San Diego SPJ 2026 Contest Schedule

Hello all! We hope you had a wonderful time at the holiday party and some relaxing time off with family. We are getting ready to kick off our 2026 San Diego SPJ Contest and we have some key dates for you to mark down. The dates are subject to change as we work our way through the contest. We will keep you updated as these dates get closer.

While you’re waiting for the contest to open, this is a great time to get together your favorite pieces from 2025 AND become a member with SPJ because you can save a ton of money on entry fees.

πŸ“£ Monday, Feb. 9 β€” Contest opens

🐦 Feb. 9 – March 2 β€” Early bird pricing (3 weeks)

⏰ March 2 – March 9 β€” Regular pricing

πŸ† May 18 β€” Winners announced

πŸŽ‰ June 25 β€” Awards ceremony

The Contest Is Coming!

Attention San Diego area journalists: The San Diego Society of Professional Journalists is excited to announce that entries for our annual journalism contest will open on Monday, February 10, 2025.

This contest honors outstanding work by San Diego-area students and professional journalists published or broadcast during the 2024 calendar year.

Call your friends, call your boss, search under the couch, and get those entry fees ready. SPJ San Diego members get discounted entry prices. Join here.

This year, we are introducing several new categories to recognize a broader range of journalistic excellence. We’re also adding Spanish language categories.

We look forward to celebrating the exceptional journalism produced in our community. Best of luck to all participants!