Entry Guidelines

Deadlines & Notification

• Entries will be accepted through December 12, 2025. 
• Finalists in each category will be notified of their status in March, 2026.
• Finalists will receive a media kit (approx. April 1, 2026) to help promote their award once winners are publicly announced. Finalists are asked to keep their finalist status confidential until publicly announced by SSP. 
• Non-winning entries will be notified by the end of March 2026. 
• Award winner rankings will be announced at the EPIC Awards Gala on May 28, 2026.

Eligibility Period

For the 2026 EPIC Awards, the eligibility period for entries is as follows: 

• Publications, Marketing, and Media: January 1 through December 31, 2025 
• Tools/Products and Initiatives: January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025

User Account

Submitters are required to have a SSP user account. If you need to create an account, you can do so on the Create Profile page or during submission. If your organization is a member, your account must be correctly affiliated with your Organization in order for the discounted entry fee to apply. If you need assistance with your user account, contact info@sspnet.org. If you have an account but forgot your username or password, use the forgot username or forgot password links on the login page. 

Number of Entries

There is no limit to the number of entries submitted by an organization, and organizations may submit more than one entry per category. 

Fees

• An Entry Fee is applicable to all entries except entries for Student categories.
• Entry fees are payable via credit card at the time of submission. 
• Refunds will not be issued for any reason after the entry deadline. 
• In order to receive the discounted rate for Organizational Members, the organization must have a current SSP organizational membership. Individual membership status does not qualify for the discounted rate. You can check if your organization is a member on the Organizational Members page on the SSP website. 
• Individuals that demonstrate financial hardship may be eligible for an entry fee waiver. Please complete the Fee Waiver Request Form.   

Entry Form Completion

• Please read the instructions in the entry form carefully for each category to avoid errors. All required questions must be completed to validate your submission. 
• You can save an entry and return to it before the deadline to make additional edits. 
• Where possible, entry assets (samples) should be in the form of active URLs for ease of judging. Low-resolution web-ready PDFs can also be accepted. Entries for registration-restricted (gated content) websites must include login/password information for the judges. Links or passwords that are not working during the judging period will not be judged. 
• All entries must be accompanied by a single representative image that will represent your entry in the awards presentation and in online promotions about the award winners.

Language

All entry materials must be in English. If the original work was not in English, a translation should be provided for the text in material(s). 

Rights and Permissions

All winners will be posted on the SSP website. For any winning entry to be posted we first need you to warrant that you own the rights to the content and images submitted and that you grant SSP the authority to post the content and images. Therefore, you must check the rights and permissions agreement box on your entry form for your submission to be considered valid. 

Decision of Judges

Judges' decisions are final in all matters pertaining to the EPIC Awards. Refunds will not be issued for any reason after the entry deadline. 

Awards Celebration

The EPIC Awards Celebration is a ticketed event held during the SSP Annual Meeting in Chula Vista, CA, on May 28, 2026. Finalists receive one complimentary ticket for the Celebration. Organizations may purchase tables. For more information, contact partnerships@sspnet.org. 

Questions? Email info@sspnet.org