I competed for years in poetry slams, where it is taken as a given that "The best poem never wins." That said, it was my experience that the best poet often did, and the great performers consistently scored well.

Writing contests are subjective, but probably less capricious than the contest we enter every time we post an article, hoping to attract enough views to trigger the algorithm that will make it trend.

I like the topics. I'll write about one or more this week, still gathering my thoughts. But any writer who depends on the topic to provide the inspiration is looking in the wrong direction. Inspiration is the air a writer breathes.

Who deserves to win? Define "deserve." You do the work, give it your best shot, you take your chances. I don't like the prize structure, with 60% of the prize money going to a single writer, but it's Medium's money to use as they see fit. If I can garner an HM or two, I'll take that as a win and crow about it.