We’re thrilled to announce the opening of this year’s New England Better Newspaper Competition! We are introducing eight new award categories to spotlight emerging voices and honor excellence across a broader range of reporting and storytelling.
Whether you’re an investigative journalist, a feature writer, or a rising student reporter, there’s a category for you. Submissions are now open, and we can’t wait to see the impactful journalism you’ve produced this year.
The Better Newspaper Competition is New England’s largest journalism recognition program. This prestigious competition celebrates the skill, passion, and determination it takes to produce top-quality publications. It offers an exciting opportunity for talented newspaper professionals to be recognized for their exceptional work.
Work published by NENPA member news organizations during the contest year, August 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025, is eligible for this competition.
The competition has three divisions:
- Editorial/Multimedia/
Photography Division – Download Editorial Information Packet - Advertising/Circulation/
Promotion Division – Download Advertising Information Packet - College/University Division – Download College Information Packet
Download the information packets, where you will find all of the information necessary to prepare your entries, including a list of competitive categories, complete rules and guidelines, and the criteria that each contest category will be judged upon.
In the Frequently Asked Questions page at the end of this packet, you can find additional information on preparing entries, such as how to make PDF files smaller, extract particular pages, and combine several PDF files.
New award categories for this year include:
- Social Media Portfolio
- Home & Garden Writing
- Housing News
- Critics Award
- Good News Award
- Protest and Demonstration Coverage
- Immigration Reporting
- 250th Celebration Coverage
Deadline for entries is Friday, October 31, 2025.
Awards will be presented at the annual New England Newspaper Convention, happening in Spring 2026.
We wish you the very best of luck in this year’s competition! If questions come up while preparing your entries, please email L.Conway@nenpa.com or T.Cleary@nenpa.com.
