The Jan. 16, 2013 press release from US National Academies announced a call for nominations for communication in various media including books, film/radio/tv, magazine/newspaper, and online materials that have been published in the US,

The Keck Futures Initiative—a program of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, with the support of the W. M. Keck Foundation—will award $20,000 prizes to individuals or teams who have developed creative, original work that addresses issues and advances in science, engineering and/or medicine for the general public. Nominations are accepted in four categories: Book; Film/Radio/TV; Magazine/Newspaper; and Online.

ELIGIBILITY
To be considered for a 2013 Communication Award, the work should:

• be accessible and appeal to a broad, public audience;
• demonstrate clarity, creativity, originality, and accuracy;
• address issues and/or advances in science, engineering, and/or medicine;
• cover topics that have an impact on society; and
• have been published, broadcast, or released in 2012, in the United States and in English.

Call For Nominations Now Being Accepted
Nominations will be accepted through February 8, 2013.  For more information about the process, please visit: http://www.keckfutures.org/awards/nominate.html.

NOMINATION FORM
Nominations must be submitted on the online nomination form at http://www.keckfutures.org/awards/nominate.html. Copies of the nominated work must be submitted as described for each category.  Self nominations are permitted. Please submit a nomination in the category that most closely fits the work(s) being nominated.  Supporting materials will not be returned. There is no nomination fee.

BOOK
Books must have been published in the U.S. in 2012 to be considered. Please submit two copies of the book. The publisher and year of publication must be printed on the book. Advance publication dates must include verification from the publisher.

FILM/RADIO/TV
Submissions must have aired on a U.S. station or have been released in U.S. theaters or on DVD in 2012 and may include a single story or movie, a series, or as many as six brief, unrelated stories. Please submit three CDs or DVDs labeled with the nominee’s name(s), the title(s) included on the DVD or CD, and the original airdate (with the name of the U.S. station and the program on which the stories aired) or release date. These must be submitted in protective cases and include authorization allowing the Keck Futures Initiative to reproduce the CD or DVD for review purposes (copyright release). Submission of copies of the program transcript is also encouraged. If you are not able to provide copyright release, please submit an additional 20 copies of the CD or DVD.

MAGAZINE/NEWSPAPER
Work in this category must have been published in the U.S. in 2012, and may comprise a single article or as many as four articles that are unrelated or that constitute a formal series. Please submit three original copies of each article clearly showing the byline and the name and date of the publication and authorization allowing the Keck Futures Initiative to reproduce the article for review purposes (copyright release). If you are not able to provide copyright release, please send an additional 20 copies of the article(s), or a PDF file of the article(s).

ONLINE
Work created specifically for the Web must have been posted online in 2012. Entries may include as many as six online articles, hypertext documents, podcasts, commentaries, etc., or any combination thereof. Preference will be given to nominations that make the best use of the medium, including multi-media presentations that incorporate a combination of videos, blog entries, interactive features, and/or other capabilities unique to this communication medium. Include links to the unique URLs for each work(s). Links, must be active through October 31, 2013.

2013 TIMELINE

• February 8 – Nomination process closes.
• Fall 2013 – Winners honored at a ceremony to be held in Washington D.C. Date TBD.

All nominations must be submitted online by February 8, and all supporting materials must be received by February 15, 2013.

For More Information
Visit www.keckfutures.org/awards for a complete listing of this year’s Selection Committee, information about the awards and to nominate.

I wonder if I could self-nominate, despite the fact that I self-identify as a Canadian science blogger; this blog is hosted by a US company. Does that constitute publication in the US? That $20,000 prize is tempting. Good luck to all who enter the competition.