Past Winners:
2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002

View the winners of the 2007 My Brooklyn Photo + Essay Contest.

The 2007 My Brooklyn Photo + Essay Contest is about what makes this borough unique to you. From the faces and places to the events, food and attitude, show and tell us about your Brooklyn and you could win a $500, $ 300 or $ 100 U.S. Savings Bond and have your work exhibited at Brooklyn Public Library. From DeGraw Street to DiFara's, from Carroll Gardens to the Cyclone, from Greenpoint to Greenwood, Brooklyn is everywhere – show us where it takes you.

My Brooklyn, a photo and essay contest sponsored by Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) and Con Edison, encourages everyone everywhere to share what Brooklyn means to you through pictures and words. You don't have to live here to have a thought, feeling, memory or favorite person, place or thing in the borough to enter. In fact, anyone may enter, except BPL and Con Edison employees and their families.

• Child - 12 and under
• Young Adult - 13 through 19
• Adult - 20 and older

Guidelines of My Brooklyn

Each entry must include a photograph and essay detailing your experience of Brooklyn.

• may be of any subject, but must have been taken in Brooklyn.
• may be of the applicant, but it must have been taken in Brooklyn, and be accompanied by a signature by the photographer

• should interpret the photograph and relate it to a personal experience of Brooklyn.

Winning entries will show a strong relationship between the photo and essay submitted, and their connection to Brooklyn.

Photograph Guidelines

• By submitting your photo, you grant BPL the right to exhibit and reproduce their photograph if chosen as a winner
• Your mailed entry must include a photographic print (no negatives or digital files, please)
• Photographs will not be returned, so please don't submit your only copy
• If you are a finalist, you need to supply the original negative, or digital file
• Photos submitted through the online application must be a .JPEG in 300 DPI format and at least five inches wide.
• Winning photographs become the property of Brooklyn Public Library's Brooklyn Collection

Essay Guidelines

• Child category: essays may be up to 150 words in length.
• Young Adult category: up to 250 words.
• Adult category: up to 750 words.

Selection of Winners
The initial round of My Brooklyn entries will be evaluated by librarians and scholars. From there, finalists will be selected by a panel of prominent Brooklyn authors and photographers.

Exhibition and Prizes
Finalists in each age category will have their essays and photographs exhibited in the Grand Lobby of BPL's Central Library in Summer 2007 and will be awarded the following prizes:

First Prize:
$500 U.S. Savings Bond

Second Prize:
$300 U.S. Savings Bonds

Finalists: (four in each age category)
$100 U.S. Savings Bond

Please note: Prizes are stated at the bond's maturity value. For more information on U.S. Savings Bonds, visit www.treasurydirect.gov

Best Photographs
In addition to the winners chosen for each of the three age categories, a first-place and second-place winner and four finalists will be selected for outstanding photographs. Winners may be of any age, and their work will also be exhibited in a show during Summer 2007.

Only one entry per applicant is permitted.

Contest Deadline
Applications must be postmarked by Friday, March 30, 2007, 12AM, or hand delivered by 5PM to the Programs & Exhibitions Department located at the Park Slope Branch - 431 Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn.

My Brooklyn is made possible through generous support from Con Edison.