The South Carolina Genealogical Society, Inc. Publications Competition is held annually. The goals of the competition are to:

• Encourage excellence in genealogical research
• Promote the publication of genealogical material related to South Carolina
• Recognize publications which achieve the highest genealogical standards

The Publications Competition is divided into seven categories.  Within the first four categories, there are two divisions based on a Chapter's membership.  An entry form must accompany each entry.  The SCGS President or his designee will present awards, consisting of a plaque or a certificate, at the Fall SCGS Annual Meeting.  Awards are based on nominations and may not be presented in each category each year.

CATEGORY I - BEST SCGS CHAPTER QUARTERLY PUBLICATION

Requirements:

• An SCGS Chapter must publish each quarterly nominated
• The SCGS Chapter, not an individual, must submit the nomination
• An entry form must accompany each entry
• Two current consecutive issues of the publication will be submitted.  These issues must date between 2007 and 2008
• The nomination deadline for 2008 awards is July 12, 2008.  Entries must be received by this date.

There are two divisions within this category:

• Chapters with 100 or fewer Individual & Family memberships as of July 1
• Chapters with more than 100 Individual & Family memberships as of July 1

A panel of three judges with no affiliation with the SCGS will judge each quarterly publication on the following criteria:

1. Genealogical Content (50%)

• Strong genealogical content. May also contain items of local historical interest.
• Wide variety of previously unpublished genealogical material, local historical material, or methodology articles.
• Transcriptions must retain the original document's punctuation and spelling
• Sources should be properly cited and documented

2.  Writing and editing (25%)

• Sentence structure, word usage, spelling and grammar
• Statement of purpose and strong audience identification

3.  Presentation of Material (25%)

• Print quality
• Design harmony and balance
• Effective use of paper
• Effective use of graphics and white space

Results:

    1. The judges' scores will be tallied
    2. Each Chapter will be notified by mail of their quarterly's evaluation
    3. A representative from each winning Chapter will be presented with an award at
        the fall SCGS Annual Meeting

 CATEGORY II - BEST SCGS PERIODICAL NEWSLETTER

Requirements:

• An SCGS Chapter must publish each newsletter nominated
• The SCGS Chapter, not an individual, must submit the nomination
• An entry form must accompany each entry
• Two current consecutive issues of the publication will be submitted. These issues must date between 2007 and 2008
• The nomination deadline for 2008 awards is July 12, 2008.  Entries must be received by this date

There are two divisions within this category:

• Chapters with 100 or fewer Individual & Family memberships as of July 1
• Chapters with more than 100 Individual & Family memberships as of July 1

A panel of three judges with no affiliation with the SCGS will judge each newsletter on the following criteria:

1. Informational Content (50%)

Each newsletter should contain current news of interest to the membership from the local chapter or SCGS.  Examples might include: upcoming meetings, new acquisitions, minutes from meetings, treasurer's report, etc.

Other items of interest, such as articles of genealogical or local historical interest, may be communicated to the membership. If included, then (1) Transcriptions must retain the original document's punctuation and spelling, and (2) Sources should be properly cited and documented.

2. Writing and editing (25%)

• Sentence structure, word usage, spelling & grammar
• Statement of purpose and strong audience identification

3. Presentation of Material (25%)

• Print quality
• Design harmony and balance
• Effective use of paper
• Effective use of graphics and white space

Results:

1. The judge's scores will be tallied
2. Each Chapter will be notified by mail of their newsletter's evaluation
3. A representative from each winning Chapter will be presented with an award at
    the fall SCGS Annual Meeting

CATEGORY III - BEST ARTICLE IN AN SCGS PUBLICATION

Requirements:

• Any article, or series of articles, published in any SCGS chapter's quarterly or newsletter, or any article, or series of articles, published in the SCGS The Carolina Herald, within a two year period prior to 2008 SCGS Annual Meeting is eligible for nomination
• Articles may be nominated by the author, an individual SCGS member, or by an SCGS chapter
• An entry form must accompany each entry.
• Two copies of each article nominated must be submitted
• Each article nominated and accompanying bibliographic information will be published in The Carolina Herald
• The nomination deadline for 2008 awards is July 12, 2008.  Entries must be received by this date

There are two divisions within this category:

• Chapters with 100 or fewer Individual & Family memberships as of July 1
• Chapters with more than 100 Individual & Family memberships as of July 1. Any article nominated from The Carolina Herald would compete in this division

A panel of three judges with no affiliation with the SCGS will judge each quarterly publication on the following criteria:

1. Genealogically Related Content (50%)

• Previously unpublished South Carolina genealogical materials or sources, local historical materials, or related to South Carolina genealogical methods and sources
• Transcriptions must retain the original document's punctuation and spelling
• Sources should be properly cited and documented

2. Writing and editing (25%)

• Sentence structure, word usage, spelling & grammar
• Statement of purpose and strong audience identification

3. Presentation of Material (25%)

• Print quality
• Design harmony and balance
• Effective use of paper
• Effective use of graphics and white space

Results:

    1.  The judges scores will be tallied
    2.  Each author/editor will be notified by mail of their article's evaluation
    3.  The winning author/editor will be presented an award at the Fall SCGS Annual
          Meeting

CATEGORY IV - BEST BOOK BY A SCGS CHAPTER

Requirements:

• Each book must be published by an SCGS Chapter.  Books may be hard bound or soft bound.  Books must have been published within the two-year period prior to the 2008 SCGS Annual Meeting
• The book must be submitted by the Chapter, not an individual
• An entry form must accompany each entry.
• Two copies of each book entry must be submitted. After the contest, one copy will be retained by the SCGS for its Archives and the other copy will be donated to the South Caroliniana Library in Columbia
• Each book submitted will be given a thumbnail review in The Carolina Herald.  The review will include price, ordering information, etc.
• The nomination deadline for 2008 awards is July 12, 2008. Entries must be received by this date

There are two divisions within this category:

• Chapters with fewer than 100 Individual & Family memberships as of July 1
• Chapters with more than 100 Individual & Family memberships as of  July 1

A panel of three judges with no affiliation with the SCGS will judge each book on the following criteria:

1. Genealogically Related Content (50%)

• Previously unpublished South Carolina genealogical materials or sources, local historical materials, or related to South Carolina genealogical methods and sources
• Transcriptions must retain the original document's punctuation and spelling
• Sources should be properly cited and documented

2. Writing and editing (25%)

• Sentence structure, word usage, spelling & grammar
• Well conceived and planned
• Does the work contain:
      Forward
      Introduction
      Title page
      Publisher, place, and date
      Table of contents
      Bibliography
      Complete index
      Footnotes and references

Presentation of Material (25%)

• Print quality
• Design harmony and balance
• Effective use of paper
• Effective use of graphics and white space

Results:

    1.  The judge's scores will be tallied
    2.  Each Chapter will be notified by mail of their book's evaluation
    3.  A representative from each winning Chapter will be presented with an award at
         the fall  SCGS Annual Meeting

CATEGORY V - BEST SOUTH CAROLINA FAMILY HISTORY

Requirements:

• Anyone is eligible to submit a nomination.  Books may be hard bound or soft bound. Nominated books are to center on a South Carolina family, past or present and include at least four generations of that family.  Books must have been published within the two-year period prior to the 2008 SCGS Annual Meeting
• An entry form must accompany each entry.
• Two copies of each book entry must be submitted. After the contest, one copy will be retained by the SCGS for its Archives and the other copy will be donated to the South Caroliniana Library in Columbia
• Each book submitted will be given a thumbnail review in The Carolina Herald.  The review will include price, ordering information, etc.
• A nominated book should not be an automatically generated "book" from genealogical software
• The nomination deadline for 2008 awards is July 12, 2008.  Entries must be received by this date

A panel of three judges with no affiliation with the SCGS will judge each book on the following criteria:

    1.  Demonstration of Research Skills (40%)

• Ability to use and analyze a wide variety of primary documents
• Place family in a correct but relevant, historical context

    2.  Documentation (20%)

• Each fact should be properly documented and cited from its original source
• Full citation using accepted styles

3. Writing and editing (20%)

• The book should tell the story of a South Carolina family and not be merely listing of names and dates
• The book should be an original work, not a compilation of others' research
• The book should employ a generally recognized numbering system
• Sentence structure, word usage, spelling and grammar
• Well conceived and planned
• Does the book contain:
          Foreword
          Introduction
          Title page
          Publisher, place, and date?
          Table of contents
          Bibliography
          Complete index
          Footnotes and references

4. Presentation of  Material (20%)

• Print quality
• Design harmony and balance
• Effective use of paper
• Effective use of graphics and white space

Results

    1.  The judge's scores will be tallied
    2.  The author/editor will be notified by mail of their book's evaluation
    3.  The winning author/editor will be presented with an award at the fall SCGS
          Annual Meeting

CATEGORY VI - BEST SOUTH CAROLINA GENEALOGICAL BOOK

Requirements:

• Anyone is eligible to submit a nomination.  Books may be hard bound or soft bound.  Nominated books are to center on a South Carolina genealogy.  Subjects might include, but not limited to: records abstracted from original sources, a genealogical study of a particular locality, genealogical methodology, etc.  Books must have been published within the two-year period prior to the 2008 SCGS Annual Meeting
• An entry form must accompany each entry.
• Two copies of each book entry must be submitted. After the contest, one copy will be retained by the SCGS for its Archives and the other copy will be donated to the South Caroliniana Library in Columbia
• Each book submitted will be given a thumbnail review in The Carolina Herald.  The review will include price, ordering information, etc.
• The nomination deadline for 2008 awards is July 12, 2008.  Entries must be received by this date

A panel of three judges with no affiliation with the SCGS will judge each book on the following criteria:

1. Genealogically Related Content (50%)

• Previously unpublished South Carolina genealogical material or sources, local historical materials, or related to South Carolina genealogical methods and sources
• Transcriptions must retain the original document's punctuation and spelling
• Sources should be properly cited an documented

2. Writing and editing (25%)

• Sentence structure, word usage, spelling and grammar
• Well conceived and planned
• Does the work contain:
      Forward
      Introduction
      Title page
      Publisher, place, and date
      Table of contents
      Bibliography
      Complete index
      Footnotes and references   

Results:

    1. The judges' scores will be tallied
    2. The author/editor will be notified by mail of their book's evaluation
    3. The winning author/editor will be presented with an award at the fall SCGS
        Annual Meeting

CATEGORY VII - BEST SOUTH CAROLINA LOCAL HISTORY BOOK

Requirements

• Anyone is eligible to submit a nomination.  Books may be hard bound or soft bound. Nominated books are to center on a South Carolina local history.  Subjects might include, but are not limited to: the history of a county, town, geographic region, or other area of South Carolina, the history of a specific group of individuals (ethnic group, or the membership of a fraternal organization, etc.), the history of a religious congregation, the history of an educational institution, etc.  Books must have been published within the two-year period prior to the 2008 SCGS Annual Meeting
• An entry form must accompany each entry.
• Two copies of each book entry must be submitted. After the contest, one copy will be retained by the SCGS for its Archives and the other copy will be donated to the South Caroliniana Library in Columbia
• Each book submitted will be given a thumbnail review in The Carolina Herald.  The review will include price, ordering information, etc.
• The nomination deadline for 2008 awards is July 12, 2008.  Entries must be received by this date

A panel of three judges with no affiliation with the SCGS will judge each book on the following criteria:

1. Historically Related Content (50%)

• A previously unpublished South Carolina history related to the state's places or regions, groups of individuals, or institutions
• Sources should be properly cited and documented

2. Writing and editing (25%)

• Sentence structure, word usage, spelling & grammar
• Well conceived and planned
• Does the work contain:
          Forward
          Introduction
          Title page
          Publisher, place, and date
          Table of contents
          Bibliography
          Complete index
          Footnotes and references
   

3. Presentation of Material (25%)

• Print quality
• Design harmony and balance
• Effective use of paper
• Effective use of graphics and white space

Results:

1.  The judges' scores will be tallied
2.  The author/editor will be notified by mail of their book's evaluation
3.  The winning author/editor will be presented with an award at the fall SCGS
      Annual Meeting

Entry Form

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