When students write for teachers, it can feel like an assignment. When they write for a real purpose, they are empowered! We’ve gathered a list of the best student writing contests, and there’s something here for all ages and interests—fiction, poetry, nonfiction essays, plays, and more!
How To Use Student Writing Contests in the Classroom
Student writing contests are a challenging and inspiring way to try writing for an authentic audience—a real panel of judges. They also offer the possibility of prize money or publication, both of which are very exciting for writers of any age! Here are some tips for using writing contests to motivate young authors in your classroom.
Use contest prompts for writing units
Getting ready to start a unit on writing essays, poetry, short stories, or other genres? Look for contests that specifically cater to those types of writing, and then base your writing lessons around entries for the contest. Even if students ultimately decide not to submit their work, they’ll get practice writing for a specific purpose and audience and polishing their work for the wider world to see.
Give students choices
Let students research possible contests and choose the ones that interest them most. And don’t require all students to submit their work—the goal is to produce work that’s worthy of being submitted in the first place. It’s up to them to decide whether or not they want to enter a contest.
Read winning entries as mentor texts
This is one of the key ways that authors can create compositions that may actually win prizes. Examine winning entries from previous years for style, tone, voice, and other factors. Spend some time analyzing these winners together, then use what you’ve learned to help students tailor their own writing to meet the expectations and requirements of the contest.
Revise contest entries in “writers room” sessions
Revision is a key part of writing, and it shouldn’t happen in a vacuum! Set aside class time for students to share their work, receive peer feedback, and work on revising and editing their writing. Kids learn to offer and accept constructive feedback from their peers, not just teachers—something they’ll be expected to do regularly as adults working jobs in the future.
Celebrate submissions, not just prizewinners
Most students who enter writing contests won’t win a prize—that’s just a fact. That makes it all the more important to recognize kids who feel confident enough in a composition to submit it at all! Share these submissions with a wider school or community audience, and let students know how proud you are of all their hard work, no matter the outcome!
Best Student Writing Contests for 2026-2027
These writing contests offer the best prizes or rewards and truly encourage heartfelt, meaningful manuscripts from kids and teens.
Access/VSA Playwright Discovery Program (The Kennedy Center)
Each year, outstanding disabled writers from around the world are selected to participate in the Access/VSA Playwright Discovery Program. In addition to receiving financial stipends, these talented young writers enrolled in secondary school (generally ages 14 to 19) participate in a script-development program exploring careers in the theater, film, and television industries through exclusive workshops.
How To Enter: Applications for the 2027 program are due Thursday, November 19, 2026. Visit the website to apply.
Bennington Young Writers Awards
The Bennington College Young Writers Awards celebrate exceptional high school students in grades 9 to 12 whose writing demonstrates originality, curiosity, craft, and creative ambition. Open to students worldwide, this contest is free to enter and offers cash prizes of up to $2,000, recognition, publication, or showcase opportunities, and scholarships for students who enroll at Bennington College.
How To Enter: Visit the website to submit your entry. Submissions are due by November 1, 2026.
NCTE Student Writing Awards
The National Council of Teachers of English offers several student writing awards, including Achievement Awards in Writing (for 10th and 11th grade students), Promising Young Writers (for 8th grade students), and an award to recognize Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines.
How To Enter: Deadlines vary throughout the year. Visit the website for more details.
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
With a wide range of categories—from critical essays to science fiction and fantasy—the Scholastic Awards are a mainstay of student contests. Each category has its own rules and word counts, so be sure to check out the options before you decide which one is best for your students.
How To Enter: Students in grades 7 to 12, ages 13 and up, may begin submitting work in September by uploading to an online account at Scholastic and connecting to their local region. Entry fees are waived for students in need.
VFW Voice of Democracy Youth Scholarships
Enter to win a share of more than $1.6 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the Voices of Democracy patriotic audio-essay program. The national first-place winner receives a $35,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college, or vocational/technical school. The complete list of other national scholarships range up to $21,000, with the first-place winner from each VFW Department (state) winning a scholarship of at least $1,000. The VFW also sponsors a writing contest for middle school students with prizes up to $5,000.
How To Enter: Find entry forms, complete rules, and deadlines on the website.
YoungArts National Arts Competition
YoungArts offers an annual national competition in the categories of creative nonfiction, novel, play or script, poetry, short story, and spoken word. Student winners may receive awards of up to $10,000 as well as the chance to participate in artistic development with leaders in their fields.
How To Enter: Check out the site for guidelines on writing modes, such as short stories and spoken word poetry, and sign up for updates so you’re ready when the applications open.
More 2026-2027 Student Writing Contests
Adobe and NBCU Academy’s The Edit Digital Storytelling Challenge
Part newsroom, part media lab, The Edit invites students to create a 30–90-second video news report on a wellness topic (physical, mental, financial, social, or sports). Working in teams with clear roles, students research, script, film, and edit in Adobe Express while practicing fact-based, responsible reporting and strong communication skills. Teachers can compete for prizes from NBCU Academy and Adobe, including GoPro equipment and more.
How To Enter: U.S. teachers with students in grades 6–12 can register a classroom for free. After registering, you’ll get access to The Edit Portal resources (guides, tips, and tutorials) to support students through prep, production, and editing, then submit final videos to compete for prizes and potential features.
American Foreign Service National High School Essay Contest
If you’re looking to help students take a deep dive into international relations, history, and writing, look no further than this essay contest. Winners receive a voyage with the Semester at Sea program and a trip to Washington, D.C.
How To Enter: Check the website for deadlines, and fill out a registration form online.
The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival Contest
The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwright’s Festival can be a life-changing experience. Winning plays are fully produced, and authors are included in the process.
How To Enter: Submit online or by mail by March 15, 2027.
Blue Planet Awareness Contest
The 2027 contest theme is Nature of Truth: Environmentalism in an Age of Disinformation. Students are eligible for a wide range of monetary prizes up to $1,000.
How To Enter: Students from 11 to 18 years old may submit work in the categories of art, creative writing, poetry and spoken word, film, interactive media and multimedia, or music and dance, accompanied by a reflection. The deadline is June 7, 2027.
The Concord Review Emerson Prize and Fitzhugh Prize
The Emerson Prize is awarded annually to students published in The Concord Review during the previous academic year who have shown outstanding promise in history at the high school level. Winners receive $1,000. The Concord Review also awards the Fitzhugh Prize ($5,000), named after the founder and editor of the journal, Will Fitzhugh.
How To Enter: Submit a history paper for publication consideration to The Concord Review. Check the website for specifics.
EngineerTeen Writing Contest
EngineerTeen is a platform dedicated to ensuring the future engineering workforce is truly representative of the nation. Their writing contest includes categories for grades 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 to 9, and 10 to 12, with cash prizes up to $1,000. The 2027 theme is “How To Train Your Robot.”
How To Enter: Complete the submission form online by February 1, 2027.
Jane Austen Society Essay Contest
High school students can win up to $1,000 and publication by entering an essay on a topic specified by the Jane Austen Society related to a Jane Austen novel.
How To Enter: Watch the website for 2027 contest details.
John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest
This annual contest invites students to write about an elected official’s act of political courage that occurred anytime after 1917, the year Kennedy was born. The winner receives $10,000, and 16 runners-up also receive a variety of cash prizes.
How To Enter: Students may submit a 700-to-1,000-word essay through January 11, 2027.
Harvard Crimson Global Essay Competition
The Harvard Crimson Global Essay Competition (HCGEC) is a virtual writing challenge designed for ambitious high school students. It’s hosted by The Harvard Crimson, a student organization at Harvard College.
How To Enter: Register on the website to receive this year’s prompt in January.
Narrative High School Writing Contest
Stories are limited to 600 words, and kids can also enter poems of no more than 50 lines. The website also provides different ideas and insights to help students approach the prompt. Students can receive cash prizes of up to $500, plus they’ll be published in Narrative magazine!
How To Enter: Students in grades 9 through 12 submit their work through their teacher, who may submit up to 10 pieces. The next submission window opens in January 2027.
National PTA Reflections Awards
The National PTA offers a variety of awards, including one for literature, in their annual Reflections Contest. Students of all ages can submit entries on the specified topic to their local PTA Reflections program. From there, winners move to the local area, state, and national levels. National-level awards include an $800 prize and a trip to the National PTA Convention.
How To Enter: This program requires submitting to PTAs who participate in the program. Check your school’s PTA for their deadlines.
National Youth Foundation Programs
This is a great chance for kids to express themselves with joy and strength in a variety of competitions.
How To Enter: The rules, prizes, and deadlines vary, so check out the website for more info.
The New York Times Student Contest Calendar
For students who want to extend beyond 100-word memoirs, the New York Times also provides competitive opportunities in areas including photography, opinion pieces, and podcasting.
How To Enter: Find an area that students are interested in and check out the rules and deadlines at the website.
The New York Times Tiny Memoir Contest
This contest is also a wonderful writing challenge, and the New York Times includes lots of resources and models for students to be able to do their best work. They’ve even made a classroom poster!
How To Enter: The current submission cycle ends October 28, 2026. Bookmark the page to check back for future contest cycles.
One Teen Story Contest
Fiction writers ages 13 to 19 are eligible to enter a short story to be published on the One Story website, along with $500 upon publication.
How To Enter: Complete the online form by December 1, 2026.
Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers
The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers is open to high school 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 each year from November 1 through November 30.
Princeton Ten-Minute Play Contest
Looking for student writing contests for budding playwrights? This exclusive competition, which is open only to high school juniors, is judged by the theater faculty of Princeton University. Students submit short plays in an effort to win recognition and cash prizes of up to $500. (Note: Only open to 11th graders.)
How To Enter: Students submit one 10-page play script online or by mail. Submissions open in January 2027 and the deadline for submission will be announced later this year.
River of Words Competition
Since 1995, River of Words has encouraged young people to explore and savor the watersheds where they live, and trained educators to guide them with inspiration and passion. Their free, annual international youth poetry and art contest inspires students ages 5 to 19 to translate their observations into creative expression, with prizes available in a variety of categories.
How To Enter: Visit the website and subscribe to the newsletter for updates on future competition deadlines.
SPJ/JEA High School Essay Contest
Students respond to an annual prompt about the importance of journalism and compete to win scholarship awards. The new topic will be announced on December 10.
How To Enter: Submit through the JEA’s online portal.
US vs HATE Contests
Engage social media–savvy students with this creative contest that seeks messages of kindness, inclusivity, and bridge-building.
How To Enter: Check the website for an informational poster as well as guidelines and ideas about how students can submit their work. Check the website for the next contest cycle, expected to begin in early 2027.
World Historian Student Essay Competition
The World Historian Student Essay Competition is an international contest open to students enrolled in grades K through 12 in public, private, and parochial schools, as well as those in home-study programs. The $500 prize is based on an essay that addresses one of this year’s two prompts.
How To Enter: Students can submit entries via email or regular mail before the annual deadline of May 1.
WriteCause Competitions
These free quarterly contests accept a variety of written submissions, each based on a different quarterly theme. WriteCause also provides research links so students can learn about the topics before writing. Open to kids ages 13 to 18.
How To Enter: Check out the Compete link for contest information each quarter, and use the online submission form.
Write the World Writing Competitions
Not only is Write the World one of our favorite places to find writing resources, but it also hosts free monthly contests with cash prizes.
How To Enter: With a student account, young writers draft and submit their work on the website.
YouthPlays New Voices
Young writers under 18 create new one-act non-musical plays between 10 and 40 minutes long. Winners receive cash awards and publication.
How To Enter: The entry period opens each year in January and closes on May 1.
Don’t forget to grab your bundle of free writing paper templates!
This bundle has 56 free printable pages to give students a jump-start on their next writing assignment. Follow the link below to grab yours today!