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"What Would You Do?"

Contest Rules

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By entering this writing contest, participants confirm that their primary, and possibly only, reason for applying is their belief in the power of stories, their love for independent thinking, and their commitment to truth, justice, and human dignity.

  • Eligibility: Participants must be enrolled as undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate students at a recognized institution of higher learning anywhere in the world.

  • Language: Submissions must be written in correct English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish.

  • Anonymity: The author's identity must not be revealed anywhere within the submitted story. Each submission will be assigned a unique code by the organizer to maintain anonymity throughout the evaluation process.

  • Data Protection: All personal data collected will be used exclusively for contest-related purposes and never shared with third parties. The organizer respects all privacy regulations.

  • Entry Fee: Participants will pay a symbolic entry fee of $7 to cover administrative costs. This fee is non-refundable, even if the submission is disqualified in a later phase.

  • Submission Window: Submissions will be accepted between (TBA) and (TBA), or until the contest reaches the maximum number of entries (TBA).

  • Prizes:
    The prize for the best writing in the first contest round will range from $5,000 to $10,000, or higher.
    The prize for the best evaluator will range from $500 to $5,000.
    The second contest edition will award $1,000,000 for the best writing and $500,000 for the best evaluator.

  • Prize Fund: Total prize money will be determined by the number of entries (entry fees), public donations, and voting participation.

  • Themes and Structure: Submitted works must relate to the contest theme: the ethical, legal, and symbolic dimensions of modern-day power and justice, illustrated through a contemporary David-and-Goliath encounter. Participants will choose one of 50 provided illustrations as the visual context for their story and must include a 100-character explanation of their choice.

  • Acceptable Literary Forms: Submissions may take the shape of any of the following literary forms, provided they remain thematically aligned with the contest’s central moral and symbolic framework. The eligible forms are:
    Allegory / Parable – a symbolic narrative illustrating a deeper moral or philosophical truth.
    Diary / Journal Entry – a personal, reflective text written from the perspective of a witness, participant, or observer.
    Dialogue / Dramatic Fragment – a fictional exchange between characters with contrasting ethical viewpoints.
    Essay – a structured and reasoned reflection on moral, legal, or symbolic issues relevant to the contest theme.
    Fictional Report / Verdict / Investigative Note – a narrative mimicking journalistic or legal formats, enriched with ethical or symbolic significance.
    Letter / Epistolary Form – an imagined letter to a real or fictional entity (e.g., Goliath, the public, one’s future self).
    Manifesto / Proclamation – a passionate declaration calling for justice, change, or ethical awakening.
    Monologue – a single voice expressing moral conflict, internal struggle, or awakening.
    Prose Poem – a highly stylized poetic reflection in prose form.
    Short Story – a fictional narrative structured around character, conflict, and moral insight.
    Speech – a fictional oratory addressed to a public audience or moral tribunal.
    Submissions must be original, unpublished, and written specifically for this contest. Word count limits and formatting requirements will be announced in the submission instructions.

  1. AI Filtering Round: A preliminary AI round will filter out stories that do not engage with the topic or fall well below reasonable standards of coherence and relevance. This step is designed to prevent trolling or misuse.

  2. Evaluation Process:
    Round 2: Peer review. Participants will evaluate each other’s stories across several criteria using a 1-5 scale. Each story will receive up to ten peer evaluations.
    Round 3: Public voting phase. The public will read and vote on the top-rated entries.

  3. Evaluation Comments: Peer evaluators must submit a 100-character comment with each evaluation. These comments will be visible to the authors and later made public.

  4. Evaluation Obligation: Participants who do not complete their assigned evaluations will have their own stories removed from the contest.

  5. Finalists: The top-rated stories from Round 2 will proceed to Round 3 and be published on (TBA).

  6. Submission Format: All stories must be submitted in plain text via the official submission form.

  7. Publication Rights: By submitting a story, participants agree to allow the organizer to publish their story, nickname, illustration choice and comments, evaluator scores and comments, and evaluation results without further consent or compensation. Real names, email addresses, and phone numbers will remain confidential and used only for authentication and prize distribution.

  8. Identity Disclosure: By participating in the contest, participants agree that, if selected as winners, their name, country, and university may be publicly disclosed.

  9. Public Participation: Winners agree to participate in a virtual award event if requested.

  10. Ethical Risks: The organizer anticipates attempts to undermine the contest by entities opposed to public exposure of the project's central issue. The organizer reserves the right to protect the integrity of the contest.

  11. Final Authority: Participants accept that the organizer’s decisions on rule interpretation, disqualification, and all contest matters are final.

  12. Acknowledgment of Limitations: Participants acknowledge that better rules might theoretically exist, but this contest proceeds under these terms, which may be amended as necessary and publicly announced.

  13. Waiver of Liability: By entering, participants waive any legal or procedural complaint and accept that the organizer cannot be held liable for any negative consequences of participation.

  14. Professional Disclaimer: Participants acknowledge that the organizer is not a professional contest manager, but an individual motivated by personal experience and a desire to challenge injustice through creativity and ethics.

  15. Organizer Limitation: The organizer cannot provide extensive individual communication. Questions submitted through the official form will be considered reasonably, time permitting.

  16. Purpose of the Contest: This is a one-time contest serving a clear moral, legal, and social purpose. No future contests are planned, except as outlined in sections (7).

 

(!) Upon completion of the What Would You Do? (WWYD?) writing contest, the organizer will host a related contest titled What Would Goethe Say? (WWGS?). The best essay in WWGS? may receive a prize of up to $1,000,000. Participants who previously participated in WWYD? will receive additional points in the WWGS? contest.

(!!) Following WWYD?, the organizer will also host an evaluator contest within WWGS?. The best evaluator may receive a prize of up to $500,000. Participants in WWGS? who also participated in WWYD? will receive additional points in the WWGS? contest.

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