Writing Contests
Writing Contests
When students write with an authentic purpose and audience, they are motivated to craft powerful words into prose and poetry. The New York Times Learning Network has an article with ten reasons to send student work out into the world. The Learning Network also has a list of over 70 avenues for student publication of writing.
The following contests—state, national, and international—are ways for students to submit their writing. The contests are organized chronologically by deadline.
| Name | Participants | Type | Genre(s) | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ages 13-18 |
National |
Oct: Speech |
Monthly |
|
| Learning Network from The New York Times | 6th-12th | International |
Sept-Nov: Coming of Age in 2020 Sept-Oct: Election 2020 Oct-Nov: Personal Narrative Nov-Dec: Vocabulary Video Dec-Jan: Review Jan-Mar: STEM Writing Feb-Apr: Editorial Apr-May: Podcast Jun-Aug: Summer Reading |
Monthly |
| Rattle's Ekphrastic Poetry Challenge | all ages | National | poetry | Monthly |
| The First Line literary journal | all ages | International | fiction | Quarterly |
| NYC Midnight | all ages | International |
short story screenwriting flash fiction microfiction short screenplay |
Quarterly |
| I, Too, Am the Dream Contest | 12th | National | essay |
|
|
9th-12th |
National |
audio essay |
|
|
| VFW Patriot's Pen | 6th-8th | National | essay |
|
|
12th |
State |
essay |
|
|
|
7th-12th |
National |
critical essay |
|
|
|
8th |
State |
essay |
|
|
|
Oklahoma Council of Teachers of English Young Writers Contest |
6th-12th |
State |
poetry |
|
| Oklahoma Bar Association Law Day Writing Contest | PK-12th | State | essay |
|
| Profile in Courage Essay Contest | 9th-12th | National | essay |
|
|
PK-12th; teacher |
State |
descriptive paragraph |
|
|
| Engineer Girl | 3rd-12th | National |
3rd-5th: letter 6th-8th: news story/blog post 9th-12th: essay |
|
| R. Darryl Fisher Creative Writing Contest | 9th-12th | State | fiction & poetry |
|
| Promising Young Writers (NCTE) | 8th | State | various |
|
| Achievement Awards in Writing (NCTE) | 11th | State | various |
|
| OKC National Memorial Annual Student Essay Contest | 5th-12th | National | essay |
|
| English Jueju | K-12; adults | State | poetry |
|
| Aerie International | Ages 13-19 | International |
poetry short story flash fiction brief nonfiction lyric essay short drama foreign language poetry and translations |
|
| Scope's First-Line Contest | 5th-10th | National | short story |
|
| Cancer Unwrapped Teen Writing Contest | 9th-12th | National | essay | March 14, 2021 |
| Podcast (NPR) | 5th-12th | National | podcast | March 15, 2021 |
| Adroit Prizes | 9th-12th; college | International |
poetry short story |
April 2021 |
| Oklahoma Poem Contest | K-12th; adults | State | poetry | April 3, 2021 |
| "You Will Be Found" College Essay Writing Challenge | 11th-12th | National | essay | April 5, 2021 |
| Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest | PK-12th; adults | National | bad sentence | April 15, 2021 |
|
8th-12th |
National |
essay |
April 29, 2021 |
|
| Sejong Cultural Society | K-12; adults | National |
poetry (sijo) literary analysis essay |
April 30, 2021 |
| Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards Program in Partnership with We Need Diverse Books | 12th | National |
poetry memoir/personal essay fiction/drama spoken-word |
November 2021 |
