2022 UPDATE: AIP’s Science Communication Awards will remain on hold this year.
After more than 50 years of awarding journalists and science writers, AIP is pausing the Science Communication Awards program and evaluating what its future should look like. Please check back in December 2022 for information. For questions, please contact [email protected].
Award Categories
Science Writing: Books
This category is restricted to books published in the previous calendar year. Work must be intended for a general audience. Submissions will be judged on their ability to enhance the public’s understanding and appreciation of physics and related fields.
Science Writing: Newspaper, Magazine, and Online Articles
This category is restricted to newspaper, magazine, and online articles published in the previous calendar year. Work must be intended for a general audience. Submissions will be judged on their ability to enhance the public's understanding and appreciation of physics and related fields.
Writing for Children
This category is restricted to work published in previous calendar. Entries in this category must be in the form of books, news or feature stories, multimedia, or web content created specifically for children 15 years old or younger.
Broadcast and New Media
This category is restricted to works published or aired in the previous calendar year and intended for a general audience. Entries may include TV programs, films, online videos, radio segments, podcasts and works of new media. Please note: Works of "new media" are distinct from "online articles," which should be entered in the separate category above. Just because something is available online does not make it new media, and works of new media are expected to incorporate substantial audio, visual or interactive elements into the storytelling.
Rules
- Entries must be in English.
- No more than three entries may be submitted by a single author or group of authors per year.
- Authors may elect to have multiple (up to three) submissions judged as a single entry if they are part of a series or are otherwise related. Authors must check the “series entry” box on the submission form.
- Collaborative efforts on a single projects will be considered a single entry, and prize money will be split accordingly.
- Work produced by employees of the AIP, or by current members of the judging panel, is not eligible. The winners from the previous year are not eligible. No author may receive more than three awards.
- Works that are published online but are "print in spirit" (blog postings and news or magazine articles that contain no interactive features) should compete in the "Science Writing: Newspaper, Magazine and Online Articles" category. Entire websites are not eligible to compete in this category unless the website tells a cohesive story. Winning entries should be individual stories that contain one or more of the following elements: videos, podcasts, slideshows, and text and web design elements that are highly interactive. Submissions must clearly identify which elements of the site should be considered.
To Submit an Entry
2022 UPDATE: AIP’s Science Communication Awards will remain on hold this year.
For Book entries:
Please complete an online entry form and send nine (9) hard copies of the submission to the address listed below.
For Article entries:
Please complete an online entry form and either include a PDF of the submission or send nine (9) hard copies to the address listed below. If you are sending hard copies, please indicate that on your form.
For Broadcast and New Media entries:
Please complete and online entry form and include a URL for the online material. If your work is part of a larger web presence, please clearly define the extent of your submission.
For questions, please contact [email protected].
All entries become the property of the American Institute of Physics and will not be returned to the author or publisher.
Print materials should be sent to:
American Institute of Physics
News & Media Services
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD 20740-3843