Demystifying the CWA Contest: Your Questions Answered!

By Katherine Kern

Are you passionate about creating cat-specific content? Then sharpen your claws and pounce on the Cat Writers’ Association (CWA) Communications Contest! This annual competition celebrates excellence in cat-focused media of all types. Whether you’ve entered the Contest before or this is your first time, this guide answers your frequently asked questions about the CWA Contest. 

 What may I enter in the CWA Contest?

You may submit any content written or created in 2023 for this year’s contest. The categories include written articles, poems, periodicals, books, audio broadcasts, videos, blogs/websites, social media accounts, visual arts, and fine art. Members and non-members worldwide may enter. You may find more details in the Regular Category and Special Category Award Descriptions or on the Contest Homepage. If you’re interested in membership, please visit our Join Us page!

How do I enter?

You may submit entries from March 30th to May 4th by visiting the ENTER or NOMINATE SOMEONE now! page. Entrants must submit all entry forms online. The forms allow you to attach an e-version of your entry or to submit a link. Paper copies of entries are not allowed. The Official General Rules provide more details on how to enter (including the entry fees).

I edited content that I’d like to enter in the Contest. Can I do that?

No. Only writers or creators (for visual arts) may enter the Regular and Special Categories. If you edited the entry, you may only be listed as an entrant if you also substantially participated in writing or creating the visual art. You may find more details in the Official General Rules.

Will the Contest Chair tell me if my entry contains an error, or will it be automatically disqualified?

The Contest Chair will try to contact you via email about issues with your entry. Please provide an email address you check regularly to receive these communications. The Contest Chair may not change the category entered without the entrant’s consent.

Once the entries are sent to the judges, judges may elect to disqualify an entry only in very specific circumstances and only with the approval of the Contest Chair. The Official General Rules provide more details.

Are there limits on how many times I may enter the CWA Contest?

NO! You may enter the Regular and Special Awards as many times as you like. However, you may only submit an entry in one category in the Regular Categories: please select the best Regular Category for your entry. If you need help identifying the best category, please contact the Contest Chair. In the Special Categories, you may submit an entry for as many Special Categories as your work applies. You may find more details in the Official General Rules.

Do you drop scores?

Each person’s final score is the average of the scores of the three judges (CWA Professional Members) assigned to that category. Scores of more than 90 earn a Certificate of Excellence, and the highest average score earns a Muse Medallion.

While the Contest Committee used to have the discretion to drop scores, we no longer allow that. The only case when a Contest Chair may drop a score is if a judge violates the Judging Agreement. In that case, the Contest Chair will appoint an alternative judge for that entry.

To receive their assignments, all judges must acknowledge and agree to the Judging Agreement and Expectations. The Agreement is available on the Judging Information page (the Expectations and Agreement are on the last page) to help entrants identify what is expected of our member judges.

Are AI-generated works eligible for the CWA Contest?

AI-generated content (art or text) is ineligible for entry into the Contest. While using AI to brainstorm or improve one’s craft is allowed, content created by AI is ineligible for the Contest.

I had an undesirable contest experience in the past; why should I enter again?

We continually improve the contest experience for our entrants! We consider the entrants’ feedback from the previous year to update the rules and improve the process for our entrants and judges. These improvements seek to increase the Contest’s fairness. Some changes made within the past few years include asking judges to identify the categories they feel qualified to judge, requiring feedback for scores below 80, and prohibiting scores below 50 without the consent of the Contest Chair.

Since 2018, I’ve been involved in the Contest and have done extensive data analysis to ensure, to my satisfaction, that it is as fair as we can make it, given our limitations. Do not let one bad experience keep you from entering again! The rules at that time might have changed to address the issue you experienced. I’m always interested in improving the Contest; email me your ideas!

I’m not a member of CWA … will there be bias against my entry?

No. I’ve closely examined the number of entries people submit versus the number of COEs or Muses they win. The percentages don’t change whether you’re a member or not. In other words, if you are a non-member, statistically, you have the same probability of earning a COE or Muse as a member. Every year, we have quite a few non-members (and first-time entrants!) who win COEs and Muses in the Regular Categories (and non-members who win Special Awards).

Entering is a great way to get your name and work in front of new readers or consumers. I’ve been impressed with many entries enough to follow the entrant after the judging is over. By reading the winners’ work, you may improve your own ability to communicate about cats.

How are judges selected?

Volunteer member judges must complete the CWA Professional Member Volunteer Judge Preferences form.

This form helps the Contest Chair identify qualified members to judge each media category. That means the judges scoring your categories have identified themselves as knowledgeable about that medium. Judges also must disclose potential conflicts of interest. From this information, the Contest Chair assigns categories to each volunteer. Judges may not judge a category they entered or an entry they edited for publication.

All judges are Professional Members of the Cat Writers’ Association (for acceptance, they must submit proof of remuneration for their work).

How do I know what category to enter?

Two documents are instrumental in identifying the correct category for your entry. The Regular Category-specific Rules & Descriptions help the entrant understand each media type per CWA Communications Contest Rules. The Scoring Criteria are also essential to helping entrants understand how the judges will score their entries. Entrants see the same scoring rubric as our judges.

If you are still confused after reading these documents, please contact the Contest Chair! I’d be happy to look at your entry and give you my thoughts on the correct category for it. Additionally, I cursorily look at your entry after you enter and will notify you by email if I see a potential problem!

We continue to improve the descriptions to make identifying the correct category for your entry easier, but the Contest Chair is also here to help your entry succeed! You aren’t alone! Please ask!

Can I enter on behalf of someone else?

You may submit an entry written or created by someone else. However, the writer or creator will be the entrant; you will be the submitter. Only entrants receive COEs/Muses/Special Awards. The entry fee depends upon the entrant’s membership status. So, even if a submitter is a member, the non-member entry fee must be paid if the entrant is not. The Official General Rules provide more details.

How do I know which work to enter in the contest?

Deciding what to enter is a personal process that may differ for everyone. When I entered, I selected pieces I was most proud of or especially passionate about. Sometimes, the pieces I was most proud of presented “old” information in a new way or examined a topic related to cats that I hadn’t seen anyone else cover. The pieces I was passionate about had something to do with my “why” for writing about cats.

Some people consider how much they can afford and select the best x number of entries. I know many entrants (including myself!) are surprised when the pieces they entered at the last minute on impulse – that they didn’t think were very good – won. You can consider your “best” pieces, but it really comes down to what resonates with the judges selected for the category you enter. Because of this, I don’t suggest choosing what you consider your best work. Ask your friends and colleagues to help you decide. They can look at your work objectively and tell you what resonates with them. We are our own worst critic!

Can you enter an item in just the Special Awards or just the Regular Categories?

Yes, you may enter an item in one or both categories. The advantage of entering the regular categories is that all entries that meet the criteria for excellence earn a COE. So you don’t have to have the highest-scoring entry to be recognized. However, with the special awards, there is only one winner for the cash grant.

In the past, I didn’t get the results I thought I deserved; why should I enter again?

This year, a different set of judges will score your work. If you don’t earn a COE for an entry, it doesn’t mean your content isn’t excellent; it just did not resonate with the judges selected for that category. The more you enter, the better your chance of finding the judges who “get” your writing style and appreciate your voice.

When I entered, I selected pieces I was most proud of or especially passionate about. A reader or consumer of cat-related content looks beyond the basics. Some people write in the voices of their cats, and some styles resonate more with specific judges. Your uniqueness isn’t quantifiable.

Don’t the same people always win?

When viewing the results, people often get upset when the same person repeatedly wins multiple awards. However, if you only enter once or twice a year, how can you expect to win as much as someone who enters twenty times? Yes! The people you see consistently winning 10 Certificates of Excellence or 5 Muses likely enter that many times! 

A substantial part of the judging in this contest is about what resonates with the judges. Think of authors you can’t stand – or those you think are masters at their craft. There is no universal truth about the best author or way of doing things – it comes down to how your piece resonates with the judges. The more you enter, the better the chance that one (or more) of your pieces will resonate with a group of judges. Each category has a different mix of judges. Each category you enter is another chance to find the judges that “get” your writing.

So much of a reader’s experience goes beyond writing mechanics and technicality (for visual art). While writing mechanics and technicality are essential and part of our judging criteria, the writer’s voice and construction also matter. Use your voice!

Why have some categories been combined over the last few years?

When I took over as Contest Chair, I looked over five years of data to identify the number of entries per category. The Council at the time and now believes that the contest should support itself rather than depend upon CWA to finance its operations. So, our income per category must match our expense per category. Looking at the cost for each category (Muses cost about $50, shipping $5, plus the costs of printing and mailing COEs), I determined that a category must have at least five entries to be financially viable. Many of the categories a few years ago had one or two entries. I examined all our categories to identify those not receiving at least five entries yearly and whether they could be eliminated or combined with other categories.

In most cases, we found categories that could be combined to make each category financially viable. Our sponsors for the contest DO NOT cover the general costs of the contest. They only provide the funding for their Special Award’s cash prize. So our entry fees must cover the general expenses of the contest (printing and mailing COEs, Muses, shipping Muses, shipping commemorative items for the special awards, etc).

Can I provide the judges with additional information about my entry?

Work posted on websites one does not control might contain images or links that are not part of your entry. Or, the editor did not include your citations or credits for your photographs (both are required per the scoring criteria). In both cases (and many more!), you can provide additional information with your entry.

There are two ways of adding additional information to your entry.

1. Create a document with the additional information and upload it as supporting information on the entry form.
2. After entering, please email me at contest@catwriters.com about adding the information to your entry.

I’d love to enter, but I don’t have anything to enter!

Please remember that anything published in 2023 is eligible! That includes content published on your blog or personal social media profiles. Work does not need to be published in a mainstream venue—you may enter photographs and other items you posted to your social media.

Don’t end up in the same situation next year, CWA members! You may submit articles for CWA’s blog that will be eligible for entry in the following year’s Contest. Please review the submission guidelines before submitting your article. Submit your article today so you have something to enter for next year!

Who sponsors the CWA Contest’s Special Awards?

This year, the Special Awards are sponsored by Hartz, Pioneer Pet, Ray and Fran Shaw, Zymox, SleepyPod, Good News for Pets, Catit, CFA, TICA, Cornell Feline Health Center, World’s Best Cat Litter, and CatWatch. The Special Category Award Descriptions provide more information on our Special Awards. 

Can I review past winners of the Special and Regular Category awards?

The list of Past CWA Contest Winners is invaluable in understanding what work has won in the past. Links are provided for many entries so you may read or view the actual entry (except for books; links to books go to the book’s sales page).

When do we find out the winners of the awards?

COE winners will be announced by August 1st (but could be earlier). We announce the Muse Medallion winners and Special Award Winners at the Awards Program on October 12th.

If my entry includes more than one entrant/creator, do we all receive COEs, Muse Medallions, and Special Award Items?

If your entry earns a COE or Muse, we will mail up to two copies of these items to the address listed on the entry to distribute as the lead author or creator sees fit. For Special Awards, multiple entrants split the cash prize. We will mail the commemorative item won for a Special Award to the address listed on the entry.

Is there an entry fee to nominate someone for the Shojai Mentor Award or the Brim Distinguished Service Award?

No entry fee is collected when you nominate someone for either of these awards. The Special Category Award Descriptions provide more information about these awards.

Please visit the ENTER or NOMINATE SOMEONE now! Page to submit a nomination.

Who is CWA’s Contest Chair?

Katherine Kern is an award-winning author, content creator, and freelance writer focusing on cats. Her humorous tales about life with cats and feline-human bond stories appear in various anthologies. Kat’s cat, Bear, inspired her to write about the power of the feline-human bond and taught her that cats are more than they are given credit for. Her blog, Momma Kat and Her Bear Cat, celebrates the unique ways cats enrich our lives.

Kat serves as CWA’s Treasurer (since 2020) and Contest Chair (since 2022). When not wrangling cats for CWA, she enjoys life with her cats, Ellie Mae and Latte.

Was your question not covered above? Please email the Contest Chair at contest@catwriters.com. I aim to make your entry successful and am happy to help!