Write for Mutuality! Join the 2024 CBE Writing Contest

Do you have a story to tell? If you’ve always wanted to raise your voice in advocating for the full equality of women and men in the home, church, and world, CBE’s EIGHTH annual writing contest is an excellent place to begin. We want you—women and men of all cultures, countries, and classes—to share your insights with our readership and with the world.

Entries will be accepted July 18 – August 31. Results will be announced October 24.

What Should I Write About?

At its core, your writing contest entry should align with CBE’s Mission and Values and engage with CBE’s mission to promote the full equality of women and men as co-leaders in the home, church, and world. This year, we are also introducing six categories; your essay should conform to one of the following topics:

1. Positive examples of mutuality in action. These can be from your family, church, workplace, or anywhere else women and men regularly come together. Example: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/marriage-is-not-a-monarch-decision-making-in-a-crisis/
2. Biographical pieces on Bible women and women in Church history, art, and archaeology. (We’d particularly like more entries on women leaders from outside a European/North American context!) Example: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/the-apostolic-life-of-walatta-petros/
3. Commentary on a movie, book, or other aspect of popular culture (either Christian or secular) through a mutualist lens. Example: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/pink-mirror-the-barbie-movies-wry-reminders-of-inequality/
4. Personal testimonies. How did you discover egalitarian theology? What impact has it had on your life? If there’s something you’ve been wanting to get off your chest, now’s your chance! Example: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/the-perfect-storm/
5. Biblical exegesis and theology. This can be dissecting one of the traditional biblical passages often weaponized against women or addressing a particularly problematic theological idea. But it doesn’t have to be negative; if you’ve noticed something new about how God interacts with women in your Bible studies, tell us about it! Examples: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/let-god-reign-ditching-the-umbrellas-of-hierarchy/ and https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/jesus-called-her-woman/
6. Egalitarianism and intersectionality. Entries in this category will look for ways that Christian mutuality intersects with struggles for racial and social justice, as well as the global feminist movement. Examples: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/righteous-love-making-space-for-love-among-black-women/ and https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/keeping-my-name-a-30th-anniversary-reflection/

Have something important to say, but feel it doesn’t fit into any of the above categories? Please submit it anyway! We’ll still consider it for publication.

Need inspiration? Browse our archives, or read articles that have won in previous years’ writing contests:

• 2023 Writing Contest winners and honorable mentions
• 2022 Writing Contest winners and honorable mentions
• 2021 Writing Contest winners and honorable mentions
• 2020 Writing Contest winners and honorable mentions
• 2019 Writing Contest winners
• 2018 Writing Contest winners and honorable mentions
• 2017 Writing Contest winners

Winning and honorable mention articles may also be submitted as entries in the Higher Goals contest by Evangelical Press Association (EPA). Browse Mutuality articles that received an EPA award.

What Could I Win? 

Each of the six categories will have one designated Grand Prize Winner. This person’s article will be published with CBE, either in the Mutuality blog or magazine. Grand Prize winners will also receive access to the CBE e-course of their choice, a free e-book of their choice from a list of works published by CBE, and a year-long print subscription to CBE’s award-winning magazine, Mutuality. 

We may also designate honorable mentions, based on the number of submissions we receive. Honorable mentions will receive access to the CBE e-course of their choice. Winning and honorable mention articles may also be submitted as entries in the Higher Goals contest by EPA.

All writing contest entries will be considered for publication by CBE. So even if your piece is not selected as a winner, we may still want to get it out there!

How Do I Enter the 2024 CBE Writing Contest?

To enter, please email your writing contest entry to mutuality@cbeinternational.org by August 31, 2024.

1. Attach your entry as a Microsoft Word document, single-spaced.
2. Include your full name, an author biography (fifty words or fewer), a two- to three-sentence article description, and a high-quality headshot.
3. Provide the total word count of your submission (not including the title). Your entry must be between 700 and 1,500 words.
4. Title your entry document using this format: LastName_2024-WC-Entry.

All entries must honor CBE’s core values and the CBE mission: CBE exists to promote the biblical message that God calls women and men of all cultures, races, and classes to share authority equally in service and leadership in the home, church, and world. CBE’s mission is to eliminate the power imbalance between men and women resulting from theological patriarchy. 

Additional Rules

• All writing contest entries must be original content not yet published elsewhere, unless you host a personal blog that has a small audience. (You must indicate if this is the case.) AI-generated content will not be accepted.
• Late entries will not be accepted for the contest but may still be considered for publication.
• All entries should have correct spelling and grammar and include a link or Chicago notes-style citation for any outside sources. All historical or theological claims should be cited.
• You may submit more than one entry for consideration. CBE may publish multiple entries from the same author, but no more than one entry per author will be recognized as a winner or honorable mention.
• You agree to participate in the editing process with CBE’s editorial team. Changes made or requested by the editorial team will be sent to you, the author, for comment and approval before publication. Titles may be changed.

Review the Mutuality writer’s guidelines for more information. Feel free to send any questions to mutuality@cbeinternational.org. 

Please Help Us Share!

We would love you to tell others about the 2024 CBE Writing Contest! Feel free to use the graphic below or contact mutuality@cbeinternational.org for more information.