We are thrilled to announce the first Free Press Essay Contest—this one for high schoolers. If you are a current 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grader, we want to hear from you. And we also want to publish you.
The prompt is as follows:
Tell our readers about a problem facing American society—and, more importantly, how you would fix it. The problem could be technological, cultural, political, or social in nature, or something else entirely. But we are especially interested in problems facing young Americans that older generations have misunderstood, missed, or maybe even created. In 2,000 words or fewer, please illuminate the problem and how your generation might break out of it.
This is not your average, assigned essay. No five-paragraph structure and no boring academic topics. Tell our readers a story. Back it up. Stick to your principles. Dazzle us. Here are the rules:
Submissions are due on June 12, 2023.
Length: no longer than 2,000 words.
Winners will receive a lifetime subscription to The Free Press, a $2,000 cash prize, and the publication of their essay in The Free Press.
And if you are a parent, teacher, grandparent, aunt, or uncle with a high schooler in mind for this contest, please forward this message along to them!
Does it also work for high-schoolers from outside the Us? ( asking for my daughter)
I'd love an essay contest for parents of teens as well. Like those of us who've had teens in the crisis of social anxiety + substance abuse + COVID isolation / masks (all since March 2020) have a bit of a different perspective on "the glorious teen years" and what is coming down the pike for next-up in the workforce.