Opportunities for Young Writers: Part I, Contests
Below is a list writing contests for high school aged writers, but keep in mind entering competitions isn't everything! Being a writer is, above all, about writing, and as young writers, the most important thing you can do for your writing is to read and write more.
Aboriginal Arts and Stories Competition
The Adroit Prizes for Poetry and Prose
Annual Mark Twain House & Museum’s Royal Nonesuch Humor Writing Contest
Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards
Bennington College Young Writers Awards
The Blueshift Journal’s Brutal Nation Prizes
Brain Mills Press Student Poetry Contest
Carl Sanburg Student Poetry Contest
Center for Humanity Writing, Art, and Film Contest
Chapman University Holocaust Art and Writing Contest
The Claremont Review’s Annual Writing and Art Contest
The Claudia Ann Seaman Awards For Young Writers
Climate Fiction Short Story Contest
The Davidson Fellows Scholarship
Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award
Gannon University National High School Poetry Contest
Geek Partnership Society Writing Contest
Gigantic Sequins’ Teen Sequins Feature
The Glazner Prize for Creative Writing
Hollins University Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest
IGGY and Litro Young Writers' Prize
“It’s All Write!” Teen Writing Contest
Johns Hopkins University Creative Minds Poetry Contest
Johns Hopkins University Creative Minds Fiction Contest
The Keats-Shelley Young Romantics Prize
Lake Superior State University High School Short Story Prize
Louise Louis / Emily F. Bourne Student Award
Manningham Trust Student Poetry Contest
Maine Magazine Statewide Writing Contest
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society
NCTE Awards for Superior Writing
The New York Times’ Student Contest
The Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku and Senryu Competition
Norm Strung Youth Writing Awards
The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers
The Penguin Random House Creative Writing Competition
Princeton University Poetry Contest for High School Students
Princeton University Ten Minute Play Contest
Rider University Annual High School Writing Contest
River of Words Art and Poetry Contest
Robert Frost International Poetry Contest for Children and Teens
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards (regional deadlines may vary)
Skipping Stones Youth Honor Awards
Smith College High School Poetry Prize
Teen Vogue Lit Club Writing Contest
The Submerging Writer Fellowship
The Ted Hughes Young Poet Awards
The University of Idaho Hemingway Festival High School Writing Contest
Virginia B. Ball Creative Writing Scholarship
The William Faulkner William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition
Worldwide Plays Festival Competition
Writing for Peace Young Writers Contest
Young Authors Competition of Columbia College Chicago
Youth for Human Rights Creative Competitions
