Best of the Northwest Nautical Northwest Magazine Writing
and Photography Contest

How it Works

The Best of the Northwest writing and photography contest seeks to elevate and reward fantastic written and visual storytelling about our amazing greater Pacific Northwest life aquatic with an emphasis on work and play on our waterways. 

For our inaugural contest, we are keeping things simple with three categories: People, Boats, and Place. Each of these categories is open to written submissions and photography entries that will be judged with other works of their respective mediums. Read more about the categories here.

• $10 submission fee required per submission
• Every submitted entry will be blind judged by three selected volunteer judges.
• The deadline for all submissions is November 6, 2026.
• First place winners across the categories and mediums (writing and photography) will be awarded $500 and be published within Nautical Northwest magazine.
• Submissions that win second, third, and honorable mention places will be proudly listed within the same issue of the magazine. Other prizes may possibly be added.

We are also hoping to host an award ceremony in Seattle around the time of the Seattle Boat Show. Details are developing so stay tuned. We may publish some or all of our judging criteria as we iron out those details behind the scenes in the weeks/months ahead. Thank you for bearing with us as we build this thing from the ground up this year.