When college students write for academics, it may really feel like an project. Once they write for an actual goal, 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 opportunity of prize cash or different incentives. We’ve gathered a listing of the very 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 circulation.
2025-2026 Scholar Writing Contests
1. The Scholastic Artwork & 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 remember to try the choices earlier than you determine which one is greatest to your college students.
How To Enter
College students in grades 7 to 12, ages 13 and up, could start submitting work in September by importing to a web-based account at Scholastic and connecting to their native area. Entry charges are waived for college kids in want.
2. YoungArts Nationwide Arts Competitors
YoungArts affords an annual nationwide competitors within the classes of artistic nonfiction, novel, play or script, poetry, quick story, and spoken phrase. Scholar winners could obtain awards of as much as $10,000 in addition to the prospect to take part in inventive improvement with leaders of their fields.
How To Enter
Try the positioning for pointers on writing modes, similar to quick tales and spoken phrase poetry, and join updates so that you’re prepared when the functions open.
3. Future Scholar Basis Quick Story Contest
Month-to-month contests, every with completely different themes, provide Amazon reward playing cards and publication as awards. It’s open to elementary and center college college students.
How To Enter
Verify 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 certainly one of my favourite locations to seek out writing sources, however it additionally hosts free month-to-month contests with money prizes. There are additionally alternatives for suggestions and many 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. Nationwide Youth Basis Applications
This can be a nice probability for teenagers to specific themselves with pleasure and power in a wide range of competitions.
How To Enter
The principles, prizes, and deadlines range, so try the web site for more information.
6. American International Service Nationwide Excessive Faculty Essay Contest
If you happen to’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 kind on-line, and a instructor or sponsor is required. The deadline to enter is March 1, 2026.
7. The Kennedy Heart’s Entry/VSA Playwright Discovery Program
Annually 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 normal 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 concerning the artistic course of.
How To Enter
Apply on-line by January 7, 2026.
8. John F. Kennedy Profile in Braveness 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 a wide range of money prizes.
How To Enter
College students could submit a 700-to-1,000-word essay by means of January 12. The essay should function greater than 5 sources and a full bibliography.
9. WriteCause Competitions
These free quarterly contests settle for a wide range of written submissions, every based mostly on a special quarterly theme. WriteCause additionally supplies analysis hyperlinks so college students can be taught concerning the subjects 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 kind.
10. The Princeton Ten-Minute Play Contest
On the lookout 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 quick performs in an effort to win recognition and money prizes of as much as $500. (Notice: Solely open to eleventh graders.)
How To Enter
College students submit one 10-page play script on-line or by mail. The deadline will probably be introduced later this 12 months.
11. SPJ/JEA Excessive Faculty Essay Contest
College students reply to an annual immediate concerning the significance of journalism and compete to win scholarship awards. The brand new subject will probably 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 Instances Tiny Memoir Contest
This contest can be a beautiful writing problem, and the New York Instances consists of a number of sources and fashions for college kids to have the ability to do their greatest work. They’ve even made a classroom poster!
How To Enter
Submissions should be made electronically by December 3, 2025.
13. The New York Instances Scholar Contest Calendar
For college students who wish to prolong past 100-word memoirs, the New York Instances additionally supplies aggressive alternatives in areas together with images, opinion items, and podcasting.
How To Enter
Discover an space that college students are fascinated by and take a look at the foundations and deadlines on the web site.
14. The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Younger 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 Evaluation Younger 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 will probably be introduced this fall. Essay size is from six to eight pages, not together with works cited.
16. The Clean Theatre’s Younger Playwrights Competition Contest
The Clean Theatre’s Younger Playwright’s Competition 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 printed on the One Teen Story web site, together with $500 upon publication.
How To Enter
Full the web kind and ensure you choose the precise class to your age group.
18. YouthPlays New Voices
Younger writers below 18 create new one-act performs for the stage. Winners obtain money awards and publication.
How To Enter
Scroll all the way in which 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 Consciousness Contest
The 2026 Ocean Consciousness Contest theme—Your Story, Our Ocean—encourages college students to discover the numerous 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 outdated could 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 International Essay Competitors
The Harvard Crimson International 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 kind through e mail by offering your data on the web site.
21. NCTE Scholar Writing Awards
The Nationwide Council of Academics of English affords 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 Excessive Faculty Writing Contest
The immediate for Narrative’s eleventh Annual Writing Contest is “One True Factor.” Tales are restricted to 600 phrases, and youngsters also can enter poems of not more than 50 traces. The web site additionally supplies completely different concepts and insights to assist college students method the immediate.
How To Enter
College students in grades 9 by means of 12 submit their work by means of their instructor, who could submit as much as 10 items. Submissions could be constructed from January 6 to February 4, 2026.
23. US vs HATE Contests
Interact social media–savvy college students with this artistic contest that seeks messages of kindness, inclusivity, and bridge-building.
How To Enter
Verify the web site for an informational poster in addition to pointers and concepts about how college students can submit their work. Deadline is February 27, 2026.
24. Nationwide PTA Reflections Awards
The Nationwide PTA affords a wide range of awards, together with one for literature, of their annual Reflections Contest. College students of all ages can submit entries on the required subject to their native PTA Reflections program. From there, winners transfer to the native space, state, and nationwide ranges. Nationwide-level awards embrace 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. Verify your college’s PTA for his or her deadlines.
25. World Historian Scholar Essay Competitors
The World Historian Scholar Essay Competitors is a global contest open to college students enrolled in grades Ok by means of 12 in public, personal, and parochial colleges, in addition to these in home-study applications. The $500 prize relies on an essay that addresses certainly one of this 12 months’s two prompts.
How To Enter
College students can submit entries through e mail or common mail earlier than the annual deadline of Might 1.
