All middle school and high school students (including home-schooled students) are encouraged to submit their work to the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation’s fourth annual Editorial Writing and Cartoon Contest! This contest’s goal is to increase civic education and engagement, and to celebrate the rights set by the First Amendment.

All submissions – essays or cartoons – should be centered around the importance of the First Amendment. Students are urged to draw inspiration from current events, historical examples, and personal experiences.

All submissions should be sent in by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4. All winners will be announced in early January.

The first-place winners for each contest will win $500, the second-place winners will win $250, the third-place winners will win $100 and honorable mention recipients will win $50. Additionally, all winning entries will be published in newspapers state-wide.

Writing and Cartoon Contest Guidelines

For the writing contest, high school students will be asked to write a “guest column” (500 words or less) about the First Amendment, while middle school students will be asked to write a “letter to the editor” (200 words or less) on the same topic.

All students interested in competing in the editorial cartoon contests may do so by entering one First Amendment-themed editorial cartoon.

To enter, click this link that leads to the WNA’s official page for the contest: https://wnanews.com/2024/09/09/wisconsin-civics-games-editorial-writing-cartoon-contest-now-accepting-entries-2/

For more information, visit this link:  wisconsincivicsgames.com.