ABOUT POY

One of the world's oldest, largest and most prestigious photojournalism competitions, Pictures of the Year began 57 years ago as the 50 Print Exhibition of Spot News and Feature Pictures. Established by University of Missouri-Columbia photojournalism professor Cliff Edom and his wife Vi, the 50 Print Exhibition attracted 223 picture entries from 60 photographers.

Today, nearly 2,000 magazine and newspaper photographers submit over 32,000 slides to be considered in the annual POY contest. Judged every February at the Missouri School of Journalism, POY is one of the only photo competitions in the world where the public is welcome to come and watch as the panel of judges deliberates over each photo.

POY is sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association and the Missouri School of Journalism, with educational grants from Canon, U.S.A., Inc. and Fujifilm Professional.

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Visit Past POYs

56th Pictures of the Year (1999)

55th Pictures of the Year (1998)