Annual cash awards for short, original, unpublished essays on the philosophic themes in Ayn Rand's novels, "Anthem", "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged", are open respectively to all US 9th and 10th graders, 11th and 12th graders and college students.

Annual contest for essays about female-male romantic relationships. Word limits: 750 (minimum), 2,000 (maximum). Cash prizes total $375. Entry fee: $7.50. Deadline: June 30.

Seeks true stories on various topics. Winning stories are published. Each collection has a grand prize of $500. All other published contributors receive $100 each. No reading fees. Length: 1,000 to 2,000 words. Deadlines vary.

Original essays, in any language, are invited on the theme: "What Is the Soul of Socialism?" Cash prize: $5,000. Deadline: August 31st. No entry fees.

Annual contest for creative non-fiction offers $1,500 in prize money, plus publication. Maximum length: 5,000 words. Entry fee: $25. Deadline: April 15, 2004.

An annual essay contest offers prize money of $65,000 for original prose on a given theme. The topic for 2003 was "Do We Need Nature?" Next deadline: August, 2004. No entry fees.

ISCID sponsors annual essay contests on complexity, information, and design. Cash prizes are $1000 undergraduate and $2000 graduate. Deadline: June 1.

Sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation, this contest seeks original essays on the importance of noble purpose in life and in nature. Cash prizes total US$500,000, including a grand prize of US$100,000. Word limit: 3,500. No entry fee.

A number of essay contests are conducted throughout the year. Winning entries are published monthly in "Proceedings" magazine.

Seeks short essays on the theme, "Cinema Hits and Movie Misses". This theme is open to a wide number of acceptable interpretations. Maximum length: 1,000 words. No entry fees. Cash prizes total: $225. Winning entries will be published in a "Film Index" book.