On Friday, Feb. 10, Seattle Times staff photographer Erika Schultz received premier honors in the 74th annual Pictures of the Year International (POYi) competition, placing as an Award of Excellence in the News Division, Newspaper Photographer of the Year category. The POYi competition is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious photojournalism contests recognizing outstanding multimedia and editing work. 

This year, fifteen judges – comprised of photo editors, directors of photography, educators and esteemed photojournalists – will review tens of thousands of portfolios over three weeks and select 240 winners in the news, sports, reportage and visual editing divisions. The review process is publicly available via webcast on the POYi website. 

In a congratulatory email to Schultz, POYi Director Rick Shaw mentioned that judges “felt [her] portfolio exhibited strong content displayed with a personal artistry.” As part of her recognition, Schultz will receive an engraved plaque.

Judging will continue to be held through Feb. 23, when a complete list of winners will be posted to www.poyi.org.