Best of the High School Press: Call for 2010-11 digital submissions

Download the Best of the High School Press Call for Submissions Flyer

Are you the best? Show us what you’ve got.

Over the course of 16 volumes, Best of the High School Press has been the premier showcase for award-winning student work by and for members of the National Scholastic Press Association.

Only publication content submitted as PDF files is considered for Best of the High School Press. (This does not apply to sections of the book honoring winners of NSPA’s contests, such as the Pacemaker, Of-The-Year and Best of Show awards.) PDF files can be sent to NSPA either online or by mail – see details below.

Using PDF submissions results in a Best of the High School Press publication with better reproduction quality, more up-to-date content and a more comprehensive selection process.

How to enter your publication’s work for Best Of selections

  • Choose the content you wish to submit from your 2010-11 publication (see our recommendations, below)
  • Create PDF files of each page, spread or graphic at the highest possible quality (click here for instructions for creating PDFs)

Send your PDFs to NSPA in one of two ways:

  • Upload your PDF files to NSPA using our online submission form, or
  • Create a CD of the PDF files (the face of the CD should have your publication name and type, school name, contact e-mail address and “2011 Best of the High School Press Submissions” written on it), and mail it to

    NSPA Best of the High School Press
    2221 University Ave. SE, Suite 121
    Minneapolis, MN 55414

    Feel free to include the CD with your critique or Newspaper Pacemaker entry if you’re sending one this spring/summer.

2010-11 publication PDFs should be received by July 15, 2011, to be considered for publication in Best Of.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the next Best of the High School Press be published?
The next edition of Best of the High School Press, Volume 17, will be published in early 2012 and will contain student publication content drawn mostly from the 2010-2011 school year.

Does submitting PDFs for Best Of enter the work in any other contest or judging?
Complete, printed newspaper issues/yearbooks/magazines will still need to be submitted for critiques or Pacemaker contests. However, any digital files entered in individual contests, such as Design of the Year, Picture of the Year or Cartooning Awards, will automatically be included in the Best of selection process, so any content entered in those contests can be excluded from Best of submissions.

What can I do to improve my chances of getting something from our publication selected for Best Of?

  • DO send as many PDFs as you can (at least 8-10)
  • Please DON’T send PDFs of entire newspaper or magazine issues. If you do, be sure to suggest some of the best material from it as a starting point for judges.
  • If you have strong content in less prominent areas of your publication, such as yearbook academics/clubs pages or newspaper opinion pages, DO include them in your submissions. As always, there will only be room for so many Page Ones, newspaper centerspreads or yearbook divider spreads in Best Of, so the competition in those areas will be tougher.
  • DON’T include digital files submitted as entries in individual contests such as Design of the Year, Picture of the Year or Cartooning Awards, since all digitally submitted contest entries will automatically be included in the Best Of selection pool.
  • DO check your publication’s NSPA membership status to make sure it’s current, and renew if necessary. A current membership in NSPA is necessary both to have work included in Best Of and to receive a copy of the book when it is published.

How can I get technical support for making PDFs or uploading them to NSPA online?
You can find full instructions for making PDFs from either InDesign or Quark by downloading these instructions. If you have other questions or concerns, e-mail us at info at studentpress.org. The two most important instructions, in brief: generate PDF files at the highest possible quality (Press Quality or PDF/X-4), and export all two-page publication spreads as single-page PDF files.