To ensure our awards are more accessible to everyone in the industry, we encourage independent writers, illustrators, photographers, and art directors to take advantage of our Freelancer Support Fund, which offers the following discount options on the submission fee:
- Submit one entry for $90 (early bird rate $75)
- Submit two entries for $125 (early bird rate $115) *
*Freelancers may use their 2-for-1 submission in any of our awards programs (National Magazine Awards, Digital Publishing Awards, National Magazine Awards: B2B)
This discount applies to your first two entries only; any additional entries are charged at the regular submission rate. Please select whichever option matches your total number of entries — the two options cannot be combined.
The Freelancer Support Fund applies to entries for Writing and Visual Awards, for which there is a cash prize to the winning creator.
An eligible “Freelancer” is a person:
- who is not a staff member of a publication whose work they are submitting, and
- whose byline (as a writer, photographer, illustrator, or art director) appears on the work they are submitting.
As a registered charity, the National Media Awards Foundation uses entry fees from publishers and organizations to operate the awards programs and to fund accessibility initiatives, including the Freelancer Support Fund. For that reason, the Fund is intended specifically to support individual freelance creators submitting their own work, to reduce financial barriers for independent journalists, photographers, illustrators, and art directors.
It is not intended to subsidize entry fees for publishers, nor to be used when a publication or staff member is coordinating and paying for submissions, even if the work itself was created by freelancers. In those cases, the regular entry fees apply, as the submission is considered a publisher entry.
At the payment stage (following submission of entries), there will be an option to select “Freelancer Support Fund.” When the request is approved, you will receive an invoice indicating the discounted entry fee. The revised invoice will be sent by email within 24 hours.
The NMAF is a registered charity. Fees paid for submissions may be tax-deductible. And with our Freelancer Support Fund, it’s more accessible than ever for independent writers and artists to enter their best work for consideration.