The 2012 AltWeekly Awards will begin accepting entries on January 4, 2012. The deadline to submit entries is Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 11 pm (EST).

This year’s Wild Card category is Economic Inequality, which will recognize the best story, blog post, or series of stories that reports on economic inequality.

For the first time, entrants will have the option of submitting design entries electronically. Hard copy submissions for those categories – cover design, editorial layout, illustration, photography – will be optional.

The contest is open to member publications of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and to cartoonists whose work appears in those publications.

All entries must have been published in the period from Jan. 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2011 with the exception of entries in the Investigative Reporting and Public Service categories.

Entries must be submitted by the editor, publisher or another designated representative of the publication. Individual cartoonists may enter their own work, but will need a letter from an AAN paper in which their work appears.

Winners will be announced at the 35th annual AAN Convention in Detroit, which will take place June 7 – 9, 2012.

The full set of submission guidelines and category definitions will be released next week.

Questions about entry rules and issues should be directed to Jason Zaragoza at jason[at]aan.org.