[press release]
Nominations Open for FDC Writing Award
Doug Weisz Won 2015 AFDCS Philip H. Ward Citation

Nominations will be accepted through May 1 for the Philip H. Ward Award for Excellence in First Day Cover Literature, presented annually by the American First Day Cover Society. All works published in 2016 are eligible

All articles published in First Days, the AFDCS journal, are automatically considered. Others may be submitted to the Ward Award Committee chair, Mark Goodson, 202 W. Temperance Street, Ellettsville, IN 47429, bgdsn@comcast.net.

Douglas S. Weisz, Len McMaster and Alan Warren were the winners of the 2015 Philip H. Ward Award. Dorothy Knapp: Philately And Family, a book by Weisz, a well-known first day cover dealer, received first place. (Weisz is pictured with a copy of his book.)

McMaster received the first runner-up prize for “The 1898 One-Cent Green Franklin, Scott 279; The Issue Date and EDUs,” which appeared in the March-April 2015 issue of First Days. Warren, a charter member of the AFDCS, wrote a five-part series in First Days, “Denmark Birth Certificates: Commemorative First Day Covers,” which concluded in the September-October 2015 issue.

Back issues of First Days are available for $4.00 each postpaid within the U.S. from Jeffrey Bennett, 1601 River Farm Drive, Alexandria, Va. 22308. A searchable electronic archive of every issue of First Days from its inception in 1955 through 2014 is available on DVD for $79 postpaid. In addition, AFDCS members also can download back issues since 2011 for free on the AFDCS website.

The awards are presented each year at Americover, the annual show and convention of the AFDCS. Americover 2017 will be held August 11-17 in Independence, Ohio.

The award is named in honor of Philip H. Ward (1890-1963), the distinguished Philadelphia stamp collector, dealer and journalist who was a pioneer in the field of first day covers. The award was instituted by the AFDCS in 1964.

Additional information about the AFDCS can be found at www.afdcs.org.