Live Deliberately Essay Contest

Each year, the Live Deliberately Essay Contest invites youth around the world, ages 14-18*, to consider a selected Henry David Thoreau quotation and accompanying prompt. Contestants are asked to write a thoughtful essay that uses personal experience and observation to demonstrate how that year’s quotation and prompt relate to their own lives and to the world around them. Like Thoreau, these young people use the power of their words to convey vivid stories, personal conviction and human compassion. The essay contest is typically open in the fall with a winter deadline. Winners are announced in the spring.

Amount: The winner for each age group will receive a $500 cash prize, a certificate of recognition from The Walden Woods Project and a copy of Walden: A Fully Annotated Edition.

Requirements:

• The contest is open to youth around the world. Youth must be at least 14 years and no older than 18* years of age when the contest closes. Past winners are not eligible to participate.