A call went out Friday for nominations for the 2019 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards.
The awards are given annually to individuals “whose work is enhancing First Amendment freedoms and at the same time shining a light on important issues where work is still needed,” according to the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 14.
Awards founder/chair Christie Hefner said she established the foundation in 1979 to honor her father’s work and commitment to free speech and First Amendment freedoms.
“Forty years ago, we created the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards to recognize and honor the librarian, the editor of the student newspaper, the whistleblower, the journalist, the filmmaker, the educator, the lawyer — people who, in turn, recognize that standing up for the First Amendment means standing up for the defining values of America,” she said. “We are enormously proud of continuing this tradition.”
The winners will be announced in February, and the awards ceremony will be held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., in late spring.
Awardees will be chosen by an independent panel of judges, made up of Karen Tumulty, a columnist for the Washington Post; Neal Katyal, who teachers law at Georgetown University; and Michael B. Keegan, president of People for the American Way and People for the American Way Foundation and a founding national board member of The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
More information and an awards nomination form can be found at www.hmhfoundation.org.