DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES - MARCH 15, 2010 - APPLY NOW

 

The Texas Observer and

the Texas Democracy Foundation announce

a call for submissions for

 

The MOLLY

National Journalism Prize of 2010

 

a national award honoring the

indelible memory of our Molly Ivins.

____________________________

 

The first MOLLY award, presaging the journalism prize, was presented to Molly herself at an event held in her honor in the fall of 2006.

 

Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who regularly writes for The New Yorker, will be our keynote speaker.  Among other coverage, he is known for his reporting of the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam and the Abu Ghraib prison abuse in Iraq.

 

The prize will be awarded on Thursday, June 10, 2010, at a dinner in Austin, Texas.

 

The MOLLY will be awarded for an article or series of up to four short related articles or columns appearing in a U.S.-based publication in print or as part of an online magazine, telling the stories that need telling, challenging conventional wisdom, focusing on civil liberties and/or social justice, and embodying the intelligence, deep thinking and/or passionate wit that marked Molly's work. The third MOLLY will be awarded for work published in 2009. Although Molly can be never be replicated, we look for others following in her tradition.

 

First prize is a $5,000 cash award, plus The MOLLY Prize. Two $1,000 honorable mention prizes will also be awarded. A group of nationally prominent journalists will serve as final judges.

 

Complete guidelines for submitting an entry appear below. For information on attending the awards dinner, or to contribute to the MOLLY prize fund, please contact mollyaward@texasobserver.org, or call 512-477-0746.

 

RULES

á The MOLLY is an annual national print or online journalism award of $5,000 with two honorable mentions of $1,000 each to be presented by the Texas Democracy Foundation and The Texas Observer in memory and in honor of Molly Ivins. The first MOLLY was presented to Molly at a fundraiser in her honor in October 2006.

 

á All entries will be judged on the basis of either a single piece or a series of up to four related articles or columns. Judges will value work which reflects Molly's ability to look critically at the issues of the day with compassion and/or humor, tells the stories that need telling, challenges conventional wisdom, and focuses upon civil liberties or social justice.

 

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

á Submissions must consist of material originally published in a U.S.-based publication in print or as part of an online magazine between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009. One entry per individual will be accepted. Individual writers may enter on their own or be entered by the publication in which the work appeared. Multiple by-lines for a single entry are acceptable.

 

á Both electronic and hard copies of stories are required (unless the method of publication makes one or the other version impossible, in which case that should be clearly stated in the nomination).  A cover sheet for each entry must give the following information: author's name, mailing address, telephone number(s), and e-mail address; publication name, editorial contact person, mailing address, telephone number(s), and e-mail address; and publication date.

 

á If submitting photocopies of published work, 8 1/2 " x 11" pages are preferred. If that requires great reduction of the print (as for a broadsheet), please provide a readable version of the story on 8 1/2 " x 11" pages with an additional photocopy of the story laid out in the publication. Award finalists may be required to submit tear sheets of the original work.

 

á One hard copy of each entry should be mailed to: The Texas Observer, attn: Jaime Kilpatrick, 307 W. 7th St, Austin, TX 78701.

 

á One electronic copy of each entry should be e-mailed to: mollyaward@texasobserver.org

 

á All entries must be postmarked or emailed no later than March 15, 2010.

 

á Entry fee is $25.

 

JUDGES

Initial screening for the entries will be conducted by journalists from the Board of Advisors, which governs the conducting of the award. Finalists and winners will be determined by an annually selected Executive Committee of the Board of Advisors.

 

AWARDS PRESENTATION

An awards dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas, will be held on Thursday, June 10, 2010, with tickets available to the public at $150 each. Sponsor tables seating 10 will be available for $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500. The keynote speaker is Seymour Hersh, Pulizter Prize-winning investigative reporter who regularly writes for The New Yorker.

 

SPONSORS

Funding of the prizes, expenses of the awards dinner, and travel and lodging for winning journalists and guest speakers will be underwritten through a fund established by friends of Molly Ivins. Contributions are welcome.

 

BOARD OF ADVISORS

Hugh Aynesworth, Maurine H. Beasley, Tom Bettag, Mike Blackman, Nate Blakeslee, Frederick Blevens, Roy Blount, Jr., Robert Bryce, Ken Bunting, Wanda Cash, Mike Cochran, Gail Collins, Patrick Cox, Greg Curtis, Lou Dubose, Ronnie Dugger, Doug Foster, Ellen Goodman, Wade Goodwyn, Jim Henderson, Steven Isenberg, Melissa Jones, Lewis Lapham, Myra MacPherson, David McHam, Dave McNeely, Judith Davidson Moyers, Victor Navasky, Kaye Northcott, Larry Norwood, Karen Olsson, John Pope, Dan Rather, Geoff Rips, Matt Rothschild, Ben Sargent, Connie Schultz, Robert Siegel, Erna Smith, Paul Stekler, Carlton Stowers, Diane Suchetka, Mimi Swartz, Saralee Tiede, Calvin Trillin, and Jim Willse.

 

AWARDS DINNER COMMITTEE

Frances Barton, Becky Beaver, Jan Demetri, Karen Farabee, Mary Margaret Farabee, Carol Flake, Clare Hudspeth, Mary Jo Kennard, Joan Lava, Melissa Jones, Susan Longley, Charlotte McCann, Sandie McClellan, Barbara Morgan, Susan Morris, Nona Niland, Janis Pinnelli, Suzy Reid, Geoff Rips, Nancy Scanlan, Sunny Smith, Sara Speights, Margot Thomas, Kelly White and Carol Yontz.