Prizes/Rules/FAQ

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Prizes

$5,000 Cash Awards & More

First Place: $2,500
Second Place: $1,000
Third Place (three prizes): $500 each

50 additional outstanding entries will receive special book prizes.

All contestants win the opportunity to have their work featured on the website HayatLife.com, a portal celebrating the cultural Muslim renaissance. Every entrant will also have the opportunity to be considered for a profile on Hayat Life.

Rules

  • All entries must be written in English.
  • All entries must be the original work of the person entering the contest. Only one entry per person.
  • Winning entries may be selected for publication. However, contestants can expressly ask for their entries not to be published, or for their entries to be published anonymously.
  • Specific requirements for different kinds of entries:
    • Written essays should be between 600-1200 words.
    • Photographs or other visual art entries should be high-resolution images.
    • Videos should be between 1-5 minutes.
    • Audio recordings should be between 1-5 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Hayat Life is an independent online magazine exploring the arts, lifestyles a nd innovations of people of Muslim heritage in the United States and beyond. It was founded in 2019 by a group of Boston University students. Hayat Life has profiled over 300 influential individuals of Muslim heritage, runs an annual “Ramadan Top 30” award list of outstanding individuals, and holds events that bring together diverse cultural Muslims for creative discussions.

Someone who identifies as having Muslim heritage or has a Muslim ancestor. This definition is not focused on personal level of religious observance, but rather identity. For further exploration of Cultural Muslim Identity, read the manifesto of Hayat Life.

Muslim identity in the US is beset by stereotypes of who Muslims are and should be – and voices of cultural Muslim are not included enough in discussions about Muslim representation. The competition is an opportunity to encourage greater exploration of cultural Muslim identity. The competition aims to inspire creativity and help foster a sense of an emerging scene.

Avoid focusing on political debates, as entries should be about lived human experiences rather than polemics. Don t feel the need to conform to any stereotypes about who Muslims are supposed to be: explore and celebrate individuality. Finally, try not to be dull – instead bring in vivid details and offer engaging ideas. Try to create an entry that will be unforgettable.

Entries should be captivating and engaging. Essays should clearly make an argument and bring that argument to life with vivid details – paint a picture with words. Multimedia entries can be artistic, showing more than telling can be good. Be creative in making your point, drawing in audiences with a hook. And of course, make sure to engage with one the competition’s question prompts by offering an interesting perspective on Cultural Muslim Identity.

Yes. There is an option on the entry form to request anonymity if you are selected as a winner. Requests for anonymity will not be held against your entry in the judging process.

Yes – your entry must be an original work. Any entries found to contain copied or plagiarized materials will be disqualified. Satire and other creative repurposing of content is acceptable provided there is a substantially new work created.

Hayat Life seeks to highlight the best entries on its website, as well as to produce publications that spotlight outstanding thinking on Cultural Muslim Identity. This, however, does not prevent competition entrants from also republishing their entry elsewhere.

The competition is quite flexible and welcomes creativity. Spoken word, poetry, music, photographs, drawings, collages, oral testimony interviews, mini podcasts, radio plays, recorded dialogues – these and any other form of artistic expression can work. Just make sure it addresses the question prompts and sticks within the length guidelines stipulated in the competition’s Rules section.

Be sure to provide a valid email address, phone number, and mailing address when submitting your entry. This ensures that you can be contacted once the winners have been selected. If you are selected as a winner, you will receive more details on how your prize will be sent to you.

First, make sure to save your entry in a common file format (Docx or PDF for writing; JPG or similar for images; and common video and audio formats). Then store that file on a file sharing website (Dropbox OneDrive, iCloud, Google Drive, etc.) or on a streaming site (Vimeo, SoundCloud, etc.). When you submit your entry, provided a link to the entry file. Make sure to keep that file online (and the link valid) at least until the competition results are announced.