Perspectives Essay Competition

November 2025 Perspectives Essay Competition:

The Liberator Magazine is excited to host the November 2025 Perspectives Essay Competition. The goal of this contest is to spotlight each student's unique voice and point of view. Don't be deterred if you have little writing experience. This contest is about being bold, authentic, and uplifting new voices; we want to hear YOU.

The top 3 submissions will be published on our website and the top submission will win an additional prize!

Our Contest Theme:
Sonder
An eerie realization hits you. Every face that's flashed before you, on the bus, in the grocery store, on your walk home from work, is attached to a unique life and set of stories. You've always been the pivotal character in your own world; your choices, actions, every detail about you is dictated by a barrage-like inner-dialogue that is utterly silent to the rest of the people you pass. You realize everyone is the main character in their own story, and your mind shifts...

What does this realization or sense of 'Sonder' evoke- is it smallness, hope, defeat? What is it like to truly see people for who they are; how can we be more empathetic? Would you switch places with someone else? Why? What would it be like to play a side character in your own story?

This contest is open to students from any major and submissions must be emailed to theliberator.lac@gmail.com by 11:59 PM on December 7th, 2025.

Past Contest Winners:

TomorrowLand (October 2023)

Maya Martinez, Dorm Window

Alexander Green, The Old Man and I

Metamorphosis (September 2023)

Alexander Green, A Story of Gods and Documents. Metamorphosis of text

Liminal Spaces (November 2022)

Nidhi Chanchlani, The Spaces in Between

Warmth (November 2020)

Kayla Hays, “The Taxonomy of Blankets”

Catherina Chowhudry, “‘Tis the Season”