Click here to enter POY

Entrance fee:
USD $50

Entrance fee increases to USD $60:
Monday, Jan. 6, 2025

Watch the judging via the POY livestream
Feb. 3–24, 2025.

There is a 2-step registration process. The first step is to pay and register. The second step is to upload your content to the POY page at Picter.com. You can sequence your stories after upload.

  1. To pay the $50 entry fee for yourself or others, click on this link.
  2. You will be emailed a receipt with a reference code and URL link to the POY page at Picter. If you do not have a Picter account, you will need to create a free account.
  3. Enter the reference code and upload your content.
KEY DATES

Opens:
Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, 12:00 a.m. CST

Deadline:
Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, 11:59 p.m. CST

POY Judging:
Feb. 3–7, News
Feb. 8–10, Sports
Feb. 12–16, Reportage
Feb. 18–19, Print Editing
Feb. 20–21, Online Editing
Feb. 23–24, Documentary Film


NEWSLETTER

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CONTACT

Pictures of the Year International
Phone: 573-884-7351
Email: info@poy.org
Web: www.poy.org

Mailing address:
Marie De Jesús
Director, Pictures of the Year International
Reynolds Journalism Institute
Missouri School of Journalism
401 S. Ninth St., Suite 315
Columbia, MO 65211
USA


AWARDS

Individual category winners:
• 1st — Engraved plaque
• Finalist and Award of Excellence — PDF Certificate

$1,000 cash prizes & Tiffany crystal trophy:
• International Photographer of the Year
• Photographer of the Year
• World Understanding Award
• Community Awareness Award
• Environmental Vision Award

Tiffany crystal trophy::
• Sports Photographer of the Year
• Documentary Storyteller of the Year
• Photography Book of the Year
• Visual Editor of the Year

Angus McDougall Excellence in Editing Award:
Winner hosts a sterling silver trophy for one year and receives free tuition to the Missouri Photo Workshop.

All winners will be posted to social media soon after the jury makes its decisions. An official announcement will be made after the competition ends and the results are verified.

For winning entries, POY requires high resolution copies of the images and digital files of the films and online entries.

POY opens for entries until
Jan. 12

We are pleased to announce the 82nd annual Pictures of the Year International competition will begin accepting entries on Dec. 15. The deadline is Jan. 12, 2025, 11:59 p.m. CST.

POY judging begins Monday, Feb. 3 and continues until Feb. 24. The entire competition will be livestreamed. The News, Sports and Reportage divisions will be judged in person at the Missouri School of Journalism. The editing and documentary categories will be virtual.

Like last year, the entry fee is $50 USD and will increase to $60 on Jan. 6, 2025. The price is not connected to the deadline. For example, you may register before Jan. 6 and pay $50 and wait until deadline day to complete the entry by Jan. 12.

This year’s categories include a focus on political campaigns and the U.S. presidential election as well as the Olympic games in Paris.

We are not hosting a category for “Documentary Storyteller of the Year” as documentary work has evolved mostly into a team effort.

We have renamed the “Documentary Journalism” category to “Documentary of the Year.” The category recognizes excellence in longform documentary work, approximately 15-45 minutes. It is open to teams or individuals.

Categories

1 - Science & Natural History
2 - Science & Natural History Picture Story
3 - General News
4 - Impact 2024: U.S. Presidential 2024
5 - Impact 2024: Campaign 2024
6 - Spot News
7 - Daily Life
8 - Portrait
9 - Portrait Series
10 - National/International News Picture Story
11 - Issue Reporting Picture Story
12 - Daily Life Picture Story
13 - Local News Picture Story
14 - Impact 2024: On the Campaign Trail
15 - Team Picture Story of the Year
16 - Sports Action
17 - Sports Life and Recreational Sports
18 - Sports Picture Story
19 - Olympics Sports Action
20 - Olympics Sports Life
21 - Documentary News Reporting (video)
22 - Documentary Daily Life (video)
23 - Documentary of the Year (video)
24 - Online Storytelling: Daily Life
25 - Online Storytelling: News Reporting
26 - Online Storytelling Project of the Year
27 - Newspaper Picture Editing
28 - Magazine Picture Editing
29 - Visual Editor of the Year
30 - International Photographer of the Year
31 - Photographer of the Year
32 - Sports Photographer of the Year
33 - Environmental Vision Award
34 - Community Awareness Award
35 - World Understanding Award
36 - Angus McDougall Excellence in Editing Award
37 - Photography Book of the Year

COPYRIGHTS & USAGE STATEMENT

By entering this competition, you declare that you meet the eligibility requirements stated in the rules of the competition and that you are authorized by the holder of the copyright (or the right to copyright) to submit photos and multimedia entries to the Pictures of the Year International (POY, POYi) competition. You grant permission to Pictures of the Year International, the Reynolds Journalism Institute and the Missouri School of Journalism and POY programs (such as CPOY, POY Asia, POY Latam and the POY Archive) to use your submitted material in exhibitions, publications, in promotion of the competition itself, and for educational research and historical record purposes concerning Pictures of the Year International. This usage includes, but is not limited to print, electronic and online platforms such as the CPOY, POY or MU websites, social media, books, slides/tapes, television broadcast/film/tapes, DVDs and CDs. Entries may become part of the permanent POY archive.

Pictures of the Year International is a program of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. The University of Missouri is a public, tax-exempt educational institution of the State of Missouri. POY provides an educational mission for career development and student advancement, without profit. To achieve the educational mission of the competition, POY requests up to $60 per person (U.S. dollars) compensation to cover the costs associated with operation of the competition.