It’s a tough old world out there for private equity right now.

US Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is leading a “war on private equity” in the political sphere. Meanwhile, new research from Harvard University and the University of Chicago on the effects of private equity on the businesses it owns has been interpreted by various mainstream media outlets as evidence that the industry slashes jobs and leaves workers worse off.

No wonder Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman took the opportunity to hit back during the firm’s third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, highlighting the positive impacts he believes his firm has had for both LPs and portfolio companies.

Don’t have an earnings call of your own coming up to showcase your highlights? Fear not – we have just the thing. The PEI Awards 2019 are now open for submissions!

To recap: our award winners (in all 76 categories) will be decided by a reader vote during December. Before then, our editorial team will compile the shortlists upon which readers will be invited to vote. This is the point we are at now, and this is your chance to tell us who you think should be on the shortlists.

For full instructions on how to do so, as well as a list of categories, please click here. The deadline for doing so is Friday 15 November.

If you’re wondering what kind of information we’re looking for, having a read over last year’s winners should give you an idea. We highlighted fundraising prowess, exceptional returns, complex deals, ambitious direct investment programmes, innovative partnerships and much more.

We’ve got a few extra categories on the roster this year. For the first time we’ve grouped all our secondaries awards categories together and expanded them to better reflect the evolution of this fast-growing part of the market. We’ve added two new global awards – preferred equity deal of the year and direct secondaries deal of the year – and split our three regional secondaries deal of the year awards into two: LP sale of the year and GP-led deal of the year.

Click here to review the categories and throw your hat into the ring. We look forward to hearing what you’ve been up to this year.

And keep your eyes on Private Equity International for your chance to vote in the coming weeks.

Have a question about the awards? Contact isobel.m@peimedia.com or toby.m@peimedia.com