The Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship is now accepting entries for its fourth annual “Who Wrote Shakespeare?” Video Contest. Entries will be accepted from contestants across the U.S., and eight different countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Denmark, Australia, and New Zealand. First place prize is $1,000. The second and third place winners will be awarded $500 and $250 respectively.

Deadline for submissions is July 20, 2020.

Contestants are encouraged to create a three-minute video promoting the question “Who Wrote Shakespeare?” in a format that is “entertaining, engaging, and witty,” said contest coordinator Julie Sandys Bianchi.

“The Video Contest always arouses special interest in the Shakespeare Authorship Question. We get enthusiastic responses from all over the world,”  Bianchi said.

Did the man, Shakspere of Stratford, England, really write the plays and poems published under the name William Shakespeare? Or is Shakespeare a pseudonym used to conceal the true identity of the author? This question has lingered for centuries, and has intrigued brilliant minds such as Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, Walt Whitman, Charlie Chaplin, and Sir Derek Jacobi, just to name a few. There is no evidence that the Stratford man ever went to school, wrote a letter, or owned a book. Yet the works of Shakespeare show evidence that the author (whoever he was) was deeply familiar with law, medicine, astronomy, philosophy, mythology, gardening, precious stones, music, Italy, and many other subjects.

Considering that the Elizabethan Age was a “golden age of pseudonyms,” could Shakespeare have been the pen name of a reclusive genius who felt the need to hide his identity?

This question has also fascinated members of the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship, a nonprofit organization forged more than 60 years ago, dedicated to sponsoring research into the Shakespeare Authorship Question, and favoring Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, as the most likely candidate for the authorship laurels.

“Though our members predominantly favor Edward de Vere, we are always open to discussion of other candidates in order to get to the truth,” said Bianchi.

SOF publishes quarterly newsletters and an annual journal on research and developments of the Shakespeare Authorship Question. The organization also sponsors up to $20,000 in annual research grants, regional events dedicated to the SAQ, and an annual conference in a different major U.S. city each year.

Up to 16 finalists will be selected from the qualifying entries by a panel of judges.

“After our judges select the best 3-minute videos to be finalists, the public gets to pick the top three winners by voting online,” said Bianchi.

Finalists and winning video entries from the previous three years, as well as complete rules and details on how to enter the contest are available on the SOF website: https://shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/sof-video-contest