The Livingston Awards recognize outstanding reporting by journalists under the age of 35. Each year, prizes of $10,000 are presented in local, national and international reporting.

Please read Rules and What to Prepare before starting Entry Form.

Rules

There is no entry fee. Prize money is paid directly to the journalists, not the news organizations.

• Entrants must be 34 years of age or younger as of December 31, 2024.
• Multiple bylines are eligible, but all must meet the age criteria.
• One entry per individual is accepted. One entry can be a single piece or a maximum of three pieces either from a published series, an original piece and its follow-up developments or three pieces clearly tied together in a beat. All pieces of the series must be published by the same organization.
• There is no limit to the number of entries that a news organization can submit, provided that they enter only one entry per reporter.
• Individuals may apply on their own, or be entered by their organization.
• Text, video, audio and data visualization work are eligible. Still photography is not eligible.
• The work must appear in U.S.-controlled media. Entrants are not required to be U.S. citizens.
• Entries must be directly related to current events or include new information about old events. Features and commentary are eligible.
• Submissions must consist of materials prepared in the ordinary course of the journalist’s professional production. Materials prepared by journalists specifically for submission to the Livingston Awards do not qualify.
• Student media completed solely as a class assignment or for a college or university publication is not eligible.
• Journalism produced by students and published by a news organization serving a general audience is eligible.
• Competition is limited to work published or appearing during the calendar year ending December 31, 2024.
• The Livingston Awards reserves the right to use any part or whole of any entered piece for publicity or educational purposes.
• Winners will participate in an outreach event arranged by the Livingston Awards.

We understand the collaborative efforts of many projects. At the same time, our objective is to recognize outstanding journalists under the age of 35. To ensure this, the clear majority of the reporting and writing for the submitted work should be the efforts of journalists under the age of 35. If the entry involves the work of others over the age of 34, a detailed description of the work responsibilities, breakdown and percentage of work each team member contributed to the project can be provided on the entry form.

What to Prepare

Entry Information

• To apply, you will create an account on OpenWater. You can save your information and return to the entry form at any time before your final submission.
• You will be asked to enter the media organization and the title of the piece or series you are entering.
• You will be asked to enter the region of your entry. Select your region according to the city/state of the media organization that published/aired your entry. For example, if you live in California and your entry was published by a media organization based in Washington, D.C., your region is Mid-Atlantic. Find your region.

PDF Uploads and URL Links

Text and Data Visualization Entries

• A PDF of the material is required. Each complete article should be uploaded as one PDF. Your PDF upload can be multiple pages.
• Label each PDF upload with the entrant’s last name and the article’s publication date. An example upload label is: Smith 9-26-22.pdf.
• Submit a PDF no larger than 8.5” x 11” with 10 point or larger type size. Please check that your PDF includes page breaks and that the text is not cut off at the top or bottom of any pages.
• Do not upload PDFs in spread format.
• The PDF can be a text version of the online story.
• If your PDF file is larger than 2 MB, upload a reduced file size.
• All clips must show the name of the media organization, story headline, byline and date of publication.
• Here are examples of acceptable PDFs: example 1 and example 2.
• If the entry piece is not in English, include an English translation of the submission.
• In addition to the required PDF upload, a working URL corresponding with the PDF piece must be provided.
• In addition to the required PDF upload, a working URL corresponding with each PDF piece must be provided.

Video and Audio Entries

• Upload a transcript.
  • Label the transcript with the last name(s) of the entrant(s).
  • The transcript must indicate the total running time and air date or date of publication online.
• If your entry involves the work of others over the age of 34, please include their name(s) and age(s) in the Video and/or Audio Contribution Breakdown field along with a detailed description of the work responsibilities, breakdown and percentage of work each team member contributed to the project. Our objective is to recognize outstanding journalists under the age of 35. To ensure this, the clear majority of the reporting and writing of the work submitted should be the efforts of journalists under the age of 35. Team members under the age of 35 should be entered in the entry information fields provided.
• Include a working URL in the field provided.
• If the entry piece is not in English, include an English translation of the submission.

URL Paywall

• We encourage entrants to submit URLs that are accessible without a paywall. If this is not possible, entrants must include a username and password for paywall access on the entry form.

Summary of Entry

You will be asked to summarize what the entry piece or series is about in no more than 65 words. The summary will not be part of the judging, rather this is to provide the program administration and the judges with a quick, succinct summary of the entry story.

Outcome or Results of the Reporting

The entry form includes an optional field to include information in 65 words or fewer about the outcome or any significant results of the reporting for the submitted work.

Cover Letter Field

Cover letters are not required and are not passed on to the judges. However, there is a field available to upload cover letters for entrants who still wish to submit one.

Contact Information

You will be asked to enter the contact information of the entrant, editor (print, online and data visualization entries) or senior producer (video and audio entries), and contest coordinator (if applicable). If the entry has multiple bylines, all entrants must meet the age criteria.

Proof of Age

You will be asked to confirm that as of December 31, 2024, the entrant(s) is younger than 35 years of age. Finalists will be notified by April 1, 2025. At that time, a copy of a current U.S. driver’s license, birth certificate or passport identification page will be required.

Deadlines

• Entries for work published in 2024 open in November 2024.
• The deadline for entering work published in 2024 was 11:59 p.m. ET on February 1, 2025.
• Finalists will be notified by April 1, 2025 and announced later that month. The winners will be introduced and honored at our Livingston Awards luncheon in New York City.

For Contest Coordinators

There is no limit to the number of entries that a media organization can submit, provided that they enter only one entry per reporter.

To submit multiple entries for a media organization:

1. Create an online account. You can save your information and return to the entry form at any time before your final submission.
2. Complete the entry for your first candidate.
3. Return to the online application link and repeat the entry process.

For questions about the Livingston Awards rules or entry process, email [email protected].

Next Step

Fill out and submit the entry form.