Home The Cordell Prize
The Cordell Prize is awarded annually to elevate stories of Christian suffering endured with Spirit-empowered joy and Christ-like courage.
The prize is administered by WORLD Magazine. Winning submissions will demonstrate Biblical truth about suffering and trials through deeply reported, well-written stories of individuals and groups who have endured deep suffering with a strong Christian witness.
Monetary prizes will be awarded:
First Place: $2,500
Second Place: $1,500
Third Place: $1,000
Merit Prize: $500
All submitted articles must be:
Authored by those between 18 and 29 years old at the time of the submission deadline (May 30, 2025)
Published in a student or local newspaper, online platform, or magazine (not a personal blog)
A reported feature or profile with facts and quotes that support the story and sensitively explain issues at hand (not a personal essay or reflective opinion piece)
A narrative story arc on someone who currently is enduring a trial or has overcome suffering while maintaining a steadfast Christian witness
In AP style
More than 2,000 words in length
To Apply, see the form below!
Submit an online application to enter a chance to win the Cordell Prize. With the submission, please include a brief biography of the author (no more than 100 words), a PDF of the article, and the publisher's information.
If an author would like to submit more than one article, each article needs a separate application. Please note the limit of three submissions per person.
All decisions by the judging panel are final.
The prize will be awarded to written pieces, not multi-media presentations.
Submissions Due: May 30, 2025
Prize winners announced: August 1, 2025
The Vision for the Cordell Prize
"What inspired us to establish this prize is the unheralded anonymity in which some Christians faithfully face uncomplainingly great struggles, especially those relating to physical pain and suffering, and whose example should inspire and instruct the Church at large. Yet for lack of an articulate and accessible voice, believers continue to hunger for 21st-century inspiration. This prize is intended to motivate and reward the voices, the vehicles for inspiration."
-Joseph and Yvonne Cordell