The Keck Futures Initiative will award four $20,000 prizes in 2019 to individuals or teams (up to four individuals associated with the creation of the work being nominated) who have developed creative, original works that address issues and advances in science, engineering and/or medicine for the general public.  To be considered for a 2019 Communication Award, the work should have:

• be accessible and appeal to a broad, public audience;

• demonstrate clarity, creativity, originality, and accuracy;

• address issues and/or advances in science, engineering, and/or medicine;

• cover topics that have an impact on society; and

• have been published, broadcasted, or released in 2018, in the United States and in English.

Material primarily intended for children, reference books, and textbooks are not eligible for consideration. Candidates are individuals or teams of not more than four people. Academies' employees are not eligible and posthumous awards are not permitted. This award is not for lifetime achievement; the work for which a candidate or team was nominated must have been published or broadcasted in 2018.

BOOKS
Books must have been published in the U.S. in 2018 to be considered. Please submit two copies of the book. The publisher and year of publication must be printed on the book. Advance publication dates must include verification from the publisher.

FILM/RADIO/TV
Works in this category must have aired on a U.S. station or have been released in U.S. theaters or on DVD in 2018 and may include a single story or movie, a series, or as many as six brief, unrelated stories. Please submit links to the segments (that will be active until October 31, 2019), or three CDs or DVDs labeled with the nominee’s name(s), the title(s) included on the DVD or CD, and the original airdate (with the name of the U.S. station and the program on which the stories aired) or release date. These must be submitted in protective cases and include authorization allowing the Keck Futures Initiative to reproduce the CD or DVD for review purposes (copyright release). Submission of copies of the program transcript is also encouraged. If you are not able to provide copyright release, please submit 20 copies of the CD or DVD.

MAGAZINE/NEWSPAPER
Work in this category must have been published in the U.S. in 2018, and may comprise a single article or as many as four articles that are unrelated or that constitute a formal series. Please submit links to the articles (that will be active until October 31, 2019), a PDF of article(s) (3MB max per article), or three original copies of each article. Review materials should clearly show the byline and the name and date of the publication and authorization allowing the KeckFutures Initia­tive to reproduce the article for review purposes (copyright release). If you are not able to provide copyright release, please send 20 copies of the article(s), or a PDF file of the article(s) to commawards@nas.edu. Keep in mind to submit in the format you prefer your work(s) to be reviewed in.

ONLINE
Works in this category may include as many as six blog entries, hypertext documents, videos, podcasts, commenta­ries, data visualizations, interactive components, etc., or any combination thereof, created specifically for the Web that were posted online in 2018. Preference will be given to nominations that make the best use of the medium, including multi-media presentations that incorporate a combination of writings, features, and/or other capabilities unique to this communication medium. Include links to the unique URLs for each work(s). Links must be active through October 31, 2019.

The winners will be honored in the Fall 2019 and are expected to attend in person.