The 2021 Photo Contest and Digital Storytelling Contest are now open for entries

Our annual contests celebrate the best visual journalism produced over the last year. We are thrilled to announce that the 2021 World Press Photo Contests are now open for submissions!

Entering the contests is free and open to all professional visual journalists around the world. An independent jury selects the prize-winning photographs and productions. This year, for the first time, the judging process of the contests will take place entirely online due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. The jury chairs of the 2021 Contests will be joined digitally by a team of experts from around the world to decide on the best visual journalism of 2020.

To highlight diverse stories, the Photo Contest awards single exposure images in eight categories: Contemporary Issues, Environment, General News, Long-Term Projects, Nature, Portraits, Sports, and Spot News. The winners of the headline prizes ‘World Press Photo of the Year’ and ‘World Press Photo Story of the Year’ both receive a cash prize of €5,000. All the awarded stories are showcased to a global audience through our annual exhibition and yearbook.

NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, chair of the 2021 Photo Contest jury, says: “I encourage visual journalists from all over the world to participate because your descriptions of the world matter a great deal, and the stories that you tell weave together a nuanced understanding of the fabric of our lives and our times. […] I hope this contest can be one of many platforms that give voice to all these important stories.”

The Digital Storytelling Contest awards productions in three categories: Interactive, Long, Short. The winners of the headline prizes ‘World Press Photo Interactive of the Year’ and ‘World Press Photo Online Video of the Year’ both receive a cash prize of €5,000 euros. The awarded productions are showcased to a global audience, and included in the World Press Photo exhibitions which feature the Digital Storytelling Contest.

Muyi Xiao, chair of the 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest jury, encourages all digital storytellers to enter: “The more people who submit their work, the more we all can learn. It is less about scoring work and giving out awards and more about the discussions that happen in the process and the reflections we have upon engaging with stories.”

We want to get diverse submissions for the independent jury to consider, but they can only judge what is entered.so if you’ve captured important stories, or made compelling productions this year, it's time to start preparing your entries. If you know people who have produced great work, please share these dates with them. Help us get the best submissions so we can spotlight the stories that matter.