Youth Literature Award Competition
Enter your literary masterpieces now!

You can enter any material on the subject of stamps.  It does not have to have been published in a stamp magazine.  It could have been published on a website or in a school magazine for example or it could be a Power Point presentation. 

This international competition is being run by the FIP Youth Commission to encourage exhibiting by young people up to and including 21 years of age as at 1 January 2009 . 

The competition will close on 31 December 2009 but you can start sending your entries in now.

To enter please send two copies of anything that you have published since 1 January 2006 in any publication or on a website or any Power point presentation by 31 December 2009 to:

Linda Lee
34 Oceanview Ave
Dover Heights, NSW, 2030
or e-mail

• Please include the following information

• Your  full name, address and age (as at 1/1/09)
  Publication details: title, magazine name, editor, publication frequency, publication dates, presentation dates if a script for a presentation, website where posted and list of articles to be evaluated, circulation list for CDs, DVDs, videotapes etc.

Please note that unless you ask for the return of these copies, in line with existing rules for literature entries, one copy will be sent to the FIP Secretariat for the FIP library and the other will go to a library in Australia.

Young people are invited to submit literature entries in competition. The FIP Commission for Youth is running this Award Competition on an experimental basis to promote youth exhibiting.

The closing date of the competition is 31 December 2009.

The time frame for entries is those published no earlier than 1 January 2006 and no later than 31 December 2009.

The National Delegate to the FIP Youth Commission will forward two copies of the entry to the FIP Youth Commission Secretary by 28 February 2010.

The results will be published in the Lisbon 2010 Palmares document and announced at the FIP Youth Commission meeting at the Lisbon Congress in 2010.

Entries will be accepted from young people in the age groups accepted by the FIP Youth Commission, that is up to and including 21 years of age as at 1 January 2009. Judging will be within the existing three age groupings in the Youth Class, that is:

• Group A up to and including 15 years old
• Group B 16-18 years
• Group C 19-21 years

NB: Assignment to the age group will be done according to the age at the year of publishing the entry.

Two copies of the exhibit should be submitted to the National Delegate to the FIP Youth Commission with the following information:

• Exhibiter's full name, address and age
• Publication details: title, magazine name, editor, publication frequency, publication dates, presentation dates if a script for a presentation, website where posted and list of articles to be evaluated, circulation list for CDs, DVDs, videotapes etc.

There will be no entry fee.

Unless the exhibitor specifically asks for the return of these copies, in line with existing rules for literature entries, one copy will be sent to the FIP Secretariat for the FIP library and the other will go to a library designated by the member federation of Lisbon 2010.

The entry must have been published in some form such as a print publication or in electronic form on a website or as a DVD or CD or videotape etc.

It must be on a philatelic subject. It need not be previously published in a philatelic publication or on a philatelic web site. The entries will be subdivided into the following categories:

1.  Handbooks and special studies. This includes philatelic presentations or lecture transcripts presented to the public by radio, television, film, slide show (including Power Point) and websites.
2.  General Catalogues
3.  Philatelic Periodicals
4.  Articles. This includes articles published in the philatelic or general press, such as school or tertiary institution publications and Club newsletters.
5.  Electronic Publications. These include electronic publications such as DVDs, CDs and web pages:

The number of articles will depend on the age of the exhibiter, the type of material and what the judges can handle within the time frame. At this stage it is recommended for:

Age Group "A"  An article, or one year of a periodical or an electronic publication.
Age Group "B"  Up to two printed articles or at least one year of a periodical or up to two electronic publications.
Age Group "C"  Up to three printed articles or at least one year of a periodical and/or up to three electronic publications.

However, with the permission of the National Delegate to the FIP Youth Commission, the entry could exceed the limit set above if the quality is such that a wider range of entries would show the exhibiter in a better light. The National Delegate to the FIP Youth Commission should include a brief justification for this decision.

In line with existing regulations for literature exhibits, the entries will be evaluated according to the following criteria. However given the age groups covered and the experimental nature of the Award, it would be expected that a flexible approach would be used.

Treatment of contents:  in the context of the age group this means evaluation of clarity and skill in communication.
Originality, significance and depth of research:  the main considerations would be originality and what can be reasonably expected of the age group in terms of significance of subject matter and research undertaken.
Technical matters:  the main consideration would be competence in dealing with technical requirements of the print or electronic medium.
Presentation:  the degree of understanding of presentation requirements of the print or electronic medium.

Point Scores:

Treatment of contents  25
Originality, significance and depth of research  25
Technical matters  25
Presentation  25

The entries will be judged by a panel appointed by the President of the FIP Youth Commission. The panel will include:

• The FIP Youth Commission President or his nominee;
• An FIP Youth Class qualified judge;
• An FIP Literature Class qualified judge nominated by the FIP Literature Commission President;
• A representative of young authors active in the philatelic publications / literature area. This person should be selected on the recommendation of the FIP Youth and Literature Commission Presidents.

All exhibiters will receive a diploma of participation. The first three entries in each age group will receive a special prize. The article awarded by the first prize in each age group will be published in the magazine "Flash F.I.P." The Continental Federations and the National Federations will also be offered the opportunity to publish the winning entries in appropriate publications, on websites or other electronic forms.

The articles should be written in one of the F.I.P. official languages: English, French, German, Spanish. Such articles written in different languages shall be accompanied by a translation of the text certified by the National Delegate or by the National Federation. In the event of any discrepancies in the text arising from translation, the English text shall prevail.

If the Competition is successful then consideration may be given to inclusion as regular part of the Youth Class.

Youth Philately around Australia
[ from APF News, November 2009 ]