Age limit: 13-19
Writing for Peace challenges young writers (ages 13-19) to expand their empathy skills by researching an unfamiliar culture and writing from the point-of-view of a character within that new world, while exploring social, political, and environmental pressures, and universal themes.

Divisions:
Fiction Division:
Submit an original unpublished short story of 800-1000 words in the voice of a character from another country or culture.
Poetry Division:
Submit one poem (no longer than 1000 words) in the voice of a character from another country or culture.
Nonfiction Division:
Write an 800-1000 word essay about a social, political, environmental, or familial challenge faced by individuals within a cultural group, or a personal experience with another culture.

Prizes:
" First, second, and third place winners will receive a certificate, publication, and an invitation to participate in our 2020 Youth Summit. One Grand Prize Winner will receive $200.
" Winners' work, photo, bio, and a follow-up interview will be published in our August 1st, 2020, online journal, DoveTales, An International Journal of the Arts.
" Finalists may be eligible for online publication in our Writing for Peace blog, and a chance to work with Writing for Peace editors, as well as opportunities to participate in other Writing for Peace Events, such as our Annual Youth Summit, readings, and possible mentoring opportunities.
" The author will retain copyright of the literary work with the understanding that Writing for Peace may publish in DoveTales, online, and/or republish at a later date in a printed anthology.

In all divisions your work should attempt to:
" Show day-to-day life.
" Show family relations and friendships.
" Show outside forces at work (weather, government/politics, social pressures, etc.)
" Avoid stereotypes and generalizations. Dig beneath the surface to explore common humanity and universal themes.
All submissions (even fiction) should be about a real country or culture, although it could be a country that no longer exists. For example, you could choose to write a period piece that takes place between 1918 and 1992 about Czechoslovakia, or a fiction piece about Anatolia that takes place during the 13th century. The challenge is to research the pressures faced by your characters so that you are able to convey their point-of-view convincingly.