Writing Contests

Writing Contests
The Atlantic & College Board Writing Prize
Deadline: Feb. 28, 2015 (Check Web site mid-December for updated deadline)
Grades: 9-12
Entry: Analyze an influential work of art
Awards: One $5,000 award plus publication in The Atlantic; six $2,500 awards
https://www.collegeboard.org/writing-prize
Gaithersburg Book Festival
Deadline: Feb. 19, 2016, midnight ET
Grades: 9-12
Entry: 1,000 word essay inspired by one of three given photographs
Awards: $100, $50, and $25 for first, second and third
Info: http://gaithersburgbookfestival.org/gbf-programs/short-story-contest/
J. David Grey Young Writers’ Workshop
Workshop: September 2016
Subject: Take a look at Emma with the Jane Austen Society of North America
Grades: 8-11
Awards: Cash prizes plus a chance to win an invitation to an event at JASNA’s 2016 conference
Info: [email protected]
Princeton Poetry Contest
Deadline: Nov. 27, 2015
Grades: 11
Awards: $500, $250, $100
Info: http://arts.princeton.edu/about/opportunities/high-school-contests/poetry-contest/
Stage of Life Twitter Contest
Deadline: Ongoing, monthly
Grade: 9-12
Entry: Creative 140 character Tweet
Award: Best Tweet each month receives gift card from education sponsors
Info: http://www.stageoflife.com/Writing_Contests/TwitterWritingContest.aspx
The Apprentice Writer/Susquehanna University
Deadline: March 10, 2015 (Check Web site for current deadline)
Grades: 9-12
Entry: poems, stories, and personal essays
Info: http://www.apprenticewriter.com/
Balticon 50 Young Writers’ Contest Rules
Deadline: March 31, 2016
Grades: Ages 14-18
Entry: 2,500 words in the field of science fiction, fantasy
Awards: $150, $100, and $50
Info: www.balticon.org
Bennington Young Writers Awards
Deadline: Nov. 1, 2015
Grades: 10-12 (sponsored by a high school teacher)
Entries: Poetry, Fiction or Nonfiction
Awards: $500, $250
http://www.bennington.edu/NewsEvents/YoungWritersAwards.aspx
Flag House Scholarship Essay
Deadline: Friday, March 25, 2016, 4 p.m.
Grade: 12
Entry: 250-word essay on Grace Wisher, indentured servant to Mary Pickersgill
Award: $1,812 for college and read essay aloud at Flag House June 14, 2015
Info: www.flaghouse.org
Jane Austen Society of North America Essay Contest
Deadline: May 15, 2016
Grades: High school, college and graduate students
Entry: Discuss how the theme of education shapes the plot, develops characters or reflects the views of the period.
Awards: $1,000, $500, and $250 scholarships
Info: http://www.jasna.org/essaycontest/index.html
Junior Achievement Essay Competition
Deadline: Dec. 8, 2015
Grades: 9- 12, Greater Washington Area
Entry: 1,000 – 1,500 word essay
Awards: Student scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 (grand prize): What does the American Dream mean to
you and is it still thriving in Greater Washington?
Info: http://myja.org/students/essay/
Letters about Literature (Center for the Book in the Library of Congress)
Deadline: Dec. 4, 2015
Grades: 4- 12
Entry: Write to the author of a book expressing how that book changed your view of yourself or the world
Awards: Honored at state awards ceremony
Info: http://www.mdhc.org/programs/maryland-center-for-the-book/letters-about-literature
National Council of Teachers of English
Achievement Awards in Writing
Deadline: Nov. 20, 2015 – Feb. 12, 2016
Grades: 11 (must be nominated by teacher)
Entries: Best writing (poetry, narrative, argument, expository) plus themed writing that addresses the given topic
Info: www.ncte.org/awards/writing
NCTE Norman Mailer Student Writing Awards
High School Creative Non-Fiction Writing Award Competition
Deadline: April 30, 2015 (Check Web site for current deadline)
Grades: 9-12
Awards: $2,500, plus travel and lodging to attend National Award Ceremony
Info: http://www.ncte.org/awards/student/nmwa
Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers
Deadline: Online submission Nov. 1 -30
Grades: 10 and 11
Entry: One previously unpublished poem
Awards: Full scholarship to the Kenyon Review Young Writers’ Workshop; poem published in The Kenyon Review
Info: http://www.kenyonreview.org/contests/patricia-grodd
Princeton Ten-Minute Play Contest
Deadline: March 31, 2015 (Check Web site for current deadline)
Grades: 11
Awards: $500, $250, $100
Info: http://arts.princeton.edu/about/opportunities/high-school-contests/ten-minute-play-contest/
Profile in Courage Essay Contest
Deadline: Jan. 6, 2016
Grades: 9 – 12 (must be nominated by a teacher)
Entries: Write an essay on an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official who served during or after 1956. 700 to
1000 words
Awards: First place $10,000, second place $1,000, five finalists $500
Info: www.jfklibrary.org/Education/Profile-in-Courage-Essay-Contest.aspx
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
Deadline: Wed., Dec. 16, 2015
Grades: 7 - 12
Entry: Multiple categories
Submission Fee: $5 for single entry, $20 for portfolio (fee waiver available)
Awards: Cash and scholarships
Info: http://www.artandwriting.org/
Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest
Deadline: April, 2016 (topic posted on website July 2015)
Grades: 11- 12
Entry: Essay, no more than 3 typed pages, on specific literary topic (title for 2016 contest is Little Women)
Awards: Five awards of $1,000 each to be used towards winners’ higher education expenses. School receives Signet
Classics Library.
Info: http://www.penguin.com/services-academic/essayhome/
Skipping Stones Magazine and the Asian Celebration Haiku Contest
Deadline: Feb. 5, 2015 (Check Web site for current deadline)
Grades: All grades
Entry: Three-line poem, can be accompanied by nature art
Awards: Winning entry is published in magazine; complimentary copy of issue.
Info: http://www.skippingstones.org/edited%20HaikuContest.2013.pdf
Skipping Stones Youth Honor Awards Program
Deadline: June 25, 2016
Grades: Ages 7 to 17
Entry: Original writing (essays, interviews, poems, plays, short stories, etc.) and art (photos, paintings, cartoons, etc.)
that promotes multicultural, international and nature awareness
Awards: Publication in magazine, free subscription, five free books
Info: http://www.skippingstones.org/youthhonor-02.htm
Stage of Life National Teen Writing Contest
Deadline: Ongoing, monthly
Grade: 9-12
Entry: 500 words or less, response to monthly prompt
Award: Gift card from education sponsors
Info: http://www.stageoflife.com/Writing_Contests.aspx
State of Maryland International Reading Association Council
Young Authors Contest
Deadline: Jan. 8, 2015
Grades: 9- 12
Entry: Short story/ essay or poem
Awards: Prizes
Info: http://www.somirac.org/info.cfm/Young-Authors-Contest-Resources