Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, Inc.

1. ELIGIBILITY:  The contest is open to all members of the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, Inc., (MSOG) except those members who are acting as judges for the contest.
2. ORIGINALITY:  All entries submitted must be original (that is, not previously published) material in the field of genealogy or family history. If an author submits the same entry concurrently to another contest or to another publication, resulting in prior publication of the submission elsewhere, condition of acceptance rests with the MASSOG Editorial Board. If accepted, the author must obtain permission to reprint and expect editorial changes.
3. DEADLINE:  All entries should be received no later than August 15, 2012.
4. TOPICS: The entry should cover two to three generations of a family.  Submissions could be a three-generation family study, tell an interesting story about parents and children, or provide a brief solution to a genealogical problem. The entry must not contain vital data for living persons.
5. MASSACHUSETTS CONNECTION:  There is no geographic restriction on the content although the entry should have some relationship to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  The MASSOG Editorial Board, however, reserves the right to negotiate publication of non-Massachusetts related entries with the submitter.
6. JUDGING: 
   • A judging committee will select the winning entries based on accuracy of documentation and clarity of interpretation.
   • The process of "blind-judging" will be used.  To ensure the success of this process, submitters' names should not appear on the entry.  The person submitting the entry should send an e-mail that includes his or her name, the title of the entry and all contact information – address, telephone number and e-mail address.
7. FORMAT, STYLE & LENGTH:  The entry
   • Must be typed or computer generated using 12-point Times New Roman.
   • Should conform to current standards of documentation and, if it a genealogical compilation rather than straight narrative, it should use Register style. See the online guidelines for submission to MASSOG at MASSOG Submission Guidelines. 
   • Must not exceed 12 pages including footnotes.
8. PERMISSIONS:  Contestants who include "substantial portions" of secondary sources in their entries, or who are submitting photographs or artwork which is not original, must secure all permissions of use in advance. Photocopies of all permissions for any part of a work must be submitted electronically along with the entry. This includes, yet is not limited to, the "published works" of, living authors, researchers, photographers, artists or publishers, whose works are still on the market. For works of deceased authors, a letter from the copyright holder granting permission to reprint these items is necessary before publication in MASSOG.
9. REFERENCES:  Free references can be found on the Register page on the NEHGS website at, http://www.americanancestors.org/register-submission/.  From related links, choose especially
   • "Writing a Family Sketch in Register Style"
   • "Download a Register Style Template for Microsoft Word"
   • "A Guide to Some Basic Register Citation Formats"
MSOG further recommends:
• Genealogical Writing in the 21st Century: A Guide to Register Style and More, published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society
•  Evidence: Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian or Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
• The Chicago Manual of Style. 
10. COPYRIGHT:  All submissions are protected under the umbrella copyright of MASSOG. In addition, the authors will retain full rights to their material, whether it is print or electronic, should they wish to reprint it elsewhere or include it as part of a longer work at a later time. Subsequent republication must cite MASSOG. Winners of the contest agree to be published in MASSOG, print and electronic versions, by signing an author's release prior to publication of their entry.
11. ACCURACY OF CONTENT:  The Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, Inc. and MASSOG Editorial Board assume no responsibility for the accuracy of content provided by the researchers or writers of any entry. We try to ensure the accuracy of items we publish, but the responsibility for accuracy of the submission remains with the author. Should editing be required, authors will be consulted.

In summary, these rules are intended to protect the intellectual property of the original authors, MSOG and MASSOG, to promote " original" research and writing, and to avoid copyright infringement of existing copyrights. We also want to encourage submissions from writers who add fresh research to the genealogical record.

For more information about the Writing Contest contact,
Sara Costa at msogwritingcontest@msoginc.org.