The eight finalists in the 1997 Kodak International Snapshot Award contest will get the good news Monday.

The names of the local winners -- whose photo entries will be submitted for national competition -- will be announced in a special keepsake edition Aug. 24, said Joyce Hunter, contest coordinator.

The keepsake edition can be reserved in advance. Cost is $1.50 each, or $2 with shipping and handling.

The winners were culled from a field of 24 semi-finalists and from more than 1,300 entries, Hunter said.

All 24 semi-finalists will receive an enlargement of their photo entries, gift certificates from area merchants and a Southeast Missourian comics umbrella.

In addition, the eight finalists will receive Kodak gift certificates and framing and matting of their entries.

All of the entries will be displayed at West Park Mall Aug. 26 through Sept. 2, Hunter said.

A special ceremony honoring the winners is in the works, she said.

"We're eagerly anticipating the exhibition," Hunter said. "We invite everybody to come out and judge the entries for themselves."

People who view the exhibit will have the opportunity to choose a "People's Choice" winner from among all the entries. The winning photographer will receive a weekend for two in St. Louis.

Hunter called the contest judges "a diverse, well-rounded, talented group." She said, "Their efforts really needed to be applauded for seven weeks of making difficult choices."

The semi-finalists make up "a very good cross-section" of the community, Hunter said. "I think it's kind of neat that you can provide an opportunity that so many people want to participate in," she said.

Competition for national recognition will be tough.

At the national level, approximately 130 newspapers in the United States are participating in the KINSA contest, and contest organizers expect about 1,200 entries to be submitted from all over the world.

To be forwarded for national competition, finalists had to meet two important criteria, Hunter said.

First, the photo's original negative had to be submitted, and secondly, talent identification release forms had to be obtained from any clearly identifiable individuals featured in the entries.

Photos not meeting those criteria were automatically disqualified, she said.