NAGRIKA WRITING CONTEST 2022 - ESSAY, STORY, POEM CONTEST

Ever imagined how your city would be different if you ran it? 

This year’s writing contest seeks to inspire you to think about ways in which youth can change the cities they live in. 

Here is the prompt.

How differently would your city function if it were to be run by youth?

Nagarika are accepting three types of written formats this year for the competition

• Essay 
• Short Story 
• Poem

Nagrika is looking for writing inspired by original ideas and personal experiences. All forms of creative ideals utopian or dystopian are welcome. As an organisation working for small cities in the governance and policy domain, we encourage and actively seek entries that match our intuitive temperament for citizen-centric cities. We appreciate imagination capable of shaping fresh opinions and seek promising young writers with a flair for cities. Send us an essay, poem or short story on the theme mentioned above and win cash prizes and other things that money can’t buy.

Awards

First Prize: 

The winning entry will be published on our website, Nagrikal, as the voice of the youth. 

INR 5000 

The winning essay will also feature on our social media platforms.

The opportunity to work further on your idea through a research internship and be part of the Nagrika Guild.

Receive a certificate of excellence from Nagrika.

Second Prize: 

The second prize entry will be published on our website, Nagrikal, as the voice of the youth and will feature on social media platforms

INR 3000 

Receive a certificate of excellence from Nagrika.

Third Prize: 

The third prize entry will be published on our website, Nagrikal, as the voice of the youth and will feature on social media platforms

INR 3000 

Receive a certificate of excellence from Nagrika.

Guidelines for the competition

All written formats can be submitted as an individual or as a team of maximum two people. In case of a team, prize money will be split between the team members equally.

Essays written in English or Hindi are eligible. These must be at least 700 words, and not more than 1,500 words.

Short Stories written in English or Hindi are eligible. These must be at least 500 words, and not more than 2,000 words.

Poems written in English or Hindi are eligible, and should be more than at least 20 lines or 200 words.

Submissions without an essay, poem or short-story format, like bullet-point writing, will be disqualified.

All submissions must be original content, and should not have been published anywhere before, else they will be disqualified from the competition

The entries would be judged on the basis of originality and clarity of the ideas presented. The essay should demonstrate quality in terms of engagement with topic of the essay. 

Terms and Conditions

There is no registration fee for this contest.

Written essays, poems and short stories  may be submitted who is between  13-25 years of age as on 1st April, 2022. (i.e. born after 2nd April 1997)

Only one submission per individual is allowed.

The Nagrika Jury maintains the right to select the winner.

Nagrika staff, former staff, or their family members are not eligible to participate.

Nagrika maintains the right to publish the article or photos on their website and in their periodical, along with the name, photograph and bio of the participants. The copyright of the article, however, remains with the author of the article.

The contest is open only to residents of India.

The deadline for the submission is 11.59 pm, IST, on the 30th June 2022