SPJ’s Florida Pro Chapter is pleased to announce the 24th annual Sunshine State Awards competition, open to all professional print, broadcast and online journalists in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Spanish-language division is presented in partnership with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. We also offer a Student division for students at Florida colleges and universities.

New this year: Disaster Reporting categories have been added to recognize work from the 2017 hurricane season. The Television division has been completely revamped with a new category lineup that better reflects current priorities in television journalism.

The 2018 Sunshine State Awards recognize quality journalism from calendar year 2017. Out-of-state journalists will judge all entries and may award first-, second- and third-place honors in each category. The finalist list will be emailed to all entrants in late April. Winners will be announced at the annual Sunshine State Awards ceremony this summer.

All entries must be submitted online; no hard-copy entries are accepted. Read the category descriptions and follow all instructions carefully. If you have questions, please contact Contest Administrator Tim Dodson at tim@timdodson.com or 305-756-6763.

SPJ & NAHJ MEMBER BENEFIT: get one entry FREE with your first paid entry. Submit your paid entry first, then submit a single free entry. Any remaining entries must be paid in full. The free entry must list a current, dues-paying individual SPJ or NAHJ member as one of the entrants. If you have questions about individual membership status of your entrants, contact SPJ or NAHJ membership staff at their respective headquarters.