Winners Announced:
Google Cloud NEXT '26 is kicking off today (April 22) and runs through April 24 – we're launching this new writing challenge right alongside it!
Running through April 29, the Google Cloud NEXT Writing Challenge is your invitation to explore, experiment, and write about what has you most excited from this year's releases, keynotes, and sessions – tune into the livestream and dig into the announcements as they drop.
Tune In to Google Cloud NEXT '26
Catch everything as it unfolds live here on DEV, from April 22 - 24:
- 📺 Opening Keynote Livestream: Live today (April 22) at 9:00 AM PT
- 👩💻 Developer Keynote: Tune in tomorrow (April 23) at 10:30 AM PT
We'll be streaming both keynotes directly on the DEV homepage.
In addition to the keynotes, we'll be streaming developer sessions all throughout the two days, so keep an eye on the DEV homepage across the full run of Google Cloud NEXT!
Judging Criteria
- Clarity & Quality: Is it well-written, engaging, and easy to follow?
- Usefulness: Will the community learn something or be inspired by reading it?
- Depth & Insight: Does it go beyond surface-level summary to offer a genuine perspective?
Prizes
Five winners will each receive:
- $200 USD
- DEV++ Membership
- Exclusive DEV badge
All participants will a valid submission will receive a completion badge.
Important Dates
- April 22: Google Cloud NEXT Writing Challenge begins!
- April 23: Developer Keynote at 10:30 AM PDT
- April 24: Google Cloud NEXT wraps!
- April 29: Submissions due at 11:59 PM PDT
- May 7: Winners Announced
We can't wait to read what you discover. Questions about the challenge? Ask them below.
Good luck and happy writing!
Top comments (41)
Good luck everyone!
Hi!
Based on April 29 2026, 11:59 PM PDT submission deadline, it should still show Live for a few more minutes. But Challenge is showing Ended.
Am I missing something?
Hm, thanks for flagging a potential bug in our countdown timer. We'll be looking at the actual timestamp of when the post was published.
Based on the April 29 2026, 11:59 PM PDT submission deadline, I submitted my write-up on Agent Platform Surviving Cascading Failures and Runaway Cloud Bills before the deadline, but was confused after I saw the challenge page showing the ENDED status.
That's why I thought I better notify it here!
Yup, I can see that you posted 15 minutes for the deadline. Sorry for the confusion.
Cool!
Thanks for the confirmation.
Great. Thanks!
"Just published my entry for the challenge! Looking forward to the results. Here is the link:"[dev.to/ahmed_adelabdulwahab_320/fr..."
Very exciting challenge! Especially since Google's NEXT raised some great points around authentication of agents on mcp. Worth rewatching. Already submitted my contribution:)
Super excited to join this challenge! Google Cloud NEXT '26 has so many exciting announcements to explore. Can't wait to dive in and share my take with the community!
I just published my submission exploring an uncomfortable truth from NEXT '26: the end of the 'App Era.' 🧠
I dive into how our roles are shifting from hard-coding logic to Behavioral Design via:
🔗 Check it out here: We’re Not Building Apps Anymore
Thank you so much to the team for organising this. These DEV challenges seem quite fun and interesting to work on.
Here's my post for this challenge:
There was actually a Fifth Crew Member on Artemis II and it was Gemini Enterprise
Not literally a fifth astronaut 🙂
But the idea is this: AI systems like Gemini Enterprise are starting to act as silent partners in high-stakes environments like space missions.
That shift is what fascinates me.
Please feel free to read, comment your thoughts and drop a reaction to the post, thank you and good luck to everyone :)
This was my opening and first compitition,I hope I can perform well
@thisisryanswift please bring us news from on the ground 😄
As a first-year CSE student, I was honestly a bit hesitant to participate at first because I’m still new to cloud computing. But this challenge motivated me to explore Google Cloud NEXT ’26 and share my beginner perspective. You can push my thoughts in my post - dev.to/ritika_yadav_81284c1fe510/m...
It’s really encouraging to see a community where even beginners can learn and contribute. Looking forward to reading more posts and improving along the way!
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