Boyd Essay Contest: Call for Submissions
Submissions are now open for the Boyd Institute Housing Essay Contest! We’re looking for essays that answer one simple question:
Submissions are open!
Peter here. I’m very excited to be running the housing sprint this quarter at Boyd and hope you all join us for the journey. Housing affordability is one of the, if not the, most important challenges facing this country right now, and it is something that is also deeply personal to me as a young man.
It also sits at the heart of a web of complex causes and, as a result, lacks either simple diagnosis or remedy; there are as many potential explanations and solutions as there are voices. You will be hearing a lot more from us related to housing through the end of the year, but today I’m excited to talk about the part of the sprint which I am most amped about:
Our essay contest.
The way we see an institution like the Boyd Institute being most helpful is in catalyzing conversations, identifying core issues, and then elevating asymmetric solutions which, if implemented, would radically improve this country and our friends abroad. The best way to do this is to include y’all in this conversation directly and make it worth your time to think deeply about our sprint topic.
This coming Monday, September 15th, we will send out an article with terms and conditions, a submission link, and other important administrative details; however, I wanted to take some time to try and “presell” you on our vision for what this could look like and why we think monetarily rewarding high-quality writing is symbiotically useful to us, as an organization, and you, as a writer.
Before we continue though, I do want to give you the basic nuts and bolts of what this contest will look like.
We are looking for essays that answer the following question:
What’s an actionable, outside-the-box solution to America’s housing crisis?
Essay length: Maximum of 2,500 words
Format: Submit as a PDF
Deadline: 11:59 pm EST on Friday, October 31st
Criteria: We value originality, clarity, and actionability. Don’t worry if you’re not a polished writer — we care more about the quality of your ideas than perfect prose.
“Presell” Pitch:
I had mentioned earlier that the goal of Boyd is to identify and elevate solutions to our collective problems. In order to do this, we need to figure out what the best solutions actually are, and then we need enough algorithmic weight, or internal pull, or even better both, to actually get these policies implemented.
As many of you know from trying to develop your own audiences and reach, this is a nasty nut to crack. There is a lot to be said about different ways to boost our impact, and it is something that we all at Boyd are thinking about obsessively right now. However, I wanted to focus specifically on the essay contest and why we are bullish on it.
As we see it, essay contests are useful to us in three ways:
They help us identify interesting ideas and talented writers.
They reward people for thinking carefully about our sprint topic.
They draw attention to us, which helps build algorithmic weight.
And similarly, they are useful to y’all in three symmetrical ways:
They allow your ideas to influence policy.
They give you, rather than an advertising company, money.
They allow writers to rise above the algorithmic noise.
This is an experiment, and it is one which you — yes, you — can play a big role in helping us succeed.
If this sprint goes well, the goal is to continue improving the contest: potentially bigger prizes, or more direct policy impact, etc. But that is only possible if we get interesting, high-quality submissions.
If you have a deep sense for why housing is expensive, or you have an angle on the issue you feel has not been discussed enough, now is your chance to make it public and also potentially earn a hefty sum of cash.
We will be judging essays on the quality of the ideas and the novelty/practicality of the solutions, so really swing for the fences here. Like I mentioned, one of the major objectives for this contest is to identify which of you might have interesting things to say in future sprints. Boyd is still a young organization, and there are a lot of potential ways people could help us in the future, so even if you don’t “win” the contest, showing you are a brilliant, creative, and articulate person is still worth your time.
Finally, I want to personally make an appeal to y’all for why you should join in the “fight” with us, both on this essay contest and in general. I’m specifically looking at the disaffected young people who are drifting toward more and more radical solutions as they feel the future slip through their fingers. I don’t need to discuss the events that have occurred this week directly for you to know exactly what I mean.
Between the closing days of the post-war consensus and the economic changes coming with AI, everything will be up for grabs in the next 20 years. Literally the entire future, in its infinite horizon, is up for grabs, if you are just willing to reach out. Joining in with us early is one way — and, in my humble opinion, the best way — to do that.
Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more news.
If you have any questions feel free to email me at [email protected] or DM us on Substack.
> What’s an actionable, outside-the-box solution to America’s housing crisis?
Actionable by whom? An individual? A company? A government?