The North American Guild of Beer Writers (NAGBW) will hold its 10th annual competition for writers, podcasters, bloggers, authors, and broadcasters. The awards honor the best coverage of beer and the brewing industry across 15 categories.
This year’s awards are generously sponsored by Athletic Brewing Company and Untappd.
- Winners in each category receive a cash prize of $400 (first place), $200 (second place), and $75 (third place).
- Each category will include an “Emerging Voice” award for a person who has covered the beer industry for three years or less. They will receive a $25 prize.
Through this annual competition, the Guild aims to broaden the conversation about beer and brewing and to celebrate quality journalism.
A full list of rules and category descriptions can be found here.
Deadlines
- The 2024 NAGBW Awards will accept entries from August 1, 2024 through August 31, 2024.
- Entries for the 2024 competition must have been published between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.
Entry Form
This year there will be one entry form for all 15 categories. Please enter here.
Categories
- Best Beer and Food Writing
This category includes print or online media that places beer in the context of food, including but not limited to recipes and pairings.
- Best Book
Book entries must be original, published works about the topic of beer by an author or co-authors.
- Best Blog/Newsletter
This category requires three posts from a single blog that explore the subject of beer. The blog should be active and must feature at least 12 entries per year to qualify. Entrants are encouraged to show a range of writing and coverage to demonstrate your expertise and unique voice.
- Best Brewery Profile
This category includes print or online features that profile a single brewery in a story about the business, its people, local history, and any combination of these or more.
- Best Business Writing
This category includes print or online media that focuses on the business and/or economics of the beer industry and its impact.
- Best Commentary or Criticism
This category includes print or online media that may provide a position or opinion with clear style and reasoning on a topic relating to the beer industry (columns and editorials).
- Best Historical Writing
This category includes print or online media that chronicles beer historically through practice, recipe, people and similar historical accounts and stories.
- Best Local Reporting
This category includes print or online media covering significant issues of local concern. Entries are accepted from national publications when a story focuses solely on an issue relevant to a city or state.
- Best National or International Reporting
This category includes print or online media covering significant issues of national or international concern (magazines, online magazines, and newspapers with national/international circulation or readership).
- Best Technical or Brewing Podcast
This category includes any audio or video series that explores the subject of beer from a technical angle, i.e. homebrewing, professional brewing, ingredients, scientific research, etc. Choose three episodes you feel showcase a breadth of knowledge, analysis, and/or newsworthiness.
- Best General Beer Podcast
This category includes any audio or video series that explores the subject of beer from a non-technical angle, including culture, history, news, and commentary. Choose three episodes you feel showcase a breadth of knowledge, analysis, and/or newsworthiness.
- Best Review
This category includes print or online media that reviews beer, but does not require a rating.
- Best Short Form Writing
This category includes beer writing from any publication, online or print, that contains fewer than 600 words.
- Best Technical Writing
This category includes print or online media that chronicles beer technically through production, business practice, or similar methods.
- Best Travel Writing
This category includes print or online media that transports the reader to a place and provides guidance or insight to the location’s unique features and beer landscape.
Entry info
All writers, podcasters, bloggers, video producers, and others who produce content related to beer are encouraged to enter. An author doesn’t need to regularly cover the beer industry to submit their work.
- An individual may enter work or have work entered on their behalf in no more than four total categories.
- A single publication may submit no more than five entries per category.
Entry fees
Entry fees are required to submit work. All fees help cover the costs of the annual awards. Fees are prorated for members at $15 per entry. Non-members pay $30 per entry. You must be a current paid member of the NAGBW to receive the discount. To join the NAGBW, please allow 24 hours for your application to be processed at nagbw.org.
Additional info
Judging will occur in September and October, with winners announced through a livestream event on Sunday, October 20. As in past years, the NAGBW awards include different judges overseeing each category, with multiple judges per category. In 2023, over 50 judges oversaw the competition, with more than half coming from the journalism field. They had a combined 400 years of experience in this field. Additional judges were professionals in academia, communications/marketing, and the beer industry.
If you have any questions please email Pat Walls, NAGBW Awards Coordinator, at walls.patrick@gmail.com.
ABOUT THE NORTH AMERICAN GUILD OF BEER WRITERS – The Guild has members from USA, Canada, and other countries around the world. Guild membership is open to all writers and content producers who cover beer and brewing, and industry memberships are also available. For more information, visit http://www.nagbw.org.