With the current real estate crunch, it seems like there are quite a few 'Essay' contests being run to award homes. I've been looking for interesting ones to enter for several months now, but it seems most don't get enough entries, so they refund the entry fee and cancel the contest without giving anything away.

I've found one that guarantees to award prizes! If they don't get enough entries to award the house, they will award cash prizes, and the prizes can grow quite large.

I like these kinds of contests because they require some skill, which weeds out quite a few entrants. They also don't tend to get 100s of thousands of entries like most 'free' contests & sweeps, so, again, you have a much better chance to win.

Anyone interested in these kinds of contests can check out www.essaycontests.com (where I found it), or can go directly to the contest at www.thewritehome.info.

Good luck to everyone & keep having fun!