It's September! For many of people, that means back to school (or vampire-slaying academy)! This month's competition is about institutions of learning, and this time we're teaming up with Hero Forge! This competition's prompt is...

Tell us about an educational organization in your world, and describe some of the characters you can find in it.

Examples and inspiration

The University (Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss)
Jedi Temple (Star Wars)
Battle School (Ender's game, by Orson Scott Card)
Royal Institute of Translation (Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution, by Rebecca Kuang)
Nevermore Academy (Wednesday)
Strixhaven (Dungeons & Dragons)
Starfleet Academy (Star Trek)
Assassins' Guild (Disc World, by Terry Pratchett)
You could also write something like a bardic college, a dino-wrangling school, a guild training programme, and more!

An organization is nothing without people! Here are some examples of the kinds of people you can write about in your article:

Students and apprentices
Teachers, professors, and researches
Cleaning staff
Concierges, clerks, and guards
Test subjects
The principal's pet

Prizes

There will be two bundles packed with amazing prizes; one for the Standard League Winner and one for the Premiere League winner!

Hero Forge Standard Plastic Miniature
Hero Forge Color-Printed Plastic Miniature
Hero Forge Pro 1-Year Subscription
Hero Forge Dice Set
This item might be removed from the bundle due to stocking issues
Hero Forge Lapel Pin
This item might be removed from the bundle due to stocking issues
World Anvil Grandmaster Membership (1 year)
Can be added to an existing membership as additional time. For Guild members with a higher membership, this will be converted to extra time based on monetary value.
World Anvil large mug, with either the "Grab your coffee and go worldbuild" or "Grab your tea and go worldbuild" design.
World Anvil t-shirt (choice of size & color).

The shortlist will be chosen by the experts at World Anvil, and the winners will be chosen by the experts at Hero Forge. Want to win one of these bundles? Read the rules below and get writing!

The Rules

How to Enter

All competitors need a World Anvil account (don’t worry, it’s free!) to get started. Once you’ve logged in and created your first world, you’re ready to enter the competition!

Write your entry using the Organization template on World Anvil. The article must include information about characters involved in the organization (see Other Rules below).
When ready to submit, make sure that your article is not a draft (i.e. published) and public (not private).
Click the button on the right-hand side of the edit interface to submit it to the challenge!

Adjudication Process

Separate shortlists will be compiled for the Premiere and Standard Leagues by Janet Forbes and Dimitris Havlidis. These lists will then be judged by Hero Forge. Each League will have one winner (so two winners in total). The winner will be announced in the Awards Ceremony on October 26th on our Twitch channel. Entries will be judged on a number of criteria, including originality, presentation, and thoroughness. The number of likes will not affect the chances of an article winning. Please note that there will not be a "minor edits" period for this competition. No edits of any type should be made after the submission period ends; we recommend you submit your article in advance to have time for last-minute fixes.

Timeline	Event
September 7th - September 28th	Submission period. The period will both open and close on stream!
September 28th - October 5th	Shortlist compilation period. Don't edit your submissions during this time!
October 6th - October 25th	Judging period. Shortlisted submissions may not be edited; everyone else can.
October 26th	Awards Ceremony & Birthday Stream!

Other Rules

The submitted article must include information about characters involved with the organization (e.g. students, teachers, cleaning staff, etc). You can use Hero Forge minis as character portraits.

You can link to character articles, but submissions should be self-contained. Information in other articles will not be considered.

Articles must be submitted before the closing time to be eligible (please note the competition will close during the World Anvil livestream).
Only one article may be submitted per person (this does not mean one article per world, in cases where multiple authors work on a single world).
The minimum wordcount for a submission is 300 words.
Articles can be no longer than 2000 words in length! All submissions must be new worldbuilding articles created during the active competition period.
Word Count will be counted by copying all words present in the article's body and sidebar into a word counter. BBCode does not impact word count. Linked articles do not impact word count, and will also not be considered during adjudication.
World Anvil retains the right to arbitrate and/or change the rules where necessary to uphold the spirit and integrity of this event and the community. We will communicate changes as necessary.
As always, World Anvil claims no ownership over your original work.

For any further questions or clarifications about this challenge, message the Community Team (@Community Team) on the World Anvil Discord or post to the World Anvil Facebook Group!

Social media sharing

You may wish to share their entries on social media to garner interest from the community and share your hard work with the world.
Posts tagged with #WALearningLore which mention @WorldAnvil may be shared by World Anvil's official social media accounts!

Leagues

There are two leagues that will be independently judged, the Standard and the Premier League. The Premier League consists of all the authors who have previously won a World Anvil competition or the Worldbuilding Awards. Winning this competition in the Standard League will promote you to the Premier League for future competitions.

Looking for inspiration or seeking some ideas? Make sure to stop by the World Anvil Discord, our Facebook Group or Subreddit for worldbuilding conversation and inspiration!

Institutions of Learning

Institutions of Learning

Examples and inspiration

Prizes

The Rules

How to Enter

Adjudication Process

Other Rules

Social media sharing

Leagues

Challenge entries

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