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2008 Chess Journalists of America/Cramer Awards Announcements Print E-mail
By Jonathan Hilton   
April 16, 2008
Jerry Hanken, president of the Chess Journalists of America (CJA), and Jonathan Hilton, Chairman of the CJA Awards Committee, announce their annual call for entries to the 2008 awards program. Winners will be recognized in Chess Life and The Chess Journalist and will also receive a certificate from the CJA.

Print Entries: Mail one original and four photocopies, or five originals, for each entry. (Note exceptions.) Print entries may be from any publication in the U.S. or its territories.

Internet Entries: Mail relevant URL(s) with entry fee and five cover sheets to the chief judge and e-mail URL(s) to [email protected]. By entering you are giving the CJA permission to display your entry on the CJA website.

Eligibility: Entries must be for work published between 6/1/07 and 5/31/08. Articles may be submitted to multiple categories. (Note exceptions.)

Fees: All entries, except category 25, require an entry fee of $15 for the first entry (includes one year of membership in the CJA) and $8 for each additional entry. CJA life members get the first entry free and $8 for each additional entry.

Cover Sheets: One cover sheet must be stapled to each copy of print entries (originals and copies). Sheets are available at www.chessjournalism.org.

Entry Deadline: Entries should be mailed by 6/1/08.

Address: Mail entries to Chief Judge Jonathan Hilton, 2590 Jupiter Drive, Fairfield, OH 45014. Make checks payable to Chess Journalists of America.

Judges: Volunteer judges needed. CJA members or others interested in chess journalism should contact Jonathan Hilton for information.

Duplicate Entries: Many editors submit nominations, so entrants may wish to check with their editors before self-nominating.


CJA Award Categories


1. Chess Journalist of the Year: Awarded to the person who has contributed the most to chess journalism in the past year. Only work from the past year will be considered. CJA members vote by mail ballot to select the winner; please provide résumé
for CJA website.

2. Best Chess Column: Send three columns, four hard copies of each.

3. Best State Magazine: Send four original sets of one year’s worth of issues. States with two publications must submit them separately. Official state publications only.

4. Most Notable Achievement in Correspondence Chess: For journalistic work of any type regarding correspondence chess.

5. Best Magazine Layout: Send four issues demonstrating the publication’s use of presentational techniques. Each issue treated as a whole.

6. Best Chess Art: Send a magazine cover, Internet display, cartoon, etc.

7. Best Photograph: A single photograph portraying some aspect of chess.

8. Best Tournament Report: A story of one tournament occurring in the past year.

9. Best Regular Newspaper Column: Send three columns, four hard copies of each. Includes syndicated columns.

10. Best Regular Newspaper Column of Local Interest: Send three columns, four hard copies of each. Limited to local, metropolitan, or regional columns.

11. Best State Website: Send URL. For sites promoting chess in one state.

12. Best General Website: Send URL. For all chess sites.

13. Best Blog: Open to online chess blogs. Send URLs of three best blog entries. Blogs judged on visual appeal, content, and ability to draw constructive comments from readers.

14. Best Historical Article: For articles describing an aspect of chess history, especially those tying chess history to social or cultural events from the past.

15. Best Interview: Shows skill in eliciting instructive, revealing responses.

16. Best Editorial: Clear stand on a chess issue.

17. Best Review: For reviews of books, software, etc.

18. Best Analysis: For openings, middlegames, endgames, games, or groups of games analyzed deeply.

19. Best Instructive Lesson: For written lessons. (Should be a lesson, not just an annotated game.)

20. Best Humorous Contribution: Open to chess jokes, satire, irony, parody, etc. Judges decide appropriateness.

21. Special Recognition Award: For entries that do not fit comfortably into any other category.

22. Excellence in Chess Writing, Mainstream Media: Send four hard copies. Entries ineligible for other categories. Awarded to chess writing in a mainstream publication (defined as a magazine listed in the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature). Regular chess features ineligible.


Cramer Awards


This year’s Cramer awards for Excellence in Chess Journalism will be: Best Book, Best Editor and a special award to be announced. In addition, the Cramer Committee will induct two journalists to the Gallery of Distinguished Chess Journalists. Recommendations, comments, etc. should be sent to: Don Schultz, 3201 South Ocean Dr. #703, Highland Beach, FL 33487 or Dr. Frank Brady, Apt. 7E1, 175 West 72nd St., New York, NY 10023.

The best book award is open to all books published between April 1, 2007 and May 31, 2008. The best editor is open to editors of official state chess magazines for work done between the same period 2007 and 2008.

Both the best editor and the author of the best book receive engraved Obelisk marble pyramid trophies and recognition in Chess Life.

An engraved plaque bearing the names of members of the Gallery of Distinguished Chess Journalists is on display at the Marshall Chess Club in New York, New York, The Mechanics Institute in San Francisco, California and USCF headquarters in Crossville, Tennessee. Each year we add the names of one to three chess journalists. Current members are: Hermann Helms, Burt Hochberg, Dr. Frank Brady, GM Larry Evans, IM Al Horowitz, Harold Dondis, GM Andy Soltis, Fred Reinfeld, GM Robert Byrne, Irving Chernev, Lubosh Kavalek, George Koltanowski and Glenn Petersen.

For more about the CJA, see www.chess journalism.org. For more about the Cramer Awards, see www.chessdon.com/cramer_awards.htm.
 
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