Family History Writing Contest

The 2026 contest has concluded. Winners are:

First place: Vanessa Wood, “William Thomas Rule (1868-1957): A Biographical Sketch of a Montana Early Settler”
Second place: Sonja Mongar, “Cora Paul: New Woman of the West”

The next contest will launch in October 2026.

MPL Family History Writing Contest Rules

Please read the rules and follow them closely. Double check your work before submitting. Please email Desiree Funston at with any questions regarding Family History Writing Contest.

Eligibility

The contest is open to any amateur or professional genealogy/family history writer in the United States.

Subject

Your submission must be about a deceased person who lived in, came to, passed through or died in the State/Territory of Montana. It should not include any vital data about living people. It should demonstrate your ability to access, analyze and understand various types of records, as well as to cite sources.

You may submit

a narrative genealogy of at least two but no more than four generations,
a proof argument that provides a solution to a family history problem,
a family history story, or
a biographical sketch.

Originality

Submissions must be original (not previously published) works of non-fiction.

Format

Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx file format)
12-point, Times New Roman font
1” margins
Single-spaced with two spaces between paragraphs
No more than 15 pages.
Do not put your name anywhere on your submission!
Center the title at the top of the first page.
Place sequential page numbers on each page.
Include a complete source citation for every fact (Evidence Explained format) as footnotes.
You are not required to number your narrative genealogy. If you choose to do so, please use the NGSQ Numbering System.
Include permissions for use of all photographs, artwork, and substantial portions of secondary sources.

Submission

Entries will be accepted via Submittable from 1 October 2026 to 1 March 2027:

Review Deadline

The Writing Contest Coordinator will review any submission received by 5:00 pm MST on Sunday, 14 February 2027 for formatting compliance. Contestants will then have until the final deadline to correct any formatting errors and re-submit.

It is highly recommended that you submit your entry by the review deadline. Final submissions that do not meet the formatting requirements will be disqualified.

Final Deadline

Entries are due by 5:00 pm MST on Monday, 1 March 2027.

Judging

A panel of volunteer judges from the genealogy community, selected by the Writing Contest Coordinator, will anonymously review the entries. The judges will score each entry against the official scoring rubric. An entry must receive at least 30 out of 40 points to be eligible for a prize. Judges will not provide feedback on any submission.

Prizes

1^st Place – $100

2^nd Place – $50

3^rd Place – $25

Prizes are sponsored by the Friends of Missoula Public Library. Prizes will be issued in the form of a check.

Publication

Missoula Public Library will publish all qualifying submissions under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. Read more about the license here.

Missoula Public Library will also upload all qualifying submissions to the Montana History Portal, which provides free and open online access to digitized resources that reflect Montana’s rich cultural heritage.