Preamble

The Pegasus Awards (Peggy, Peggys) were founded in 1984 to recognize and honor excellence in filking. The awards are granted annually at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest (OVFF).

Anyone with an interest in filk can nominate and vote for songs or individuals for the awards. You do not need to be a member of the convention (OVFF) to be involved in the nomination and voting process.

Awards are granted in six categories: Best Song, Best Performer, Best Writer/Composer, Best Classic Song, and 2 topical categories that vary from year to year.

The OVFF convention committee solicits nominations to determine Nominees for the Pegasus Awards (the Nominating Ballot) during the late spring and summer. There is an opinion poll that runs during the year as well to help interested folk brainstorm ideas for the Nominating Ballot. The Final Ballot is distributed in the early fall, and must be returned by the opening night of OVFF. You can also vote online- either to nominate filkers, or to vote for the Nominees themselves. The entire process is administered by the OVFF convention committee.

Rules

1. Filk Community Definition
   1. In order to participate in voting for the Pegasus Awards, you must be a member of the filk community.
   2. To be eligible to receive a Pegasus Award, a Nominee (or at least one composer of a collaborative work) must be (or have been) a member of the filk community.
   3. Anyone who exhibits an interest in the filk community can be considered a filker.

      Exhibiting interest can be shown by, but is not limited to:

      • Filking at sf/fantasy conventions
      • Attending filk conventions
      • Attending house sings
      • Participating in online boards/discussions/mail lists/webrings pertaining to filk
      • Discussing filk and filk related issues with other filkers
2. Nominating and Voting Process
   1. You do not need to be a member of OVFF to participate in the poll, nominate, or vote for award recipients.
   2. Nominating and Final Ballots are considered privileged information. Information submitted on the ballots is only reviewed by OVFF and not shared with any other person or organization.
   3. Brainstorming Poll: OVFF will poll attendees of filk conventions for their Pegasus ideas on an annual basis from June - April (NorthEast convention through FilKONtario) of each year. OVFF will then distribute the results of this poll along with the Nominating Ballot.
      1. There is no limit to the number of polls an attendee may submit.
      2. The complete poll results will be posted on OVFF's website and in the newsgroup rec.music.filk
      3. Due to the number of possible brainstorm entries, OVFF reserves the right to contact filkers who have multiple entries on the brainstorm poll to choose which entry will appear on the print poll results page that is distributed with the Nominating Ballot.
      4. In the event that OVFF is unable to contact a filker, the Pegasus Coordinator will make the best choice s/he can with the information available to them.
   4. Nominating Ballot: The Nominating Ballot will be released online and in print in April each year.
      1. The Nominating Ballot will be in effect until at least August 1.
      2. Nominations may be submitted either online (www.ovff.org), in mail to OVFF, 3824 Patricia Drive, Upper Arlington, OH, 43220, or at selected conventions directly to OVFF concom members.
      3. Filkers may submit only one Nominating Ballot
      4. Online ballots must have a good first/last name and email address, mail in or at-con ballots must have a good first/last name and mailing address in order to be valid nominations.
      5. The purpose of the Nominating process is to poll members of the filk community for their independent opinions of each category. Strong evidence of block voting can invalidate nominations.
      6. OVFF reserves the right to judge and reject invalid nominations.
   5. OVFF will contact potential Nominees to determine if they accept Nomination; and to work out details of their Nomination (see IV).
      1. Nominees (or their representatives) who are in the filk community have the opportunity to decline Nomination.
      2. In the case of a collaberative work being nominated, all Nominees (or their representatives)within the filk community must accept the nomination to be placed on the Final Ballot.
   6. Nominees will be announced in print and online on or before Labor Day each year.
   7. Final Ballot: The Final Ballot will be released over Labor Day Weekend at the latest.
      1. The Final Ballot will be in effect until the Wednesday before OVFF.
      2. Ballots may be submitted either online (www.ovff.org), in mail to OVFF, 3824 Patricia Drive, Upper Arlington, OH, 43220, or at selected conventions directly to OVFF concom members.
      3. Filkers may submit only one Final Ballot.
      4. Members of OVFF will have the opportunity to vote at the convention until midnight the Friday of the convention.
      5. Online ballots must have a good first/last name and email address, mail in or at-con ballots must have a good first/last name and mailing address in order to be valid.
      6. OVFF reserves the right to reject invalid ballots.
   8. Presentation of the Award: The Awards are presented at the Saturday night banquet at OVFF each year.
      1. The Award consists of something suitable for the dusting shelf, and a certificate suitable for framing
      2. Award Winners are given an opportunity to speak
3. The Awards
   1. Best Filk Song
      1. No time limit- these songs can be as old as they need to be for people to remember them to Nominate.
   2. Best Performer
      1. Any member of the filk community is eligible.
   3. Best Writer/Composer
      1. Any member of the filk community is eligible.
   4. Best Classic Song
      1. Any filk song that is at least 10 years old is eligible.
      2. Recipients should be songs that have entered filk community public consciousness, like 'Banned From Argo'.
   5. Rotating Categories
      1. OVFF will select two rotating song categories each year
      2. There is no time limit on these filk songs- they can be as old as they need to be for people to remember them to Nominate.
4. Recipient Eligibility Requirements
   1. To be eligible, a Nominee must be considered (or was) a member of the filk community (filker) (see I).
   2. OVFF will contact each potential Nominee.
      1. The potential Nominee must accept Nomination in order to appear on the Final Ballot and be considered a full Nominee.
      2. The potential Nominee must submit a sound recording on any media (digital is preferred, but hey, we'll take cassette tape, minidisc, vinyl, Edison cylinder... anything we can reproduce sound with... ) (ok, maybe not Edison cylinder....) to OVFF for purposes of distribution. If the potential Nominee refuses to submit a recording, it will be considered the same as declining Nomination.
         1. In the event a recording does not exist, OVFF will make a reasonable effort to aid the Nominee in getting a recording created (finding a local recording source, up to and including finding someone to record it- in essence, whatever it takes as long as the composer agrees to distribution.).
         2. OVFF will only place in general distribution a representative sample of the requested song; not the entire piece. (OVFF will request permission for general distribution of the entire piece, but it is not required. Only a representative sample of the piece is required.)
         3. OVFF reserves the right to distribute the entire piece to specific performers to serve as a learning aid for Pegasus Award Nominee concerts.
         4. The following sound recordings are required:
            • All nominated songs
            • A representative piece performed by Performer Nominees who do not have a nominated song
            • A representative piece composed (but not necessarily performed by) Writer/Composer Nominees who do not have a nominated song
         5. This requirement is waived in cases where fulfilling it would violate U.S. law.
            • In the case of parodies, a copy of the lyric for posting on the Pegasus website is required in lieu of a recording.
            • If both melody and lyric cannot be legally distributed, all reasonable effort will be made to obtain permission for the limited period of Final balloting.
         6. Generally, if a Performer and/or Writer/Composer also has a song in one of the other four categories, that song serves as their representative work.
         7. If a person is Nominated in both Performer and Writer/Composer categories, one song that they composed (or helped compose) and perform on is used for the representative work.
         8. OVFF will only distribute recordings during the Final Ballot phase of voting.
      3. OVFF will request permission to permanently post a copy of the lyrics of nominated songs on their website (www.ovff.org). Since this is a permanent request, lyrics are not required (but it is strongly encouraged) to be eligible for Nomination.
      4. OVFF will request permission to publish a print copy of the lyrics of nominated songs for other limited release purposes related directly to promoting the award for the year the song is Nominated. Due to the permanent nature of print, this is not required (but permission is strongly encouraged) to be eligible for Nomination.
   3. Frequency a Pegasus may be awarded
      1. Songs
         1. A song may only appear in one category in any year
         2. A song may only win one Pegasus Award. It is removed from eligibility once it has won.
         3. The "2 on, 1 off" rule:
            1. If a song has been Nominated 2 consecutive years in the same category, it is not eligible a third consecutive year in that category. It is eligible again after one year off the ballot.
            2. If a song has been Nominated 2 consecutive years in the same category, and is Nominated the third year in a floating category, it will appear on the ballot; and have one year off the ballot the following (4th) year.
      2. Performers and Writer/Composers
         1. May appear in more than one category (ie, a composer could potentially have a song in a Song category, and be nominated as either a Performer or Writer/Composer in a given year; or be nominated in both Writer/Composer and Performer categories, etc.).
         2. A person is removed from eligibility for five years in the category they have won (e.g., Tom Smith won the Pegasus Award for Best Writer/Composer in 2005. He is not eligible for this Pegasus until 2011; but he is eligible as Performer, or any song category).
         3. A person may not appear in more than 2 categories in any single year.
         4. The "2 on, 1 off" rule:
            1. If a person has been Nominated 2 consecutive years in the same category, they are not eligible for a third consecutive year in that category. They are eligible again after one year off the ballot.
      
      
      3. Posthumous awards
      1. Songs: Any filk song is eligible for a Pegasus as long as it has not won an Award. If the composer has passed away, their songs are still eligible.
      2. Writer/Composer and Performer Awards: Since the intent of the award is to honor current work, a person is eligible to be nominated posthumously for Writer/Composer or Performer only in the first Balloting after their passing.
      
      
5. Role of OVFF
   1. The Ohio Valley Filk Fest (or OVFF) owns and administers the Pegasus Awards.
   2. The ConChair of OVFF will select a Pegasus Coordinator to be responsible for administering the Pegasus Awards for that year. The Coordinator creates the Pegasus Subcommittee to see to the day to day business of the Award.
      1. The Pegasus Coordinator and Pegasus Subcommittee serve only as advisors to the OVFF concom; OVFF is not under any obligation to heed their advice and recommendations.
   3. The OVFF Convention Committee reserves the right to break all ties in voting.
   4. OVFF reserves the right to amend or modify these Rules as needed to see to the efficient and respectful administration of the Pegasus Awards.
   5. Any inconsistency in applying these Rules does not invalidate the Final Ballot, nor does it invalidate these Rules. It merely implies fallibility of allowing something to slip by on the part of those administering the Award. Hey, it's complicated, people!! And remember, it's just a fan award!! :)

Respectfully Submitted:

Erica Neely - Pegasus Evangelista - 2008 Pegasus Awards
Steve Macdonald - Evangelista Emeritus
August, 2008