Personal Essay Awards
ENTER NOW! Writer’s Digest’s newest competition, the Personal Essay Awards, is currently accepting entries. Winners of the competition are announced annually in our May/June issue of Writer’s Digest.
EARLY-BIRD DEADLINE: September 2, 2025
We’re looking for personal essays! Think you can write a winning essay in 2,000 words or fewer? Enter the Writer’s Digest Personal Essay Awards for your chance to win $2,500 in cash, get published in Writer’s Digest magazine, and a paid trip to our ever-popular Writer’s Digest Conference!
Contents
PRIZES
One Grand Prize Winner will receive:
- $2,500 in cash
- An interview with them in Writer’s Digest magazine’s May/June 2026 issue and on WritersDigest.com
- Their essay published on WritersDigest.com
- A paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, including a special trophy presentation at the keynote
- A coveted pitch opportunity where the winner will receive one-on-one attention from editors or agents
- A one-year subscription (new or renewal) to Writer’s Digest magazine
- 20% discount off of purchases made at Writer’s Digest University
- A special graphic recognizing their winning status
The Second Place Winner will receive:
- $1,000 in cash
- Their name and essay title published in Writer’s Digest magazine’s May/June 2026 issue and on WritersDigest.com
- A one-year subscription (new or renewal) to Writer’s Digest magazine
- 20% discount off of purchases made at Writer’s Digest University
- A special graphic recognizing their winning status
The Third Place Winner will receive:
- $500 in cash
- Their name and essay title published in Writer’s Digest magazine’s May/June 2026 issue and on WritersDigest.com
- A one-year subscription (new or renewal) to Writer’s Digest magazine
- 20% discount off of purchases made at Writer’s Digest University
- A special graphic recognizing their winning status
Fourth through Tenth Place Winners will receive:
- $100 in cash
- Their name and essay title published in Writer’s Digest magazine’s May/June 2026 issue and on WritersDigest.com
- A one-year subscription (new or renewal) to Writer’s Digest magazine
- 20% discount off of purchases made at Writer’s Digest University
- A special graphic recognizing their winning status
Eleventh through Twenty-Fifth Place Winners will receive:
- A $50 gift certificate for writersdigestshop.com
- Their essay title published on WritersDigest.com
- A special graphic recognizing their winning status
All top winners will be chosen by our Special Guest Judge William Kenower.
How to Enter
ENTERING IS EASY!
Create your free Submittable account by clicking the SUBMIT button. If you already have a Submittable account, simply log in!
You can compete in multiple WD competitions with a single login! Check back often for an updated list of competitions.
When you are ready to submit your work to the WD Personal Essay Awards readers, you’ll want to have the following information available:
Your contact information (be careful that the information provided is accurate). Contact information is to be provided only on the submission form (not on the submission’s file upload). Time sensitive information such as credits and contact information (for prize distribution) is taken directly from the submission form. Due to the nature of deadlines, corrections to this information are not guaranteed.
Your PERSONAL ESSAY AWARDS submission file (see the PREPARING YOUR ENTRY tips for more information).
Your method of payment (see the ENTRY PRICING, SUBMISSION DEADLINES AND WINNER NOTIFICATION page for tips for all pricing and deadlines).
Preparing Your Entry
Important & Helpful Information Prior to Entering
- Have your necessary information available when you are ready to submit your entry.
- All entries must be submitted online through Submittable. If you already have a Submittable account, simply log in!
- Please be sure that the email address that you provide will be valid throughout the competition span. Competition related updates and winner notifications are sent via: email. Please type carefully, and list only one valid email address. Check your spelling carefully including all login information, email addresses etc. Incorrect email addresses may result in the transmission of important information being delayed and/or unsuccessful. Be sure that our email addresses (both Writer’s Digest and Submittable) are not blocked, or you may not receive critical information, receipts, confirmations etc. Check your SPAM folder for any expected but unaccounted for email communications.
- Once an entry has been submitted, no edits, replacements or exchanges will be accepted. If you wish to submit an edited or revised version of a previously submitted entry, you may enter it as a new submission (you may wish to edit the title slightly as well so that you can differentiate them).
- The submitter is who we will refer to as the author, and who we will contact with any questions, updates etc. If the submitter and the author are not the same, please indicate accordingly in parenthesis, on the submitter name line. If you write under a pen name, please indicate.
- Check your spelling carefully including all login information, email addresses etc. Incorrect email addresses may result in transmission of important information being delayed and/or unsuccessful.
- Be sure that neither Writer’s Digest or Submittable email addresses are blocked. Blocking either address, including marking either as Spam or Junk, will prohibit you from receiving competition related updates, critical information, receipts, confirmations, etc.
- If you write under a pen name, or if there are multiple authors, please indicate names on PEN NAME line of the submission form.
- Writer’s Digest assumes all entries are original and are the works and property of the entrant, with all rights granted therein.
- Writer’s Digest is not liable for any copyright infringement on the part of the entrant and will not become involved in copyright disputes.
- Writer's Digest reserves the right to reject work deemed unsuitable for publication or that does not meet all named criteria.
- Winner Notification dates refer to the date that all winners will be notified by.
- Non-Winner Notification: Entrants not selected as winners will not be notified individually; non-winners will be emailed a competition status update in the weeks following the winner notification date. If you enter multiple times, please excuse duplicate emails, as you may receive an email for each separate entry.
- All entries must be submitted online.
- Entry fees may be paid online by credit/debit card (MC, V, AMEX & DISC) or PayPal.
- All deadlines are at 11:59 PM EST, on the specified date. This is the date that all related materials (when applicable) must be shipped by as well. Mailed in entries/materials must deliver within 5 days of the current posted entry deadline, as listed on the website at the time of your submission
Word Count / Line Count Requirements
2,000 word maximum. Online Entry forms must have the word count listed where requested. Count refers to all words making up the story (no matter the number of letters in the word). Do not count the title or contact information in the word count.
Entry Method Options/Preparing Your Entry
PREPARING YOUR ENTRY:
• All entries must be submitted online through Submittable. If you already have a Submittable account, simply log in! There is no cap as to the number of submissions that can be entered into the competition overall, however each submission (including edited versions being re-submitted) must be checked out separately.
• Please be sure that the email address you provide will be valid throughout the competition. Competition related updates and winner notifications are sent via: email and/or the Submittable messaging feature. Please type carefully and list only one email address. Check your spelling carefully including all login information, email addresses etc. Incorrect email addresses may result in the transmission of important information being delayed and/or unsuccessful. Be sure that our email addresses (Writer’s Digest and Submittable) are not blocked, or you may not receive critical information, receipts, confirmations etc. Check your SPAM folder as well as the MESSAGES tab within your Submittable account for any expected but unaccounted for communications.
• Please submit text only; illustrations are not accepted. We recommend that you select a font which is easy to read; please do not use a decorative or script font. 12-point type size is preferred but not mandatory. We have no requirements as to the number of words per page. We have no rules or requirements regarding subject matter or language etc.
• It is preferred that an entry be formatted as Letter, 8.5 x 11, single sided, normal 1-inch margins. All documents must be double-spaced.
• The submission file (both the manuscript/story itself as well as the file name) should not include any identifying information. We recommend that you avoid adding symbols/punctuation in file names of the document file which you are uploading. Files are not returned.
• Entries exceeding the word limit will be disqualified. Word count refers to all words making up the story (no matter the number of letters in the word). Do not count the title in the word count.
• When filling out the online submission form, you will be asked to upload your entry file. Accepted file formats include: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .odt, .wpd and .pdf. Do not attach zipped files, or documents stored on the web like Google doc’s etc . Please name your file the same as your submission title if possible; identifying information should not be included in your file name.
RULES:
- All entries must be submitted online. Entries must be accompanied by the required entry fee by credit/debit card or PayPal. All entries must be in English. Only original works that have not been published (at the time of submission) in print, digital or online publications will be considered. Self-published work in blogs, on social media, etc. will be considered. Any AI-generated or AI-assisted work will NOT be considered.
- Have your necessary information at hand when you are ready to submit your entry.
- Entries exceeding the 2,000 word limit will be disqualified. Word count refers to all words making up the story (no matter the number of letters in the word). Do not count the title in the word count.
- All submissions are final. Refunds are not provided for disqualified, withdrawn or non-winning entries. Once a submission has been checked out, it is entered into the competition, and cannot be edited or replaced.
- If the Grand Prize Winner accepts the Writer’s Digest Conference portion of their prize they must agree to travel (flying round-trip from the same city) during the conference dates in 2026. The editors or agents who meet with the Grand Prize Winner are under no obligation to read, buy or represent the Grand Prize Winner’s work. This prize includes airfare, hotel and conference registration.
- Winners must fill out and submit the appropriate tax related forms in order to receive their cash awards. If the forms are not submitted within 60 days of the request date, cash awards may be forfeited.
- Writer’s Digest retains one-time nonexclusive publication rights to the Grand Prize and top winning entries to be published in a Writer’s Digest publication.
- Check your spelling carefully including all login information, email addresses etc. Incorrect email addresses may result in the transmission of important information being delayed and/or unsuccessful. Be sure that our email addresses (Writer’s Digest and Submittable) are not blocked, or you may not receive critical information, receipts, confirmations etc. Check your SPAM folder for any expected but unaccounted for email communications.
- The following are not permitted to enter the contest, neither under their legal names nor pen names: employees of Active Interest Media and their immediate family members; Writer’s Digest Books authors; Writer's Digest contributing editors and columnists; and Writer’s Digest instructors for online courses and live webinars. Grand Prize-winning authors from this and other WD competitions, within the three years of being awarded, are not eligible. Previous top winning entries from this and other WD competitions are ineligible except in the case of substantial rewrites. Ineligible entries will be disqualified.
- Writer’s Digest assumes all entries are original and are the works and property of the entrant, with all rights granted therein.
- Writer’s Digest is not liable for any copyright infringement on the part of the entrant and will not become involved in copyright disputes.
- Writer's Digest reserves the right to reject work deemed unsuitable for publication or that does not meet all named criteria.
- Winner Notification dates refer to the date that all winners will be notified by. Entrants not selected as winners will not be individually notified; check the MESSAGES tab in Submittable for any related messaging.
- Non-winning submissions will receive a competition status update in the weeks following the notification of winners.
- WD writing competitions are open to U.S. and non-U.S. residents; however, due to U.S. Government restrictions we are unable to accept entries from Syria, Iran, North Korea, or Crimea.
Pricing and Deadlines
Early-Bird Deadline: September 2, 2025
- All entries—$25
Deadline: October 1, 2025
- All entries—$30
All deadlines are at 11:59 PM EST, on the specified date. All payments must be submitted at the time of entry.
Judging and Notification
- Every qualified entry will be read by the judges. Judges’ decisions are final.
- Entries must be submitted online (11:59 pm EST) by October 1, 2025.
- If the Grand Prize Winner accepts the Writer's Digest Conference portion of their prize they must agree to travel (flying round-trip from the same city) during the conference dates in 2026. The editors or agents who meet with the Grand Prize Winner are under no obligation to read, buy or represent the Grand Prize Winner’s work. This prize includes airfare, hotel and conference registration.
- Winners must fill out and submit the appropriate tax forms in order to receive their cash awards. If the forms are not submitted within 60 days of the request date, cash awards may be forfeited.
- The following are not permitted to enter the contest, neither under their legal names nor pen names: employees of Active Interest Media and their immediate family members; Writer’s Digest Books authors; Writer's Digest contributing editors and columnists; and Writer’s Digest instructors for online courses and live webinars. Grand Prize Winners from the previous three years are not eligible. Ineligible entries will be disqualified.
- Top Award Winners will be notified on or before December 31, 2025. Top winners in each category will be listed in the May/June 2026 issue of Writer’s Digest and at www.writersdigest.com after the May/June 2026 issue is published.
Still have questions?
William Kenower is the author of Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence and Write Within Yourself: An Author’s Companion. William is the Editor-in-Chief of Author magazine and a sought-after speaker and teacher. In addition to his books, he’s been published in The New York Times and Edible Seattle and has been a featured blogger for the Huffington Post.