PWA’s 2026 Cash Writing Challenge
PWA’s 2026 Cash Writing Challenge
***Official Guidelines***
Basic Timeline & Eligibility:
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The cash writing challenge is open to all current PWA members (no registration required, and past challenge winners are welcome to enter again).
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The competition officially opens on May 1, 2026.
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The duration is May 1 – June 30, 2026.
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Essays are due July 10, 2026.
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Send your finished essay to pwamonthly@awaionline.com by midnight (Eastern) to be considered for prizes.
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Winners will be announced via press release and in our News & Notes e-letter.
What can I win?
Cash!
This year, PWA will be awarding up to five (5) $200 prizes, for a total of $1,000 in prize money available. Winners can expect their funds to arrive via ACH transfer for our US members and via PayPal for international members.
Recognition!
Winners will have their essays published on the PWA site for the community to enjoy. Each winner can also expect to see their success announced in our News & Notes e-letter as well as in news items and press releases that may appear on the AWAI main site and elsewhere.
What’s the theme?
Our 2026 competition centers on copywriting classics…
We live in changing times, with AI tools becoming a larger part of the writing conversation.
Yet, to truly succeed as a working writer – whether you do all your work from scratch or choose to touch up AI-drafted copy – you still need a solid understanding of copywriting and persuasion fundamentals.
This understanding helps you recognize what makes any piece of content “good copy” and allows you to quickly spot and fix places where the writing is weak, generic, or unpersuasive.
AI tools can’t match humans on this front.
It sets you apart and gives you a serious competitive advantage.
So, how can you build up your understanding and increase your competitive advantage over AI tools?
By going back to the basics, of course!
For this challenge, the basics mean the Copywriting Classics – books by industry legends such as John Caples, Eugene Schwartz, and David Ogilvy. Or you might choose something by Dale Carnegie, Zig Ziglar, or Og Mandino – masters of relationship marketing and closing the sale. Anything by Dan Kennedy, Joe Sugarman, or Bob Bly would also serve you well.
Your mission is to pick a copywriting classic and authentically read it (AI summaries do not do these classics justice). Then, choose a core lesson or principle to apply to your business.
You can choose any copy classic that speaks to you. Most of the classics are readily available from the library system or Amazon. If you need ideas for what to read, I’ve put together a list of my favorite classics here.
How do I get a prize?
After you’ve completed your reading, reflect on what you learned and how you can use it to improve your writing, your business, or your client relationships.
Then, create a standalone essay of no more than 750 words.
In your essay, share:
- The book you chose and why
- Key lessons from the book and how you plan to apply them to your writing life
- Who else might benefit from reading this book – ie, writers in specific niches or writers facing specific kinds of business challenges
Send your essay to me as a document (.doc or .docx) attachment at pwamonthly@awaionline.com by Midnight (Eastern) on Friday, July 10. Use “Copy Classics Competition” as your subject line. Be sure to include your full name and contact information in your email!
All final report essays received on time, in the correct format, will be eligible for challenge awards.
Questions? Reach out to me, PWA Director Jen Adams, directly at pwamonthly@awaionline.com for the fastest answer to your question. You can also post questions in the LinkedIn community throughout the challenge period.