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Arts Competition Rules

Creative Arts Competition
2024 Rules & Guidelines


Guidelines Regarding All Submissions

The magazine competition is comprised of the following categories: Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry; Humor; Photography; Painting/Drawing; Sculpture; and Music (original compositions only).

  1. Submissions will be accepted beginning Sunday, October 1, 2023, and must be received by the end of business on Friday, December 15, 2023. Winners will be published in the magazine and online in Spring 2024.
  2. No submission form or cover letter is needed. But those submitting ("Artists") MUST indicate which category or categories they are entering.
  3. Submissions from the following will NOT be accepted: Staff of the State Bar of Arizona or their immediate family; members of the Arizona Attorney Editorial Board or their immediate family.
  4. Artists may enter more than one work ("Work"), and they may enter more than one category. In the Photography category, the maximum number of submissions by one Artist is 15.
  5. "Legal" subject matter is not required.
  6. The competition is open to all categories of Arizona-admitted attorneys (including inactive, retired and judicial).
  7. Artists retain the copyright in their own Work. By entering the competition, however, Artists grant to the State Bar of Arizona ("State Bar") and Arizona Attorney magazine a license for first North American publication in print, and for publication on the website of the State Bar and/or of Arizona Attorney magazine and other electronic channels. Publication in either medium is in the sole discretion of the State Bar. Artists also grant the State Bar a license to grant reprint permission of any Work that is published in the printed magazine or on the website of the State Bar and/or of Arizona Attorney magazine or other electronic channels.
  8. By submitting, the Artist warrants and represents that the Work: (a) is your original work, (b) has not been previously published, (c) has not received any previous awards, (d) does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity, and that the content is within the bounds of the fair use doctrine. The Artist further warrants that: (a) he or she has obtained permission from any person whose name, likeness or voice is used in the Work; and (b) publication of the Work via various media, including on the Web, will not infringe on any third-party rights. The Artist indemnifies and holds harmless the State Bar from any claims to the contrary, or from loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with the Work and the competition.
  9. The competition is governed by the laws of the State of Arizona, and the Artist consents to its exclusive jurisdiction for any causes or controversies arising in relation to this competition.
  10. The State Bar is not responsible for any technical malfunction or service outage related to the competition.
  11. The Editor and Editorial Board cannot assist Artists in selecting Work for submission to the competition. Submissions are reviewed by the Editor and the Editorial Board, and their decision is final. In its sole discretion, the Editorial Board reserves the right not to accept any submission. The Editorial Board reserves the right not to award a prize in any or all categories, or to award an Honorable Mention in any and all categories.
  12. Submissions will not be returned.
  13. For examples of past successful entries, see the May issues from every year beginning in 2008 through 2023 at azbar.org/AZAttorney.
  14. Questions regarding the competition should be directed to the Editor at tim.eigo@staff.azbar.org.

Guidelines Regarding Written Submissions

  1. There are no mandatory word limits. However, those submissions that have been most successful in the past have been approximately the length of (or shorter than) our typical feature articles, which run about 1,500 to 3,500 words.

Guidelines Regarding Visual Submissions

  1. When submitting in the categories of Painting/Drawing or Sculpture, do not send original artwork.
  2. In the Sculpture category, it is advised that multiple photo views are helpful. In addition, the Artist should describe the scale (dimensions) of the Work.
  3. In Photography submissions, the Artist must explain any significant post-shooting manipulation done to the Work via computer software (e.g., Photoshop).
  4. When submitting photos, high-resolution quality is required: 300 dpi at 10" x 12".
  5. In the Photography category, the maximum number of submissions by one Artist is 15.

Guidelines Regarding Music Submissions

  1. Music submissions must be in one of the following formats: MIDI, MP3, or Flash audio.
  2. Files may not exceed 3 MB.
  3. All submissions must be original compositions.

How To Submit Items

  1. All submissions must be received at the magazine by end of the day on Friday, December 15, 2023. No form or cover letter is needed, but Artist must identify the category of entry.
  2. To submit Works in any category, Artists are strongly encouraged to send the item(s) via e-mail (ArtsContest@staff.azbar.org). But Artists may choose to send via U.S. Mail. If sent via U.S. Mail, a digital copy (on a flash drive, NOT a CD or disk) must be included and sent to:

Tim Eigo
Arizona Attorney Magazine
4201 N. 24th St., Ste. 100
Phoenix, AZ 85016

  • Artists should be sure that they can be identified as the submitter. To aid in that goal, it is recommended that the title of electronic submissions include the Artist's name (followed by a number if the Artist is submitting more than one item)