Writing Contests 2016-2017

   

The Apprentice Writer/Susquehanna University  

Deadline: Jan-March 2016 (Check Web site for current deadline)

Grades:  9-12

Entry:  fiction, memoir, personal essay, photography, and or poetry for publication

Info: www.apprenticewriter.com

   

The Atlantic & College Board Writing Prize  

Deadline: February 2017 (Check Web site for 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  

   

Balticon 50 Young Writers' Contest Rules  

Deadline: March 31, 2017

Grades: Ages 14-18

Entry: 2,500 words in the field of science fiction, fantasy

Awards: $150, $100, and $50

Info: http://www.baltimoreculture.org/blog/2015/11/30/balticon-young-writers%E2%80%99-contest#.WC29JXkUXcu

 

Bennington Young Writers Awards  

Deadline: Nov. 1, 2015

Grades: 10-12 (sponsored by a high school teacher)

Entries: 1550 words of poetry, fiction or nonfiction

Awards: $500, $250

Info: www.bennington.edu/events/young-writers-awards  

 

Creative Minds Fiction Contest  

Deadline: Thursday, March 16, 2017, 5 p.m.

Grades: 18 and under

Entries: Maximum of two stories; stories must not exceed 1,000 words

Awards: Publication in Johns Hopkins Imagine  magazine

http://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/guidelines/contest/creativeminds.html

 

Flag House Scholarship Essay  

Deadline:  March 2017 (check Web site)

Grade:  12

Entry:  250-word essay

Award:  $1,812 for college and read essay aloud at Flag House June 14, 2015

Info:  www.flaghouse.org

 

Gaithersburg Book Festival  

Deadline: Feb. 17, 2017

Grades: 9-12

Entry: High school students from across the Washington Metropolitan Area are invited to submit short stories to the Gaithersburg Book Festival Short Story Contest. To participate, your story must be no longer than 1,000 words.

Awards: $100, $75, and $50 for first, second and third

Info:  http://gaithersburgbookfestival.org/gbf-programs/short-story-contest/

 

Jane Austen Society of North America Essay Contest  

Deadline: May 2017 (Check Web site for deadline)

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: Check Web site for 2017 deadline

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. 2, 2016

Grades: 9- 12

Entry: Write to the author of a book expressing how that book affected you personally.

Awards: Honored at state awards ceremony

Info: http://read.gov/letters/

 

National Council of Teachers of English  

Achievement Awards in Writing  

Deadline: Nov. 28, 2016 - Feb. 24, 2017

Grades: 11 (must be nominated by teacher)

Entries: Two written submissions of best writing (poetry, narrative, argument, expository) plus themed writing that addresses the given topic

Info: www.ncte.org/awards/student/aa

   

Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers  

Deadline:  Nov. 1 -30, 2016

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 Poetry Contest  

Deadline: Nov. 27, 2016

Grades: 11

Awards: $500, $250, $100

Info: http://arts.princeton.edu/about/opportunities/high-school-contests/poetry-contest/

 

Princeton Ten-Minute Play Contest  

Deadline: March 31, 2016 (Check Web site for 2017 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. 4, 2017

Grades: 9 - 12 (must be nominated by a teacher)

Entries: Describe and analyze an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official who served during or after 1917 , the year John F. Kennedy was born. Include an analysis of the obstacles, risks, and consequences associated with the act. The essay may concern an issue at the local, state, national, or international level. 700 to 1000 words

Awards: First place $20,000, plus cash awards for top 25 essays

Info: www.jfklibrary.org/Education/Profile-in-Courage-Essay-Contest.aspx

 

Scholastic Art and Writing Awards  

Deadline: Wed., Dec. 14, 2015

Grades: 7 - 12

Entry: Critical essay, dramatic script, flash fiction, humor, journalism, novel writing, personal essay and memoir, poetry, science fiction and fantasy, short story

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: Postmarked April 14, 2017

Grades: 11- 12

Entry:  Essay, at least two, no more than 3 double spaced typed pages, on specific literary topic  (title for 2017 contest is  The Tempest )

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 Youth Honor Awards Program  

Deadline: June 25, 2016 (Check Web site for 2017 deadline)

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

   

State of Maryland International Reading Association Council  

Young Authors Contest  

Deadline: Jan. 9, 2017

Grades: 9- 12

Entry: Poem (25 to 300 words) or short story (800 to 2,000 words)

Awards: Prizes

Info: http://www.somirac.org/young-authors.html  

   

U.S. Institute of Peace National High School Essay Contest  

Deadline: March 15, 2017

Grades: 9 - 12

Entry: Imagine you are a member of the U.S. Foreign Service assigned to Turkey, Afghanistan, Kenya or Iraq and provide recommendations to address the refugee crisis facing the country in which you are now posted. See web site for more details. 1,000 to 1,250 words.

Awards: The winner of the contest will receive a $2,500 cash prize, an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. to meet the secretary of state and USIP leadership, and a full-tuition paid voyage with Semester at Sea upon the student's enrollment at an accredited university. The runner-up will receive a $1,250 cash prize and a full scholarship to participate in the International Diplomacy Program of the National Student Leadership Conference

Infor: http://www.usip.org/AFSAEssayContest