“I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” South African leader Nelson Mandela passed away yesterday at age ninety-five. He claimed the poem “Invictus,” written by English poet William Ernest Henley and published in 1875, helped him survive twenty-seven years of incarceration on Robben Island. Watch this moving interpretation of the inspirational poem.
Find details about every creative writing competition—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, grants for translators, and more—that we’ve published in the Grants & Awards section of Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it in the Writing Contests database, the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.