An attempt, a trial, an experiment

The Essay Prize is given each year to the work that best exemplifies the art of essaying—of inquiry, rumination, discovery, and change. Open to projects in any medium or form—be it text, film, radio, performance, or other—the Essay Prize intentionally stretches the definition of "essaying" in order to celebrate work that is defined by what it does—the activity that it engages in—rather than what it is—its "nonfictional" verifiability.

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The Ten Greatest Essays, Ever.

We asked some of our favorite essayists to compile a list of their own favorite essays of all time.
Read Their Lists

Current Winner

Lauren Redniss’s Radioactive

Combining history, biography, and science with her own luminous images, Lauren Redniss has created a book-length visual essay that attempts to reveal to us the inevitable invisibility of things.

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