ATLANTA -- Joshua Mikel's new play Lillian Likes It is the winner of the 2015 Essential Theatre Playwriting Contest.

The annual competition gives Georgia playwrights the opportunity to have their work produced. Lillian Likes It will receive a full production in this summer's Essential Theatre Festival. Mikel also received a cash prize.

"Getting a piece through Essential has become sort of a rite of passage for the Georgia playwright, I think," Mikel said. "I'm equal parts anxious and excited. It's a great opportunity, but I know there's a lot of work to be done between now and then ... I'm hyper excited to see this performed with seasoned actors. It's going to be fun. I'm thrilled!"

Mikel is a six-time published playwright, as well as an actor and music video director. He is a graduate of Florida State University's Theatre and Creative Writing programs. Mikel lives in Conyers.

(WXIA) -- The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has brought back its Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest for 2014.

This year's theme is Plug into Nature, emphasizing the importance of experiencing wildlife and plants firsthand.

All Georgia students in grades kindergarten through 5 are invited to enter the contest. The top 12 winners' posters will be displayed on the DNR's Flickr site and at the Go Fish Education Center in Perry during the first two weeks in May.

Contest entries are due Apr. 16. Three winners will be picked in four categories (kindergarten, grades 1-2, grades 3-4, grade 5).

Visit georgiawildlife.com for more information about the contest.

ATLANTA -- Calling all artists: the AJC Peachtree Road Race T-shirt design contest is now accepting entries.

Designers have until Friday, Feb. 28 to submit their works of art. All entries will be whittled down to five finalists, which will be unveiled on ajc.com/peachtree on Saturday, Mar. 15.

No one will see the winning design until race day, when it will adorn tens of thousands of finishers' T-shirts.

"The AJC Peachtree Road Race T-shirt design contest is a great way to showcase the work of our local artists, and we are always impressed with the entries we receive," Atlanta Track Club interim executive director Sue Payne said in a statement.

Whoever wins the contest receives $1,000, while each of the four finalists gets $100.