any attachments to your article. Because the judges will be considering only your writing, photos or charts will not be of value in the contest. However, if you are a winner, and we notify you that we would like to publish your article, it is appropriate to let us know at that time that you have illustrative materials available. * I’d Love to Get Some Feedback From the Judges. Can You Send Me Their Comments? We’re sorry, but the judges do not write comments about any of the entries. No, “scores” are just a bookkeeping device to help the judges keep track of the entries. * How Do I Know if I’m Citing Sources Correctly? All research (or other) sources, including letters and diaries, must be supported by appropriate endnote citations. For a guide to citation style, see “Evidence, Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian,” by Elizabeth Shown Mills (Genealogical Publishing Co.), or visit “The Myrin Virtual Library,” Chicago Manual of Style Sample Citations, online at < http://myrin.ursinus.edu/help/resrch_guides/cit_style_chicago.htm > * Should I Include Endnotes in the Word Count? No. Endnotes are “free.” * How Many Entries May I Send? Writers may submit multiple entries in either and/or both categories. However, each entry must be submitted in triplicate, and each one of the triplicate copies must have a copy of the cover letter stapled to it, as described in “How to Enter.” If writers send entries in more than one category, please send each entry in a separate envelope. Indicate the category on the envelope. COVER LETTER * Is It OK to Send an E-mail Permission From the Previous Publisher? Yes. Printing out an e-mail and including it is quite acceptable. * When Will the Winners Be Announced? Finalists, honorable mentions, and prize-winners will be notified by e-mail about May 1, 2009. The entire list of winners will be posted as soon as possible after May 1 on the SCGS Website and published in the SCGS quarterly journal, The Searcher. Finalists, honorable mentions, and prize winners will also be notified via Post Office mail after May 1, 2009. * Anything Else I Should Know? By entering this contest, you grant the Southern California Genealogical Society permission to print your entry 1) in its quarterly journal, and/or 2) in an anthology of the winners of this contest, and/or 3) on its Website. If you submit an article that has been published elsewhere, you need to indicate this on your cover letter and attach written permission from the previous publisher giving SCGS the right to reprint it if we choose to do so. This applies even if you retain the copyright to the article. * How Will I Know If You Publish My Story? We’ll notify you beforehand, and ask you at that time to send us an electronic version of your article. We’ll also tell you when it will appear—and, if it appears in print, we’ll mail you a free copy of the publication when it’s available. Let us know, and we’ll inform you of how and from whom to obtain them. * Will All the Finalists, Honorable Mentions, and Prize Winners Be Published? Probably not. Publication will depend on the space available, the format being used, and editorial decisions about the balance of subject matter and treatment. * Help! I have a question you didn’t answer. For more information you can e-mail Paula Hinkel, at phinkel@scgsgenealogy.com. Good luck, everybody ! |
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