Showcase Award Guidelines

The Showcase Awards recognize and celebrate excellence in magazine editorial content and design. Finalists will be announced in April 2021 and winners will be announced online at the Alberta Magazine Awards Gala in May.

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: Early December
Early Bird entry deadline: Jan. 15, 2021 at 4PM
Entry deadline: Jan. 25, 2021 at 4PM
Early Bird fee: $40 per entry
Regular fee: $45 per entry
Small circulation (<1,000) and freelance Early Bird:$30
Small circulation (<1,000) and freelance Regular: $35

Each AMPA member magazine publisher is eligible to receive one free entry. Use code: GIFTENTRY. This entry needs to be processed separately from any paid entries and only applies to magazine members, not individual contributors or members.

Guidelines and Rules for All Showcase Awards

  • All entries must be original work which appears in a 2020 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.
  • 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.

Specific Rules for Editorial Package Print Category

  • Submissions require four (4) hard copies of the issue mailed to the AMPA office at AMPA @cSPACE King Edward 1721 29 Avenue SW #390 Calgary Alberta T2T 6T7 by 4:00PM Jan. 27, 2021

Specific Rules for Art Direction for a Single Issue Category

  • Submissions require four (4) hard copies of the issue mailed to the AMPA office at AMPA @cSPACE King Edward 1721 29 Avenue SW #390 Calgary Alberta T2T 6T7 by 4:00PM Jan. 27, 2021