Calling all budding authors, poets, and storytellers in your classes. Writing competitions are a great way to motivate students to write. They give students a real world context for writing and also give students the chance to earn prizes.
This post is your one-stop shop for student writing competitions in 2024, giving your students the chance to win exciting prizes and recognition for your students’ work.
Students can unleash their creativity with these diverse competitions:
Fiction & Poetry
All American High School Film Festival: Encourage your students to participate and discover their filmmaking talents. The festival provides a platform for their voices to be heard and their work to be appreciated by a wider audience. This annual film festival offers an incredible opportunity to showcase student talent and creativity on the grand stage of the AMC Empire 25 Theaters in Times Square, New York City.
Princeton 10-minute Play Contest: Showcase your talent in the Princeton University Playwriting Competition judged by esteemed theater faculty. Submit your short play and compete for recognition and cash prizes up to $500! (for 11th-graders only)
Ocean Awareness Contest: Calling all young artists and storytellers (ages 11-18)! Students will use their creativity to explore environmental issues, celebrate climate heroes, and inspire positive change through visual arts, writing, film, performance, or multimedia. Students can submit a piece to compete for cash prizes and special opportunities!
YouthPLAYS Prospective Authors Contest: Young playwrights (19 and under) take note! Students can submit a one-act play to the New Voices competition. They're especially looking for stories that resonate with BIPOC teens and youth.
SCOPE Writing Contests: Scope Magazine, from Scholastic, is brimming with exciting writing contests for students in grades 4-12. Students can show off their talent and win awesome prizes in the process!
The Jacklyn Potter Young Poets Competition: High school students with a passion for poetry can submit their original poem on any topic for a chance to be recognized and published.
The Haiku Society of America's Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku Competition: Calling all haiku enthusiasts in grades 7-12, students can craft a concise and evocative 17-syllable haiku to compete for exciting prizes.
See us, Support Us Art Contest: Children of incarcerated parents can submit artwork, poetry, photos, videos, and more. Submissions are free and the website has a great collection of past winners.
Just Poetry: Calling all high school poets (grades 9-12)! Students can submit their original poems on any topic that sparks their passion and compete for exciting prizes ranging from $100 to $500. Students can show off their writing talent and share their voices with the world! New contests run quarterly, with deadlines in March, June, September, and December. Visit their website for details and start writing today!
Geek Partnership Society Writing Contest: Explore fantastical worlds through fiction, poetry, or comics that delve into science fiction, fantasy, horror, the supernatural, or even alternate history. Students can showcase their creativity and compete for prizes up to $100. Submissions are typically due in July, so visit their website for details and let your imagination take flight!
Essays
The World Historian Student Essay Competition: This international contest welcomes students enrolled in grades K-12 to delve into the fascinating world of history and submit original essays on various historical topics.
AFSA National High School Essay Contest: Over the past 100 years the Foreign Service has faced a multitude of challenges such as world war, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, humanitarian disasters, global pandemics, and economic crises. In a 1,000-1,500-word essay, students will identify what they believe will be the biggest challenge to face the Foreign Service in the future. The essay will describe this challenge and clearly define how American diplomats can help mitigate it.
Jane Austen Essay Contest: Students can unleash their inner Jane Austen and win big! The Jane Austen Society of North America is hosting its annual essay competition, offering high school students the chance to win up to $1,000 in scholarship money.
“Where we are” Photo Essay Contest: Students will show the world around them with this contest from The New York Times! Students are to take photos and tell the story of a unique local group, like a game club, a basketball squad, or even a dog walker. Students will capture their spirit and tell their story through pictures and captions.
New York Times Open Letter Opinion Writing Contest: Imagine writing a powerful letter, just like Martin Luther King Jr., to someone who can make a real difference on an issue students care about. Here's the challenge: students are to select a cause they’re passionate about and write a 450-word letter explaining the issue, why it matters, and urge an impactful person to take action.
Stossel in the Classroom Essay Competition: Calling all student writers (grades 5-12)! Students are to express their voices on one of FOUR exciting essay topics and compete for a chance to win over $12,000 in prizes! Open to students in North America, Hawaii, or U.S. military addresses (ages 10-18).
The Discovery Award: The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Discovery Award provides students in grades 4–12 a unique opportunity to research primary sources and develop outstanding projects that feature unsung heroes who can serve as role models and inspire others to create change.
The Ayn Rand Essay Contest: For almost 40 years, the Ayn Rand Institute has challenged students to explore Rand's novels through essay contests. By analyzing her complex themes and crafting strong arguments, participants gain a deeper understanding of both her writing and the underlying philosophy.
John Locke Essay Competition: The John Locke Institute is calling all aspiring philosophers, political enthusiasts, and more! Students will share their thoughts on a wide range of topics, from history and psychology to economics and law, through their essay competition. Students should demonstrate their analytical skills and can win prizes ranging from $2,000 to $10,000! Open to students 18 and under, with submissions typically due in June. Visit their website for details and let your voice be heard!
Remember, these are just a few examples!
Explore additional opportunities by checking out these resources:
Beyond the Prizes
Participating in writing competitions offers numerous benefits beyond just winning. It allows students to:
Receive valuable feedback: Many competitions provide feedback from professional writers or educators, helping students hone their skills.
Boost your confidence: Submitting work and gaining recognition can be incredibly empowering to students.
Gain experience and exposure: Competitions can be stepping stones to future writing endeavors for students.
So, what are you waiting for? Share these writing competitions with your students and see where their writing can take them.
Do you have any other student writing competitions you'd like to share? Leave a comment below!
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About the Author
Meredith is the founder and creator of Bespoke ELA and TeachWriting.org. She has taught high school English for 15+ years in Dallas, Chicago, and New York City and holds a M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University. She has always had a connection to the written word-- through songwriting, screenplay writing, and essay writing-- and she enjoys the process of teaching students how to express their ideas. Meredith enjoys life with her sweet daughter and Yorkie.