ECPA/Dickinson Press Book Cover Awards: Official Rules 2008

Submission Deadline: August 15, 2008

Article I: General Rules

1) Submitting Companies
All publishing companies submitting entries must be ECPA members in good standing.

2) Publication Date
Eligible books must be originally published in English by an ECPA member anywhere in the world, and released for public sale between June 30, 2007 – July 1, 2008.

3) Book Formats
Books eligible for entry are defined as "bound volumes," either case bound, paper bound, or spiral bound. Books in series and sets are eligible. In the case of Bibles, either front covers and/or front matter package design is eligible.

4) Certification
Publishers will be asked to certify that all information on the entry form is correct and complies with all rules. An authorized representative of the publisher, qualified to certify that the publisher is the original publisher and all rules are adhered to, is to be listed on the entry form.

5) Category Classificaton and Eligibility Review
Each book cover must be entered only in the category that best describes the book publisher’s size in terms of titles published annually. The ECPA Recognition Committee shall have the final and absolute responsibility for determining the correct classification and eligibility for all entries. Should it be determined that any entry has been entered in an incorrect category, or is ineligible, ECPA will notify the publisher accordingly.
Category classifications are:

• Titles published 1 – 100
• Titles published 101 – 250
• Titles published 251+
• Bibles [Cover and/or packaging front matter]

6) Content
To be eligible for entry, each book must include explicit Christian content, an overtly Christian message, and/or a distinctively Christian world view (e.g., allegorical fiction). The Christian content in each entry must be evangelical in nature and may not be contrary to ECPA's Statement of Faith as follows:

ECPA Statement of Faith
I. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.
II. We believe there is only one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
III. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
IV. We believe that for the salvation of the lost and sinful, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
V. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
VI. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
VII. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Content categories include:
1) Bible Reference and Study: Reference Works/Commentaries, Works of Theology, Doctrine, or Church History, Christian Ministry, Bible Study, Christian Education
2) Bibles: covers and/or front matter package design
3) Children and Youth: Preschool Children, Elementary Children, Youth.
4) Christian Life: Biography/Autobiography, Christian Living, Christianity & Society, Family & Parenting, Marriage, Missions/Evangelism.
5) Fiction.
6) Inspiration and Gift: Devotional, Inspirational, Gift Book/Poetry.

Article II: Entry Process

1) Number of Entries
Any ECPA member publisher, imprint or division of a larger publishing house may enter as many titles in it’s category as it wishes. The Recognition Committee will determine the correctness of the category placement if a question should arise.

2) Entry Fees
All ECPA member publishers in good standing are eligible to submit titles.

Entry fee: $99 per submission

The entry fee is to accompany the Christian Book Award Entry Form and is not refundable. (If you are unable to make an online credit card payment, please contact Cindy Carter at ECPA)

3) Submission of Entries

• Entry submission and payment is to be completed online. You will receive automatic confirmation upon completion. (If online payment cannot be made, please contact Cindy Carter for other payment options.) The Entry Form is online.
• Entry forms and payment must be received by ECPA no later than August 15, 2008.
• A 72 dpi jpg image of the book cover (actual size) and a PDF of the front matter packaging is to accompany each submission.
• Finalists will be selected from the submissions of each book cover.
• Finalists will be asked to submit one (1) sample book and/or book packaging for final judging.
  
  Sample books must be sent to:
  
  Dickinson Press
  5100 33rd Street SE
  Grand Rapids, MI 49512
  ATTN: Michael Linder
  
  Please include a cover sheet stating books are for the ECPA/DP Book Cover Award program.

4) Entry Form

• The Entry Form requires title, author, ISBN and publication date (month and year).
• Make sure each title complies with the certification called for in Section 1.4.
• Please do not abbreviate. The exact format in which the title and author is submitted will be the format used in all publicity regarding ECPA/Dickinson Press Book Cover Award winners.
• Finalist publishers will be asked to digitally submit their company logo for promotions and recognition.

Article III
Judging Process

1) Evaluation Criteria
Judges will be given a group of book covers in each category to evaluate based on the following criteria defined as “design integrity”:

• Identification of the intended target audience [defined by age, income, gender, traits such as enjoy adventure; desire success; competitive]
• Are the following elements preferences of the intended book reader:
  • Imagery
  • Font style and treatment
  • Color pallet
  • Title / sub-title

2) Tabulation
Judges will evaluate each book cover based on the above criteria along with comments submitted by publisher on the entry form.

3) Judging Process

• There will be two rounds of judging.
• First round judging will be based on the submitted 72 dpi PDF images. Judges will score each entry based on Imagery, Font Style, Color Usage, and Title Language relative to the intended book reader.
• The top three book cover designs in each of the four categories will then be selected as finalists in each of the four publisher categories.
• The top scorer of these finalists in each category will be announced as the winner for that respective category.

4) Awards
Award winners will be announced at the ECPA Publishing University.