When college students write for lecturers, it may well really feel like an project. After they write for an actual function, they’re empowered! Scholar writing contests are a difficult and galvanizing strategy to attempt writing for an genuine viewers—an actual panel of judges—and the potential for prize cash or different incentives. We’ve gathered a listing of one of the best pupil writing contests, and there’s one thing right here for everybody. Put together extremely motivated youngsters in want of an genuine writing mentor, and watch the phrases stream.
2025-2026 Scholar Writing Contests
1. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
With a variety of classes—from crucial essays to science fiction and fantasy—the Scholastic Awards are a mainstay of pupil contests. Every class has its personal guidelines and phrase counts, so make sure to check out the options earlier than you resolve which one is greatest in your college students.
How To Enter
College students in grades 7 to 12, ages 13 and up, might start submitting work in September by importing to an internet account at Scholastic and connecting to their native area. Entry charges are waived for college students in want.
2. YoungArts National Arts Competition
YoungArts presents an annual nationwide competitors within the classes of artistic nonfiction, novel, play or script, poetry, brief story, and spoken phrase. Scholar winners might obtain awards of as much as $10,000 in addition to the possibility to take part in creative improvement with leaders of their fields.
How To Enter
Try the positioning for tips on writing modes, equivalent to brief tales and spoken phrase poetry, and join updates so that you’re prepared when the purposes open.
3. Future Scholar Foundation Short Story Contest
Month-to-month contests, every with completely different themes, provide Amazon present playing cards and publication as awards. It’s open to elementary and center college college students.
How To Enter
Test the positioning every month for the brand new theme. Submissions are due on the twenty eighth of the month.
4. Write the World Writing Competitions
Not solely is Write the World considered one of my favourite locations to search out writing sources, nevertheless it additionally hosts free month-to-month contests with money prizes. There are additionally alternatives for suggestions and plenty of concepts to assist college students get began.
How To Enter
With a pupil account, younger writers draft and submit their work on the web site.
5. National Youth Foundation Programs
This can be a nice likelihood for teenagers to specific themselves with pleasure and energy in quite a lot of competitions.
How To Enter
The principles, prizes, and deadlines range, so try the web site for more information.
6. American Foreign Service National High School Essay Contest
When you’re seeking to assist college students take a deep dive into worldwide relations, historical past, and writing, look no additional than this essay contest. Winners obtain a voyage with the Semester at Sea program and a visit to Washington, D.C.
How To Enter
College students fill out a registration type on-line, and a trainer or sponsor is required. The deadline to enter is March 1, 2026.
7. The Kennedy Center’s Access/VSA Playwright Discovery Program
Every year throughout Nationwide Poetry Month in April, college students can write letters to well-known poets in response to their work. On this interactive contest, all submissions obtain a common letter and certificates, and winners obtain a personalised response from the poet they wrote to. It’s a good way to #TeachLivingPoets, and youngsters get to ask questions in regards to the artistic course of.
How To Enter
Apply on-line by January 7, 2026.
8. John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest
This annual contest invitations college students to jot down about an elected official’s act of political braveness that occurred anytime after 1917, the 12 months Kennedy was born. The winner receives $10,000, and 16 runners-up additionally obtain quite a lot of money prizes.
How To Enter
College students might submit a 700-to-1,000-word essay by means of January 12. The essay should characteristic greater than 5 sources and a full bibliography.
9. WriteCause Competitions
These free quarterly contests settle for quite a lot of written submissions, every based mostly on a distinct quarterly theme. WriteCause additionally offers analysis hyperlinks so college students can be taught in regards to the matters earlier than writing. Open to youngsters ages 13 to 18.
How To Enter
Try the Compete hyperlink for contest data every quarter, and use the web submission type.
10. The Princeton Ten-Minute Play Contest
Searching for pupil writing contests for budding playwrights? This unique competitors, which is open solely to highschool juniors, is judged by the theater school of Princeton College. College students submit brief performs in an effort to win recognition and money prizes of as much as $500. (Be aware: Solely open to eleventh graders.)
How To Enter
College students submit one 10-page play script on-line or by mail. The deadline can be introduced later this 12 months.
11. SPJ/JEA High School Essay Contest
College students reply to an annual immediate in regards to the significance of journalism and compete to win scholarship awards. The brand new subject can be introduced on December 10.
How To Enter
Submit by means of the JEA’s on-line portal with a $5 payment.
12. The New York Times Tiny Memoir Contest
This contest can be a beautiful writing problem, and the New York Occasions consists of a lot of sources and fashions for college students to have the ability to do their greatest work. They’ve even made a classroom poster!
How To Enter
Submissions have to be made electronically by December 3, 2025.
13. The New York Times Student Contest Calendar
For college students who wish to prolong past 100-word memoirs, the New York Occasions additionally offers aggressive alternatives in areas together with images, opinion items, and podcasting.
How To Enter
Discover an space that college students are curious about and take a look at the principles and deadlines on the web site.
14. The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers
The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Younger Writers is open to highschool sophomores and juniors, and the winner receives a full scholarship to a Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop.
How To Enter
Submissions for the prize are accepted electronically from November 1 by means of November 30, 2025.
15. Jane Austen Society Essay Contest
Highschool college students can win as much as $1,000 and publication by getting into an essay on a subject specified by the Jane Austen Society associated to a Jane Austen novel.
How To Enter
Particulars for the 2026 contest can be introduced this fall. Essay size is from six to eight pages, not together with works cited.
16. The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival Contest
The Clean Theatre’s Younger Playwright’s Pageant could be a life-changing expertise. Profitable performs are totally produced, and authors are included within the course of.
How To Enter
Submit on-line or by mail by March 15, 2026.
17. One Teen Story Contest
Fiction writers ages 13 to 19 are eligible to enter a brief story to be revealed on the One Teen Story web site, together with $500 upon publication.
How To Enter
Full the web type and ensure you choose the precise class in your age group.
18. YouthPlays New Voices
Younger writers underneath 18 create new one-act performs for the stage. Winners obtain money awards and publication.
How To Enter
Scroll all the best way down their internet web page for data on the competition, which accepts non-musical performs between 10 and 40 minutes lengthy, submitted electronically. The entry interval opens every year in January.
19. The Ocean Awareness Contest
The 2026 Ocean Consciousness Contest theme—Your Story, Our Ocean—encourages college students to discover the various methods our ocean sustains, protects, and conjures up us. College students are eligible for a variety of financial prizes as much as $1,000.
How To Enter
College students from 11 to 18 years previous might submit work within the classes of artwork, artistic writing, poetry and spoken phrase, movie, interactive media and multimedia, or music and dance, accompanied by a mirrored image. The deadline is June 8, 2026.
20. Harvard Crimson Global Essay Competition
The Harvard Crimson World Essay Competitors (HCGEC) is a digital writing problem designed for formidable highschool college students. Hosted by The Harvard Crimson, a pupil group at Harvard School.
How To Enter
Get a registration type through electronic mail by offering your data on the web site.
21. NCTE Student Writing Awards
The Nationwide Council of Lecturers of English presents a number of pupil writing awards, together with Achievement Awards in Writing (for tenth and eleventh grade college students), Promising Younger Writers (for eighth grade college students), and an award to acknowledge Excellence in Artwork and Literary Magazines.
How To Enter
Deadlines vary from February 15 to July 31. Try NCTE.org for extra particulars.
22. Narrative High School Writing Contest
The immediate for Narrative’s eleventh Annual Writing Contest is “One True Factor.” Tales are restricted to 600 phrases, and youngsters may enter poems of not more than 50 strains. The web site additionally offers completely different concepts and insights to assist college students strategy the immediate.
How To Enter
College students in grades 9 by means of 12 submit their work by means of their trainer, who might submit as much as 10 items. Submissions may be created from January 6 to February 4, 2026.
23. US vs HATE Contests
Have interaction social media–savvy college students with this artistic contest that seeks messages of kindness, inclusivity, and bridge-building.
How To Enter
Test the web site for an informational poster in addition to tips and concepts about how college students can submit their work. Deadline is February 27, 2026.
24. National PTA Reflections Awards
The Nationwide PTA presents quite a lot of awards, together with one for literature, of their annual Reflections Contest. College students of all ages can submit entries on the desired subject to their native PTA Reflections program. From there, winners transfer to the native space, state, and nationwide ranges. Nationwide-level awards embody an $800 prize and a visit to the Nationwide PTA Conference.
How To Enter
This program requires submitting to PTAs who take part in this system. Test your college’s PTA for his or her deadlines.
25. World Historian Student Essay Competition
The World Historian Scholar Essay Competitors is a global contest open to college students enrolled in grades Okay by means of 12 in public, non-public, and parochial faculties, in addition to these in home-study applications. The $500 prize is predicated on an essay that addresses considered one of this 12 months’s two prompts.
How To Enter
College students can submit entries through electronic mail or common mail earlier than the annual deadline of Could 1.
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