One highlight of the Oz Club’s annual convention is the announcement of that year’s award winners. Three annual contests solicit entries for original Oz fiction, research, and artwork. The Club’s L.Frank Baum Memorial Award, our highest honor, concludes the awards portion of our Saturday evening banquet.
As long as there have been Oz books, fan have had stories ideas of their own. L Frank Baum occasionally praised ideas given him by young readers. Penning new stories was so popular among members that in 1971 we started Oziana, an anthology of short Oz fiction. Members who shared their original stories at convention contests tended to be the primary contributors. The fiction contest has formalized over time, but continues to be a way fans can share their original creative writing with us.
The non-fiction category is designed to give anyone who has researched an Oz topic a way to share their work. These essays have sometimes later appeared in The Baum Bugle. The recent article about Oz maps, for instance, won the research contest in 2023.
Illustration was likely the first artwork category to be submitted, and is still the most popular. We’re always happy to find interested illustrators since volunteer illustrators are needed every you to bring Oziana stories to life! But through the years we’ve also seen sculpture, fabric art, and other media submitted.
For decades contest prizes were collectible Oz items our long-time Secretary Fred Meyer found in the course of the year and purchases at his own expense. Since his death in 2004 we’ve shifted to cash prizes each named in honor of past Club members who were strongly associated with similar work.
- The fiction contest became the Frederick C. Otto Prize for Fiction for a long-time member and writer of delightful original short fiction and verse.
- The C. Warren Hollister Prize for Non-Fiction honors another long term member who made significant contributions to the Baum Bugle.
- The Rob Roy MacVeigh Prize for Art is named for a gifted artist and animator who poured much of his talent and skill into Oz projects, including an unrealized feature animated film of the Wizard of Oz.
Each of those men received the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award at some point. You can follow links from their names to read their profiles.
While you’re there, take a look at some of our other past LFB Award winners and that award’s criteria. Nominees are considered each year by past recipients for the selection of a new honoree. Who will it be in 2025? Join us in Aberdeen to find out!
