Attention, Athens-area songwriters and fans of said songwriters: The nomination period for the third annual Vic Chesnutt Songwriter of the Year Award is currently underway.

To be eligible for the award, which is presented by Classic City Rotary in memory of local folk-music icon Chesnutt,  songwriters must live in Athens-Clarke or immediately surrounding counties and have released the submitted song in 2018.

Nominations may be made until Friday, Mar. 15, after which a judging panel will narrow the list down to several finalists. To nominate yourself or another songwriter, visit this link. 

The winner of 2017's inaugural contest was folk songwriter Andrew Huang, while last year's award went to Mariah Parker, aka rapper Linqua Franqa. Check out photos from the 2018 award ceremony here.

The winner of the honor will receive a generous prize package, including cash, studio time and other goodies. The presentation of the 2019 award will take place at The Foundry on Thursday, May 16.

Organizers are planning a kickoff party at Hendershot's Coffee Bar on Friday, Feb. 8 featuring in-the-round performances by Bain Mattox, Cortez Garza, Scott Low and Adam Payne. Doors are at 7 p.m., and the show is free.

More information about the award can be found on the Rotary's website.