Showcase Award Guidelines

The Showcase Awards recognize and celebrate excellence in magazine editorial content and design. Finalists will be announced in March 2023 and winners will be announced at the Alberta Magazine Awards Gala taking place during the May 11-12, 2023 Alberta Magazines Conference.

The Showcase Awards competition is open to any AMPA member print or digital magazine in good standing.

Submission Costs and Deadlines

Entry portal to open: November 25, 2022
Early Bird entry deadline: January 13, 2023 at 4PM
Entry deadline: February 3, 2023 at 4PM
Early Bird fee: $40 per entry
Regular fee: $50 per entry
Small circulation (<1,000) and freelance Early Bird:$35
Small circulation (<1,000) and freelance Regular: $45

When submitting to the awards, each AMPA member magazine is eligible to receive the second entry submission for FREE. This will be automatically reflected in your invoice.

Guidelines and Rules for All Showcase Awards

  • All entries must be original work which appears in a 2022 issue.
  • All entries must be the work of Canadian content creators.
  • It is the responsibility of the magazine to enter according to the guidelines. Entries that don’t conform to the rules or fit category definitions may be disqualified without notice. Entry fees will not be refunded.
  • To submit, print magazines are required to have produced at least two issues during 2022.
  • No entries will be returned. No refunds will be granted.
  • All decisions made by the judges are final.
  • Judges reserve the right to not grant an award in a category if, in their opinion, no entry merits one.
  • AMPA reserves the right to cancel any category that does not receive enough submissions to provide a legitimate competition. In this case entry fees will be refunded to the submitters.
  • AMPA reserves the right to use the winning entries in the awards program for exhibit, educational purposes, online and/or in a publication of collected work, but not for sale or profit.
  • Except where stated, there is no limit on the number of entries submitted in each category. The number of finalists will be proportionate to the number of entries submitted to a maximum of 10 finalists.
  • Advertorial and/or promotional content is inadmissible.
  • See specific rules below and in category descriptions.

Specific Rules for Written Categories

  • Awards for writing are open to staff or freelance contributors.
  • Both print and online entries are eligible unless the rules indicate otherwise.
  • With the exception of the fiction and poetry categories, all written submissions must be non-fiction.
  • The same written work may not be entered in other written categories, unless the rules indicate otherwise.
  • Awards are for articles published as “first rights” only.

Specific Rules for Visual Categories

  • Awards are open to staff or freelance contributors.
  • The same work may be entered in multiple categories, unless the rules indicate otherwise.

Specific Rules for Digital Categories

  • Entries must have been executed and made available live online during at least part of the eligible year, and for judging purposes must still be live online through the judging season.