My suggestions:
1) Bring back a specific B&W category - I think the technique deserves and warrants its own category.
2) What about an architecture category - interiors and exteriors.
3) What about a food category - cooked and RAW
- in other words, food given treatment or in its natural state.
4) Separating pros and ams - for obvious reasons. This is fairer on the hobbyists who take photos when they have time, as opposed to someone who gets paid by the day/hour to take photos for a living.
5) Mobile phone category - as mentioned earlier in the thread; widens the audience and makes POTY a more inclusive competition.
Let's see where this goes, because suggestions have been made in the past and nothing has changed.