For 30 years, the EPPY™ Awards, presented by E&P Magazine (Editor & Publisher), have recognized excellence in digital-first news publishing. Since 1996, the EPPYs have honored the organizations, teams and individuals whose work has shaped the evolution of online journalism through outstanding reporting, storytelling, audience engagement, design, product innovation and digital leadership.
Each year, hundreds of entries from more than 200 news organizations across North America compete for one of journalism’s most respected honors. Whether you’re a local newsroom, regional publisher, national media organization, broadcaster, magazine, nonprofit news organization or college media outlet, we invite you to showcase your best digital-first work.
Entry fees
The 2026 EPPY™ Awards entry fee is $350 for your first submission. Additional entries submitted during the same transaction are $300 each. Entries in all College/University categories are $200 each.
All entry fees are non-refundable and payable by credit card.
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Eligibility
The EPPY™ Awards are open to all news organizations and media companies that produce original digital-first journalism and editorial content. Special categories are available exclusively for colleges and universities.
For the 2026 competition, eligible entries must have first appeared between August 1, 2025, and July 28, 2026.
All entries must be submitted through the official EPPY™ Awards website.
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Entry deadline
The deadline to submit entries is extended to Friday, September 25, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Editor & Publisher reserves the right to extend the entry deadline if necessary. Unless an extension is officially announced, entries received after the deadline will not be accepted.
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Entering multiple categories
Many of the strongest EPPY™ submissions are entered in more than one category.
If your project demonstrates excellence in multiple areas—such as investigative reporting, breaking news, multimedia storytelling, photography, video, newsletters, podcasts, design, audience engagement, data journalism or product innovation—you are encouraged to enter it in each applicable category. Each submission is judged independently, giving your work multiple opportunities for recognition.
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Submit your links
Each entry may include up to four supporting links, although only one is required.
Before submitting your entry, please verify that all links are active and accessible.
If your submission is behind a paywall or requires login credentials, include the username and password at the beginning of the Comments section. If the original content is no longer publicly available, please provide an alternate working link so judges can review your work.
Audio and video files cannot be uploaded directly into the EPPY™ entry system. Instead, provide a working link to the content. Whenever possible, submitted audio and video should not exceed 45 minutes in length.
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Comments section
The Comments section is your opportunity to provide judges with helpful context about your submission.
You may briefly explain the goals of the project, identify edited excerpts, provide technical information or share any information that will help judges better evaluate your work. If login credentials are required, please list them first.
Please keep comments concise and use paragraph spacing or bullet points when appropriate.
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Divisions
To ensure fair competition, most EPPY™ Award categories are divided into two audience-size divisions based on the average monthly unique visitors to your primary news website.
* Division I: More than 1 million average monthly unique visitors
* Division II: Fewer than 1 million average monthly unique visitors
We recognize that audience measurement isn’t always straightforward. If your organization’s overall digital reach extends beyond your primary website—or if you believe another division more accurately reflects your audience—you may self-select the division that best represents your organization. You may also include a brief explanation with your entry if additional context would be helpful.
If the EPPY™ Awards team believes an entry would be more appropriately placed in a different division, we’ll contact you before judging begins.
In categories with a limited number of entries, divisions may be combined to ensure a fair and meaningful competition. Entrants will be notified if this occurs.
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Judging
Judging takes place from mid-September through mid-October 2026 and is conducted online by a distinguished panel of professionals representing journalism, digital publishing, technology and higher education.
Each entry is evaluated independently within its respective category using criteria appropriate to that category, including editorial excellence, storytelling, innovation, design, user experience, audience engagement and overall execution.
The decisions of the judges are final.
The EPPY™ Awards recognize excellence. Judges reserve the right not to name a winner in any category if no entry meets the competition’s standards.
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Awards
Each First Place winner located within the United States will receive one engraved crystal EPPY™ Award for each winning entry.
International winners are welcome to receive their award and may be responsible for additional shipping charges.
Additional crystal awards may be purchased for $300 each, plus shipping.
Honorable Mention certificates are available upon request.
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Questions?
For additional information, please contact:
Mike Blinder
Publisher, E&P Magazine (Editor & Publisher)
Email: Mike@EditorandPublisher.com
Phone: 406-445-0000 ext. 1
• Entry Fee: The 2025 (non-refundable) entry fee will be: $350. Each submission after that is $300 when entered at the same time. In the College/University categories, all entries are $200 each. Payment is by credit card only. A specific entry may be entered into multiple categories if relevant and will be judged separately. For example, The Best Enterprise Feature or News Event Feature could also be eligible for photography, video, infographics, etc.
• Eligibility: The competition is open to organizations and media companies that publish exclusive content. In addition, special categories are open to College University News Sites. For 2025, entries must have been published August 1, 2024 through July 28, 2025. Entries that contain original reporting and/or content, etc., must have first appeared (debuted) at any time during that period. Entries must be submitted via the EPPY™ Awards website.
• Deadline: Entry deadline is midnight (ET) on Friday September 12, 2025. Editor & Publisher reserves the exclusive right to extend the entry deadline. Entries received after the entry deadline will not be accepted.
• Submit your Links: Each entry includes the option of submitting up to four links – though only one link is required. Before you submit your entry, make sure your links work. Please, make it easy on the judges! If your website/entry requires login credentials, this is the first thing you should list in your "Comments" (see below). If the link appears behind a paywall, you must provide an easy-to-use username and password within your entry. If a link is no longer available, create a special link to allow judges to access your content
Any audio or video files you want to be judged cannot be uploaded to the entry Content Management System. Please have the audio or video segment available for judges to review by providing a working link. Please make sure the viewing/listening time does not exceed 45 minutes.
• Comment section: The comment section is the place to let the judges in on what they will see. You can put the entry into context or explain you’ve edited certain portions for brevity purposes. Be brief and double space between paragraphs, bullet points, etc. Please put any passwords required here first.
Division – More than or fewer than 1 million monthly unique visitors:
Each entry must be submitted into one of two divisions based on audience size:
• Division I: More than 1 million monthly unique visitors
• Division II: Fewer than 1 million monthly unique visitors
This division is determined by the total average monthly unique visitors to your media organization’s primary digital platform — typically your main homepage and related web channels. This does not include audience metrics from apps, podcasts, newsletters, or third-party platforms such as aggregators.
Publishers may self-select the division that best represents their average monthly digital reach. If your digital traffic patterns differ from typical homepage metrics, you may include a short note with your entry explaining your rationale for division selection. This explanation will be reviewed at the committee’s discretion during the judging process.
In categories with limited entries, EPPY™ judges may combine divisions to ensure fair and competitive evaluation. Entrants will be notified if this occurs.
• Judging: Judging all entries takes place from mid-September to mid-October, 2025. Judges are industry experts chosen by the staff of Editor & Publisher. All judging will occur on the web, and the decision of the judges is final.
Each EPPY™ entry is judged on its own merits within a particular category. Finalists must receive a score in the top one-third of the average score across all categories within their division (more than 1 million unique monthly visitors/less than 1 million unique monthly visitors). As a result, there may be no winners in categories not reaching this threshold.
First place winners within the United States of America, will receive one crystal award per winning entry. Those outside the US, may be quoted an additional shipping fee to receive their award, Additional awards are available for ordering at a cost is $300 + shipping). Honorable Mention certificates are available upon request.
For more information, contact E&P Publisher Mike Blinder at Mike@EditorandPublisher.com or (406-445-0000 x1)
