Are you interested in women’s biblical equality and mutuality? Are you an educator, student, or aspiring writer who is interested in becoming published? If so, CBE’s tenth annual writing contest is an excellent place to begin! We are looking for articles, biographies, sermons, commentaries, poems, and more, written by authors from around the world that inspire others to live out biblical mutuality in the home, church, and world.
Entries will be accepted June 24–September 14, 2026. Results will be announced in October 2026.
What Should I Write About?
Your writing contest entry should align with CBE’s Mission and Core 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. All submissions, aside from poetry, must include adequate relevant sources, Scripture citations, and footnotes, and follow the Mutuality Writer Guidelines. Multiple entries by authors are allowed.
Please write for one (or more!) of the following categories:
- A unique biblical exposition and/or theological exploration of women in the Old Testament or New Testament.
- A well-reasoned defense of the egalitarian position on a topic or passage of Scripture, engaging key complementarian arguments through Scripture and relevant scholarship.
- A sermon or devotional that expounds on mutuality in the home, church, and world through Scripture.
- Biography or article on Bible women and women in Church history, art, theology, or archaeology.
- Commentary on a movie, book, or other aspect of popular culture (either Christian or secular) through a mutualist lens.
- Poetry or original song lyrics that explore biblical mutuality, womanhood, feminism in a Christian context, or the intersection of women and race.
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?
Be sure to check out Mutuality’s Autumn 2011 publication, Creative Writing. You can also browse our archives or read articles that have won in previous years’ writing contests:
The 2025 CBE Writing Contest Winners Are Here!
The 2024 CBE Writing Contest Winners Are Here!
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 the Evangelical Press Association (EPA). Browse Mutuality articles that have received an EPA award.
What Could I Win?
Each category will have one designated Grand Prize Winner, if possible. This person’s article may be published with CBE, either in the Mutuality blog or magazine. Grand Prize Winners will also receive a free e-copy of Understanding 1 Timothy 2:8–15 in Context: An Exploratory Learning Resource 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. 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 2026 CBE Writing Contest?
To enter, please submit your writing contest entry by completing the 2026 CBE Writing Contest Form by September 14. In this form, you will be required to:
- Attach your entry as a Microsoft Word document.
- Include your full name, an author biography (fifty words or fewer), a two- to three-sentence article description, and a high-quality headshot.
- Provide the total word count of your submission (not including the title). Your entry must be between 500 and 3,000 words (unless it is poetry).
- Please specify which category(ies) you are writing for.
- Title your entry document using this format: LastName_2026-WC-Entry.
All entries must honor CBE’s core values and CBE’s 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, grammar, and 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 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 2026 CBE Writing Contest! Feel free to use the graphic below or contact mutuality@cbeinternational.org for more information.
