IWPA offers Illinois high school students the opportunity to participant in the Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest on the state level as well as advance to the national spotlight in conjunction with the National Federation of Press Women.

Entering is easy, inexpensive, rewarding and a fantastic professional or freelance resume boost. We encourage student communicators of all disciplines to take advantage of this opportunity to be recognized for their work. Enjoy accolades that open doors, a great networking conversation starter and a place in Illinois Woman’s Press Association/National Federation of Press Women history.

The IWPA/NFPW high school contest is a three-tiered contest offering 23 different categories for entry. The first level is the state level contest where states determine the best entries in each category for their state (click here to find your competition).

The second tier is the national competition. First-place winners at the state level move on to compete in the national level contest.

The third tier is the “Best of the Best” where all first-place winners at the national level are judged against each other to determine the Best of the Best winner.

Entrants into the high school contest must be a current high school student or a recently graduated senior who completed the work during the eligible time frame. 

Entries in the high school contest must have been published or produced from February 1, 2019 – January  31, 2020. 

Visit the NFPW.org website for additional details.

For the high school competition, the following fee structure applies per entry:

Membership Status 1st Entry Fee 2nd Entry+
Student $10.00 $10.00


Deadline Dates:

Deadline Date
Early Bird Deadline January 28, 2020
   
Final Deadline February 11, 2020
Affiliate Judging Complete March 3, 2020
   
National Judging Complete March 31, 2020