After a year hiatus while launching our online magazine, Teachers & Writers Collaborative (T&W) is back with the 2016 Bechtel Prize, now encompassing a broader theme. Submissions are open for exemplary essays that explore creative writing and arts education, in the tradition of the award, as well as essays on the theme of the imagination and/or creative writing. Submissions may include:

•  Explorations of critical issues in creative writing and arts education.

•  Literacy narratives, first-hand accounts about the process of writing or teaching writing.

•  Memoirs about how and why the author became a writer or early experiences with literature and the imagination.

•  Reflections on the writer’s life and how poets and writers stay connected to their imaginations.

•  Portraits of key teachers and mentors in the author’s life.

The essay selected to receive the Bechtel Prize will appear in Teachers & Writers Magazine, and the author will receive a $1,000 honorarium. Honoraria totaling $500 are shared by the authors of entries selected as finalists for the prize, which may also be published in Teachers & Writers Magazine.

Selection criteria for the Bechtel Prize include the essay’s relevance and appropriateness for readers of Teachers & Writers Magazine, most of whom teach writing at the elementary, secondary, or postsecondary level. Teachers & Writers Magazine publishes work that is concise, lively, and geared to a general audience. Prospective entrants for the Bechtel Prize are encouraged to visit the magazine to become familiar with the publication’s style, and to read past winners of the award.

The submission deadline for the 2016 Bechtel Prize is Monday, November 30, 2015. Please refer to the submission guidelines below for additional information.

• Submissions must be previously unpublished and under 3,500 words in length.
• Submissions must be typed, paginated, and double-spaced.
• Submissions must be sent in Word or PDF format via Submittable.
  
• Submissions will be judged anonymously. The author’s name and address must not appear anywhere on the essay/article.
  
• There is a $20 fee for each submission for the Bechtel Prize. Multiple entries are permitted.
• Authors of the Bechtel Prize winner and finalists must permit T&W to publish their submissions in Teachers & Writers Magazine. T&W reserves the right to edit submissions for publication.
• Submissions that do not conform to the above guidelines will not be reviewed for the Bechtel Prize.
• Questions regarding these guidelines may be sent to bechtel@twc.org.