I included a self-addressed, stamped postcard with my essay, but I haven't received it back in the mail yet. Please note that it could take up to three weeks to receive your postcard from the date you sent your essay. We cannot accept essays postmarked after the deadline. Unfortunately, we cannot accept entries from students who are not in the 9th or 10th grade. Unfortunately, we cannot accept entries from students who are not in the 11th or 12th grade.
All awards are cash prizes.
We place no restrictions on how the prize money is spent. Prize winners simply receive a check from us in the amount of their award. You do not need to reference page number for quotes from the essay topics. However, if you use any quotes from Anthem or The Fountainhead , you should cite the page numbers and place quotation marks around the quoted material. You do not need to include a bibliography unless you quote from a source besides the novel you are writing on.