[MegHarris]

No, I would never enter an award that cost me money to be a nominee....

I don't know anything about these awards, but the EPIC awards always had an entry fee. There's a fee associated with the RITA awards (which is the big romance award given out by the RWA), too. I think caution is advised when approaching awards, but just because it costs money to enter doesn't mean a contest is somehow invalid.