FAQs:

May I submit more than one entry?
You may submit only one entry per category, but you may enter as many of the categories as you choose. If you submit more than one entry per category, only your first submission will be accepted.

Does my entry have to be based on a true story?
Entries should reflect the same type of reporting you would expect to find at a newspaper (print or online). Readers expect written features, photographs, and video reports to be based on real people and places and true events. Readers expect that comic strips are fictional and advertisements may exaggerate. Political cartoons fall somewhere in the middle, with the message based on a real person, issue or event. Our judges have the same expectations for your entries.

How can middle-school students compete with high-school students?
When we give entries to judges for consideration, we keep middle-school entries separate from high-school entries and encourage judges to keep in mind reasonable expectations for each level. Our judges are looking for original work that they feel is worthy of publication. In previous years, middle-school students have been well-represented among the winners.

You are selecting only three winning entries per category. What are the odds that my student or child could win?
We have reduced the number of entries that will be published in the newspaper to three per category, but a new honorable-mention category allows us to showcase the work of many more students on fredericksburg.com.