The 3rd Annual Ohio Genealogical Society Writing Competition

Showcase your genealogical writing talent in one of the Ohio Genealogical Society’s outstanding journals. OGS is sponsoring its third annual genealogical writing contest which is open to authors of genealogical and historical material. In doing so, OGS will reward genealogical authorship and will feature the winners in its journals. Two OGS journals will reach our 5,400-member base while the two subscription journals reach genealogical and historical groups with special interests in early Ohio history and in Ohio’s Civil War soldiers. The contest is for articles dealing with Ohio history and genealogy, Ohio records groups, Ohioans who left to settle elsewhere and Ohio families. OGS welcomes articles ranging in size from 750 words up to 5,000 words, depending on the subject.

Authors may submit up to eight entries with a maximum of two entries in each of the following OGS journal categories:

• Ohio Genealogy News (OGN - quarterly newsletter, included in OGS membership) concentrates on genealogical record groups, collections, research techniques, databases and websites related to Ohio genealogy and history, as well as articles about OGS, its chapters and other genealogical news.
• Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly (OGSQ - quarterly journal, included in OGS membership) publishes articles relating to the full spectrum of Ohio history and genealogy. Types of articles include case studies, abstracts and transcriptions of Ohio related materials, and Bible records.
• Ohio Records & Pioneer Families (ORPF - quarterly, by subscription) focuses on Ohio from pre-colonial times to the Civil War historically and accepts articles on Ohio records groups including abstracts and transcriptions of such records.
• Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal (OCWGJ - quarterly, by subscription) features anything relating to Ohioans who served the Civil War including post-war related activities such as reconstruction and the GAR.

Three winning articles will be selected in each category. The first prize winner will receive a one-year OGS membership, a one-year subscription to Ohio Records & Pioneer Families and a one-year subscription to the Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal. The second place winner will receive his/her choice of two of the above listed prizes. The third place winner will receive her/his choice of one of the above named prizes. Winning articles will be featured in appropriate OGS journals. OGS will not give every award in each category if sufficient entries do not meet the criteria. Entries will be judged on four criteria: Overall impact and interest: 0-15 points; Accuracy, points: 0-10 points; Language and voice: 0-10 points; Writing mechanics: 0-10 points. Judges’ comments will be returned to each entrant. By submitting articles, authors are giving OGS permission to publish. Entries may not have been previously published in other journals.          

Entries will be accepted from 1 January 2010 through 28 February 2010. Send entries as hard copy or as an electronic file on CD or via e-mail (electronic files are preferred). All electronic files should be saved in Rich Text (rtf) or Microsoft WORD formats only. Include the following information with each entry: Category (journal for which you wish your article be judged), author’s name, full address, telephone number, e-mail address and any other pertinent contact information. The contest is open to all OGS members as well as non-members. Both amateur and professional writers may submit articles. Please send entries to:

The Ohio Genealogical Society -- the Premier Ohio Family Heritage Resource
713 South Main Street, Mansfield, Ohio 44907-1644 (419) 756-7294

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This site last updated 10 November 2009.