National Newspaper Awards to accept entries in any language for all categories

By Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press on October 25, 2024.

The National Newspaper Awards is aiming to diversify its annual competition by accepting submissions in any language.

The organization, which celebrates excellence in daily journalism in Canada, says work done in any language will be considered in any category for the 2024 awards.

It says the change is part of an effort to make the competition more inclusive.

An NNAs spokesperson says the organization’s judges speak and read many different languages, and they will be assigned to categories where those language skills are required.

Non-English and non-French entries were accepted for the first time last year in the Special Topic category, with Chinese-language publication Sing Tao receiving the inaugural award.

Organizers say the process went smoothly because they found judges who spoke both English and the language of the entry, and they then advocated for the submissions in their language.

The Special Topic category will return in 2024, but those entries may now also be submitted for consideration in other categories.

In other changes this year, the photo story category will allow submissions by more than one photographer, provided the images collectively convey a cohesive narrative.

And journalists can now enter the beat reporting category as freelancers, allowing them to submit work from various outlets.

The 2024 National News Awards will recognize work published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023. Entries will be accepted beginning on Dec. 1.