Event Details

End: March 1, 2023
Contact: lmarkosian@pen.org
More Info: https://pen.org/free-expression-advocacy-institutes/free-expression-essay-competition/

PEN America is inviting submissions for a national student essay competition about the role of free expression in today’s world. If you’re in high school or college, PEN America wants to know what you think about the threats to this crucial right! Essays will be judged for their originality, clarity of thought, and relevance to free expression by experts at PEN America and prominent guest judges. Winning essays will be published on PEN America’s website, and promoted on our social media channels. We are very pleased to offer a total of $6,500 in prizes to the competition winners.

GUIDELINES

For our second year of the Free Expression Essay Competition, PEN America invites students to write essays on any issue related to free expression in the U.S. or abroad, at a length of 1,000 words for both the high school and college competition levels.

High school-level submissions are open to students ages 15-17; and college-level submissions are open to students ages 18-23. Applicants must be residing in the United States and provide a U.S. mailing address. Please enter the competition level based on your age at the time of submission. Current enrollment in school is not required to enter. If you have any questions about your eligibility, please do not hesitate to contact lmarkosian@pen.org with ‘Essay Competition’ in the subject line.

We ask that you please submit your essay as a PDF or Word document through our online application portal on Submittable. On Submittable, you will be prompted to create a free account in order to access the entry submission form and upload your materials. All submissions must be received on or before March 1st at 11:59pm ET.

The submission window will close on March 1, 2023. Winners will be announced in May 2023.

View the prompt here.