Term: Entries are open until September 30, 2025. By submitting a story, you agree to the rules below.

Eligibility: Open to U.S. residents 13 years or older. Entrants under 18 must have a parent or legal guardian's permission to enter. Employees of Alaska.org and their immediate family members are not eligible to win.

What to Submit: Submit an original, nonfiction story (600–1000 words) about your experience in Alaska—one that only you could tell. We’re looking for tales with a strong voice, vivid sense of place, and a compelling narrative arc. Your story must fit into one of the five categories:

• Wildlife Encounters: Tell us about the moment a wild Alaskan creature changed your day—whether it was a curious seal or a grizzly at 50 yards.
• Under the Midnight Sun: Share an adventure that unfolded when the sun refused to set—those all-night hikes, beach fires, or 2 a.m. epiphanies in daylight.
• Off-Grid, Off-Road: Recount a journey beyond pavement—bush planes, snowmachines, pack-rafts, or footpaths to nowhere.
• Acts of Northern Kindness: Describe an unexpected human connection that saved the day, warmed the heart, or shifted your view of Alaska.
• Moments of Awe & Wonder: Capture the instant Alaska took your breath away—aurora curtains, calving glaciers, thunderous waterfalls, or a sky full of stars.

You may submit one story per category.

How to Submit: Attach your story file at: www.alaska.org/story-contest.

Judging Criteria: Stories will be evaluated by Alaska.org based on:

• Originality & Voice (35 pts): A perspective we haven’t heard before; a narrator whose personality crackles on the page. Does the writing sound like a real human, not a brochure?
• Sense of Place (30 pts): Precise, sensory details that could only belong to Alaska—weather, light, smells, local references. Can you see, smell, and hear the scene?
• Storytelling Craft (35 pts): Structure, pacing, emotional arc, and a satisfying payoff. Does the story hook you early, keep you reading, and land the ending?

Prizes: A total of 6 winners will be selected and announced November 3, 2025. Winners will be notified via the contact information provided at the time of entry. Alaska.org may disqualify any entrant who fails to respond within 14 business days.

• One Grand Prize Winner: $500 Visa Gift Card
• One Winner per Category (5 total): $100 Visa Gift Card each

Story Rights: You retain full copyright to your story. By entering, you grant Alaska.org non-exclusive, royalty-free rights to publish, display, or reproduce your story (in part or in full) in print and digital formats for the purpose of promoting this contest, future contests, and travel to and within Alaska, for an unlimited period of time. Where feasible, published stories will be credited to the author. No additional approval or compensation is required.

Additional Terms

• No purchase necessary.
• The contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law.
• Alaska.org reserves the right to cancel or modify the contest or these rules at any time.