PET PHOTO CONTEST FUNDRAISER
Dogs, cats, birds, fish, ferrets, horses, rats, turtles, snakes, oh my!
Do you have a pet? Know a pet? Love a pet? Submit their photo(s) for our Pet Photo Contest Fundraiser! Submissions are $10 per photo and ALL proceeds directly support Thurber House.
We’re accepting pet photo submissions in the following three categories:
Funniest pet photo
Best reading and/or writing-themed pet photo
Most Thurber-esque pet photo (interpret this however you wish: recreate a James Thurber drawing or story, show us your “Dog That Bit People,” or submit your pet doing some other creative representation of James Thurber’s work or life!)
Three winning photos will be chosen, one per category. You can submit up to 10 photos of your pet(s) (or a friend’s/family member’s/coworker’s pet(s)—with permission, of course!) in one, two, or all three categories. Pets can be of any living animal species (dogs, cats, birds, fish, ferrets, horses, rats, turtles, snakes, etc.)—sorry, no pet rocks!
CONTEST SUBMISSION DEADLINE
The contest submission deadline is April 6, 2025 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
Note: our submission system requires users to create an account, and we can’t disable this feature.
GRAND PRIZES
Wait, there’s more! Three winning photos will be chosen, one per category. If you’re a winner, you will receive a truly one-of-a-kind prize—an original, signed cartoon drawing of your pet by famed New Yorker cartoonists Liza Donnelly and/or Michael Maslin. Yes, you heard right—these veteran cartoonists, who have been drawing for The New Yorker for a combined 85+ years, will draw YOUR pet if you win!
ABOUT THE CARTOONISTS
Photo by Elena Rossini
Liza Donnelly
Liza Donnelly is a writer and award-winning cartoonist with The New Yorker, where she has been drawing cartoons and writing about culture and politics for 40 years. She has also contributed to CBS News, CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, among others. Liza has spoken at TEDx, SXSW, the United Nations (in New York and Geneva), universities, and many more. She has been a Cultural Envoy for the US State Department, traveling around the world to speak about freedom of speech, cartoons, and women’s rights. In 2016, Liza was the first cartoonist to be granted access to live draw at the Academy Awards and on the red carpet, which she still does to this day. Liza has also covered presidential debates, the State of The Union, the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Grammys, the BET Awards, the Tonys, the Olympics, the World Cup, the Super Bowl, literary events, and more. A multi-award winner, she was honored with a solo exhibition in 2020 at the Norman Rockwell Museum.
Photo by Michael Maslin
Michael Maslin
Michael Maslin has been a cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine for almost 50 years. He is the author of Peter Arno: The Mad Mad World of The New Yorker’s Greatest Cartoonist, as well as four collections of his work, published by Simon & Schuster. With his wife and fellow New Yorker cartoonist, Liza Donnelly, he co-edited one collection of drawings and co-authored three collections, including Cartoon Marriage: Adventures in Love and Matrimony by The New Yorker's Cartooning Couple. Michael’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including Harper’s Magazine, The New York Times, Mother Jones, TIME, The Saturday Evening Post, Harvard Business Review, and more.
Note: our submission system requires users to create an account, and we can’t disable this feature.
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You can submit up to 10 photos of your pet(s) (or a friend’s/family member’s/coworker’s pet(s)—with permission, of course).
Pets can be of any living animal species (sorry, no pet rocks).
You may submit each photo for one, two, or all three categories. One winner will be chosen per category, for a total of three winning photos.
There is no monetary prize for winning; this is a fundraiser for Thurber House.
If you are selected as a winner, you will receive an original, signed cartoon drawing of your pet by either Liza Donnelly or Michael Maslin, or a collab between the artists.*
*Anyone may submit for the contest regardless of where the pet owner lives, but physical contest prizes cannot be given to winners who do not have or cannot designate a valid United States address that is served by the United States Postal Service, but any such winner may be able to receive a digital drawing instead.
By submitting photo(s), you warrant that you have full permission to enter the photo(s)/pet(s) in the contest and that all of the pets’ owners give Thurber House permission to share the pet photo(s) on our social media, eblasts, and/or website.
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For any questions that are not answered here, please email us at thurberhouse@thurberhouse.org.
‣ When will the winners be announced? Mid-April 2025.
‣ What is the cost to submit? $10 per photo. This is a fundraiser, and ALL proceeds go to Thurber House.
‣ Can I submit even if I don’t live in the Columbus, Ohio area? Yes! Anyone who can provide a United States mailing address that’s served by the United States Postal Service can submit for the contest. If you live abroad, you can still submit, as long as you can designate a USA address to receive your drawing if you win (although any such winner may be able to receive a digital drawing instead).
‣ Can I submit a photo for more than one contest category? Yes, you can submit each photo for one, two, or all three categories!
‣ Can I submit multiple photos of the same pet? Yes, but no more than 10 photos.
‣ Can I submit 10 photos of different pets? You can submit a maximum of 10 photos of either the same pet or 10 photos that are a mix of different pets, but no more than 10 photos total per entrant.
‣ Can I submit photos that have multiple pets in them? Yes! If you win and you would like the drawing to include all pictured pets, we will do our best to fulfill this request; however, we can’t guarantee that all pictured pets will be represented in the drawing.
‣ Can I submit someone else’s pet(s)? Yes, as long as you warrant that you have the pet owner’s permission to submit the photos of their pet(s) and that the pet owner consents to allow Thurber House to share the pet photo(s) on our social media, eblasts, and/or website.
‣ How/when do I get my prize drawing if I win? If you win and you live in or near Columbus, Ohio, we can arrange pick up or drop off of your drawing. If you don’t, your prize will be mailed to you. We can’t ship prizes overseas—so if you win and you live abroad, you will need to designate a USA address to receive your drawing or we may be able to provide a digital drawing instead. You will receive your prize in May or as soon as possible thereafter, once Liza and/or Michael have drawn it!
‣ Can I submit for the contest without creating an account? No, sorry. Our submission system requires users to have an account, and we can’t disable this feature.