MAIN | THE DIARIST AWARDS | AWARD CATEGORIES

THE DIARIST AWARDS Award Categories Entry Awards: Best Comedic Entry Written or posted between October 1 and December 31, 2004. Best Romantic Entry Written or posted between October 1 and December 31, 2004. Best Dramatic Entry Written or posted between October 1 and December 31, 2004. Best Guest Entry Recognizes a guest entry — whether comedic, dramatic or romantic — Written or posted between October 1 and December 31, 2004. This award recognizes both the quality of the entry and how well the guest author conveys his or her understanding of the host author, successfully engaging the regular readers of the journal. May include spoof or parody entries. Best Collaborative Entry Recognizes an entry posted in response to a public prompt — including mailing lists and webring or independent collaboration projects — written or posted between October 1 and December 31, 2004. Nominations are accepted and reviewed independent of other diarists responding to or participating in the same collaboration. Best Account of a Public or News Event Recognizes an entry posted in response to a large event — ideally one in which the author somehow participated, such as concerts and diarist meetings — written or posted between October 1 and December 31, 2004. Entries independently commenting on broad issues (including current events and politics) are eligible, but may be considered for Best Rant instead. Best Rant A passionate, articulate, compelling entry on any subject — including current events and politics, but also any personal issues — written or posted between October 1 and December 31, 2004. This award highlights entries that strike an effective balance between furious conviction and an ability to persuade or provoke thought. Outstanding Entry An all-around good entry — whether comedic, dramatic, or romantic — written or posted at any time, provided it is still archived and available online. Preference is given to entries posted before the awards period (or before October 1). Site Awards: Best Journal (Overall) Recognizes an all-around quality journal, encompassing everything from articulate, engaging writing to distinctive, sharp design. Other factors include backgrounding (cast lists, biographies, glossaries), frequency of entries, and interactiveness with readers. No specific factor should take precedence; this award should simply highlight a site that best represents the genre as a whole. Best Writing Recognizes consistent, quality writing, in any style or flavor, including train-of-thought, editorial, 'personal narrative,' dialogue and lists. Good writing from piece to piece is a greater concern than frequency of entries, but both are considerations. This award highlights authors who have a distinct, recognizable and versatile voice, able to grab the reader and clearly convey a mood, message or thought, and is independent of design. Best Design Recognizes both good visual presentation and intuitive organization and navigation. This award primarily highlights journals with striking design with theme elements that are carried throughout the site, giving it a characteristic look. This award may encompass multimedia, but load time and browser compatibility are also factors. To a lesser extent, nominated journals should be easy to navigate (entry to entry, calendars or entry indexes, accessibility to backgrounding) and well structured. Best Use of Multimedia Recognizes excellence in use of audio (RealAudio, WAV, MIDI), video (RealVideo, QuickTime, AVI), and multimedia plug-ins (Flash), both in the quality of the specific media used and how well it enhances the overall journal experience. Any format, whether industry-standard or proprietary, is acceptible provided the needed software is freely available. However, the breadth of the overall audience (access to users of older browsers and the equivalent plug-ins) is a factor. Best New Journal Recognizes quality, promising new diarists and their journals. This award encompasses the same considerations as Best Journal (Overall), with the added criteria of having been started no earlier than the beginning of the preceding award cycle. (Restarted, renamed or redesigned sites, or otherwise returning former online diarists, should not be eligible.) For the Fourth Quarter 2004 (October through December) awards, for example, a 'new journal' is one launched after July 1, 2004. Best Experimental Journal Recognizes sites that push the envelope and clearly redefine the sense and scope of the online journal, perhaps barely fitting the definition of a 'diary' at all. Also encompasses innovative and creative use of multimedia and other technologies (including Java, JavaScript, CGI, ASP, and SSI), interactivity, and dynamic content. Sites using unconventional structure and navigation are good candidates provided it is done deliberately and with clear reason. The Legacy Award (Hall of Fame) Recognizes sites and authors that have made a significant contribution to the genre, whether in quality writing or design, longevity, mentoring, increasing general awareness of the art, or simply active participation in the journalling community. General, positive recognition within the community as a whole is a factor. Sites that are no longer online are eligible, provided there is general consensus as to its name and the identity of its author.