(Reuters/Brian Snyder)

Please join us in congratulating the winners of The Nation’s eighth annual Student Writing Contest!

This year we asked students to send us an original, unpublished, 800-word essay answering this question: It’s clear that the political system in the US isn’t working for many. If you had to pick one root cause underlying our broken politics, what would it be and why?

More than 700 submissions poured in from high school and college students in forty-two states. We chose one college winner and, for the first time, two high school co-winners and five finalists from each category. The contest was open to all matriculating high school students and undergraduates at US schools, colleges and universities.

Kudos to the winners, Jim Nichols (no relation to The Nation's John Nichols), an undergraduate at Georgia State University who wrote about how the rise and dominance of market liberalism has affected both civil society and his own life and Julia DI, a senior at Richard Montgomery High School in Darnestown, Maryland, who wrote about the toxic effects of apathy and who shared the award with Bryn Grunwald, a recent graduate of the Peak to Peak Charter in Boulder, Colorado, who stressed the dire effect of skyrocketing inequality.

The winners each receive a cash award of $1,000; the finalists receive $200 each. All receive lifetime Nation subscriptions.

Many thanks to all of our applicants and the many people, especially educators, who encouraged their participation. Please read and share the winning essays. The winners will be excerpted in an upcoming issue of The Nation magazine and all winners and finalists will be published at StudentNation over the week of Monday, September 16.

Winners College: Jim Nichols, Georgia State University High School: Julia DI, Richard Montgomery High School, Darnestown, Maryland and High School: Bryn Grunwald, Peak to Peak Charter, Boulder, Colorado

College Finalists: Suzanna Fritzberg, Yale University Monica Meeks, Washington University Jess Miller, Ohio University Kai Raub, SUNY, Albany Julian Sagastume, Yale University

High-School Finalists: Nikhil Goyal, Syosset High School Joao Lee, The Bement School, Deerfield Massachusetts Angelia Miranda, Home Schooled, Washington Josue Moreno, Judson High School, Converse, Texas    Ian O'Connor-Giles, West High School, Madison, WI

Meet last year’s winners and please help spread the word!