Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest Pays $24,000 in Prizes
December 10, 2007

IRVINE, CA--College student John DeWald, from London, England, is the winner of the Ayn Rand Institute's annual Atlas Shrugged essay contest, for which he received a prize of $10,000.

Open to undergraduate- and graduate-level college students, the Atlas Shrugged essay contest requires contestants to write on one of several topics dealing with the characters and themes in the novel. The contest is designed to promote critical thinking and writing skills. Essays are judged on both style and content.

The following students have won this year's second and third prizes:

Second-prize winners ($2,000):

Ben O'Neill, Kambah, Australia
Garrett Gates, Brunswick, ME
Christian Tarsney, Minneapolis, ME

Third-prize winners ($1,000):

Brian St. Clair, San Diego, CA
Tzipora Henig, Toronto, ON
Justin Hack, Kingston, ON
Lisa Wang, Cambridge, MA
Margaret Kirkland, Ithaca, NY

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First published in 1957, Atlas Shrugged is a mystery story about the murder--and rebirth--of man's spirit. It offers the spectacle of human greatness through the astounding story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world--and did.

Since 1999 about 10,000 college students from around the world have entered ARI's Atlas Shrugged essay contest. This year more than 1,400 students submitted their essays, and the winners were awarded a total of $24,000.

Information about next year's competition, which again offers a $10,000 first prize, is now available at http://aynrand.org/contests.