2026
TIMELINE AND GUIDELINES

5 Regions • 200 Regional Finalists • 12 Global Winners
The competition runs across two rounds – from Regional Qualifiers to the Global Finals – spanning February to March 2026.

Key DATES

All deadlines are 23:59 (GMT+0) on dates specified below.

Regional QUALIFIERS

Submit a 500-word essay in response to your chosen prompt.
Choose from four tracks: creative, argumentative, journalistic or topical.
Submit as a Word Document via the submission link that will be provided to registrants.
All participants will be invited to exclusive bootcamps hosted by top professionals and professors.
Top 30 essays per region (10 per track) will advance to the Global Finals.

Global FINALS

Finalists will refine and expand their regional submission.
Finalists with have 9 days to submit a new version in the same Word doc format
150 total global finalists will compete.
Top 9 essays (3 per category) will be crowned global winners.
Global winners receive publication, prizes, mentorship and international recognition.

SUBMISSION
guidelines

The following guidelines cover the general rules on submissions, which are relevant to the regional and global rounds. More detailed guidelines will be sent to each participant’s registered email.

Download Submission Example Here

GENERAL

Open to students aged 9-18 worldwide
Essays must be written in English
Each participant may submit one entry only
Choose one prompt from one category
Must respond to an official prompt from one of four categories:
- Creative
- Argumentative
- Journalistic
Max 500 words (excluding citations, title and student name)
Submission must be in Word document format (.doc) – Google Docs or Drive links will not be accepted
Use Times New Roman size 11 with 1.5 spacing
All submissions must be original work – entries will be screened for plagiarism and AI use

FIRST PAGE REQUIREMENTS

The first page of your submission must have the following information:

Full name
Essay category (creative, argumentative, or journalistic)
Chosen prompt
The competition region you’re from
- North America
- LATAM
- APAC (includes East Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania)
- Middle East, Africa, Russia
- Europe and Central Asia

NAMING DIRECTIONS

Please follow these guidelines when naming your submission document:

Start with the number of your chosen prompt (1, 2 or 3) as listed in the submission form
Add ‘_creative’, ‘_argumentative’ or ‘journalistic’ based on your selected essay category
End with your surname

For example, if Jane Doe selects prompt 2 in the creative category, the file name should be: ‘2_Creative_Doe’

View an example here

register to compete