Please read and abide by these rules. Any entries that do not comply with the contest rules will be disqualified and the entry fees for them forfeited.
- Entrants must be the authors or creators (in the case of art) of the entered work. An editor may not be listed as an entrant in any category. An entry may be submitted by someone other than the author or creator, as long as the author or creator is listed as the entrant.
- AI-generated content is ineligible for entry into the contest. View our complete policy on AI here.
- Entries must contain the stated percentage of cat-specific content listed in the categories below. Applicability to cats IS NOT sufficient.
- All Entries must be newly published or broadcast (or, for Fine Arts, completed) between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, and NOT previously published in any medium – the one exception to this is Audiobooks, which may have been published in print, as the award goes to the voiceover artist.
- No entry limits exist in the regular categories.
- Verification of an entry’s publication date must be included with the entry (except in cases where the date is provided within the body of the entry).
- All entry materials in the regular categories must be in a digital format.
- Entry fees for Muse categories are:
- $30 per entry for non-members of the CWA
- $20 per entry for CWA members in good standing (renewed by February 28, 2025)
- $10 per entry for Professional CWA members who agree to serve as contest judges (you will only be assigned to judge categories you have not entered)
- You will receive an email confirmation of each entry form you complete. Entries are not completed until payment is made: you must keep a tally of the number of entries you are submitting for your payment. Only one payment platform is being used this year; you can pay by card via Stripe (you do not need a Stripe account to do this).
- Please note that the entry period will not be extended past midnight on May 4, 2025 under any circumstances.
- If you have questions not answered by this material, please email contest@catwriters.com.
