Call for Entries Information
_______________
Entry Timeline:
- October 6 – January 14: Call for Submissions Open. Enter here.
- October 6 – October 13: GCA Members ONLY – Buy 4, get the 5th free special
- October 14 – November 2: Early Bird Pricing
- November 3 – December 31: Regular Pricing
- January 1 – January 14: Late Pricing
- January 19: Cards samples due in the office.
- February 1 – February 19: Judging
- End of February/Early March: Finalists Announced
- September 2027: Winners Announced
_______________
Process for Submitting a Card:
- Determine Eligibility (scroll down to view)
- Choose your category
- Create an account on our award platform, Award Force
- Log in and go to My Entries
- Start a New Entry (entries will be open for submissions on October 6 for members and October 14 for non-members)
- Click Add to Cart
- If you want to submit multiple entries, you can either duplicate a previous one or start a new entry.
- Check out and pay for your entries
- The deadline to enter is Thursday, January 14, 2027.
- Mail in your physical samples for judging
- The deadline for cards to arrive in the office is Tuesday, January 19, 2027, but the earlier the better!
- Mailing guidelines can be found here.
_______________
Cost to Enter
| Early Bird Value Price – GCA MEMBERS ONLY | Early Bird | Regular | Late | |
| October 6 – 13 | October 14 – November 2 | November 3 – December 31 | January 1 – January 14 | |
| GCA Member Price | $60 (Buy 4, Get 5th Free) | $60 | $75 | $90 |
| Non-Member Price | N/A | $75 | $105 | $130 |
_______________
Complimentary Entries for Diverse Makers
GCA is dedicated to diversifying the Louie Awards and highlighting makers and companies from underrepresented communities in our industry. We are offering two free Louie entries to any maker who self-identifies as part of the following communities: Black, AAPI, LGBTQIA+, Indigenous, Latinx.
These free entries can ONLY be used for the following categories:
- Celebrating LGBTQIA+
- Celebrating Latinx Culture
- Celebrating Black Culture
- Celebrating AAPI Culture
- Celebrating Indigenous Culture
To get a discount code to submit to these categories, check back here once entries open to everyone on October 14th.
Watch Informational Webinar
We hosted a webinar that covered a lot of important topics including category changes and Louie mythbusters. Check it out!
Call for Entries Close
Day(s)
:
Hour(s)
:
Minute(s)
:
Second(s)
Have Additional Questions?
If you have additional questions that aren’t answered here, check out our Frequently Asked Questions page for more helpful information. Still don’t see your answer? Email gca@greetingcard.org.
We look forward to the Louie Awards every year. I love to see the beautiful work that comes from the designers and companies from across the country and around the world.
Become a GCA Member
Every GCA member saves on their Louie Awards card entries. But there are so many reasons to join. The GCA today represents nearly 200 American and international publishers from diverse businesses – ranging from young start-ups to established companies of all sizes, scopes and years in the industry – as well as suppliers that provide production services and product distribution at the wholesale level.