The Annual I-F Competition, started in 1995, is open to all authors of interactive fiction. Entrants' games can be written in any language (e.g. BASIC, C, a dedicated authoring system, etc.), though use of one of the IF languages is recommended. The competition was founded by G. Kevin "Whizzard" Wilson, continued by David Dyte, and currently ran by Stephen Granade (sgranade@phy.duke.edu). More information about the IF Competition is available at <http://ifcomp.org/>.
The XYZZY awards, hosted by Eileen Mullin of XYZZYnews, are an Oscar-style award ceremony each February on ifMUD, giving honor (and trophies!) to the best IF of the previous year. Anyone can vote on the numerous categories by going to <http://www.xyzzynews.com/>.