CreativeNonfiction.org in partnershop with the Biomimicry Center at Arizona State University is hosting a $5,000 essay contest called “Nature from Learning.”

They plan to award $5,000 to the winning essay, and $1,000 for the runner up. The essays will be published in the fall 2016 issue of Creative Nonfiction Magazine.

I hesitated to publicize this contest because they charge writers a $3 fee for online submissions. Even though they accept submissions via post, free of charge, I still find it unethical to charge writers anything – especially when writers are submitting writing “on spec”, free of charge.

(On a side note, the online submissions are run by Submittable, a company backed by Silicon Valley venture capitalists. Since the rise of Submittable, submission fees have become extremely common. The majority of sites that charge fees to writers use Submittable. A large part of the blame for the unethical practice of charging writers rests directly on the shoulders of the people running that company.)

For the essay contest, they are “looking for well-crafted narratives that will illuminate the relationship between humans and the environment, particularly as we face the challenges of climate change.”

The deadline is February 1st, 2016.

To learn more, and to submit, read their submission guidelines.