2008-2009 PAO Competition Information
Calendar | Call for Entries | Committee | Judging | Rules
STC’s technical communication competitions offer opportunities to make new industry contacts and receive recognition for your work. The following chronology explains the STC competition process. Whether you’reinterested in entering, organizing, or judging a competition, please consider getting involved!
(1) STC chapters and regions may sponsor local competitions in technical art, technical publications, or online communication. Many chapters sponsor all three. The local competition organizers let the STC office know the entry deadlines and contact information for each competition they are holding.
(2) The STC office publishes a list of chapters holding competitions on the STC Web site (see http://www.stc.org/comp/internationalCompetitions01.asp).
(3) Technical communicators interested in entering any competition(s) use the list to find the competitions nearest them. They then use the contact information for the local competitions to obtain applications and guidelines for entering.
(4) Technical communicators enter their projects in the local competitions. (Deadlines for local competitions usually run from September to November.) See Call for Entries for the entry form.
(5) Local judges select winners in each competition. The judges may choose to give awards at three levels: Distinguished Technical Communication, Excellence, and Merit. Each entry is evaluated according to a set of criteria for the category and competition in which it is entered. There is also a set of criteria for each award level. How an entry stacks up to these criteria helps the judges determine the award it might win. (Note: Entries are not judged against one another.) Under this approach, many entries can win the same level of award.
(6) Only entries that win an award of Distinguished Technical Communication are eligible to compete in STC’s international art, publications, or online communication competition. Local competition managers may decide to send some or all of their Distinguished Technical Communication winners to the international competition. (Local competition managers: Please note that the Society office must receive entries to the international competitions by January 16, 2009.) The fee for entering the international competition is usually paid by the local competition managers.
(7) In March, judges in STC’sinternational competitions evaluate the entries submitted in each competition. The levels of awards and judging procedures are the same as those used in the local competitions. (See paragraph five above.)
(8) From the winners of international-level Distinguished Technical Communication awards, judges select three Best of Show winners—one each for technical art, technical publications, and online communication.
(9) A few weeks after the judging, all entrants are notified of the award status of their entries. All award-winning entries are placed on display in the exhibit area of STC’s annual conference (next scheduled for May 3–6, 2009, in Atlanta, Georgia). The Best of Show award winners in each competition are recognized formally during the conference opening ceremonies.
(10) After the conference, STC chapters may borrow the Traveling Exhibits—the winning international-level entries—to display at chapter meetings and special events.
(11) The Best of Show winners will be profiled in the July/August 2009 issue of Intercom.
