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 |
Jan: film review * Feb: book review * |
Monthly |
|
| Rattle's Ekphrastic Poetry Challenge | all ages | National | poetry | Monthly |
| The First Line literary journal | all ages | International | fiction | Quarterly |
|
9th-12th |
State |
essay |
October 14, 2018 |
|
|
12th |
State |
essay |
October 31, 2018 |
|
|
9th-12th |
National |
audio essay |
October 31, 2018 |
|
| VFW Patriot's Pen | 6th-8th | National | essay | October 31, 2018 |
|
K-12th |
State |
poetry |
November 1, 2018 |
|
|
7th-12th |
National |
critical essay, dramatic script, flash fiction, humor, journalism, novel writing, personal essay & memoir, poetry, science fiction & fantasy, short story, writing portfolio |
December 4, 2018 |
|
|
6th-12th |
State |
poetry, short essay, comic strip, descriptive paragraph, personal narrative, short story |
December 14, 2018 |
|
|
8th |
State |
essay |
December 14, 2018 |
|
| Oklahoma Bar Association Law Day Writing Contest | PK-12th | State | essay | January 11, 2019 |
|
4th-12th |
State / National |
letter |
January 11, 2019 |
|
| Profile in Courage Essay Contest | 9th-12th | National | essay | January 18, 2019 |
| Connect What You're Studying in School With the World Today* | Ages 13-19 | International | essay | January 21, 2019 |
|
PK-12th; teacher |
State |
descriptive paragraph, personal narrative, poem, short story, essay, writing across the curriculum, flash fiction, sentence |
January 22, 2019 |
|
| OKC National Memorial Annual Student Essay Contest | 5th-12th | National | essay | January 25, 2019 |
| R. Darryl Fisher Creative Writing Contest | 9th-12th | State | fiction & poetry | February 1, 2019 |
| Aerie International | Ages 13-19 | International | poetry, short story, flash fiction, brief nonfiction, lyric essay, short drama, foreign language poetry and translations, & more | February 1, 2019 |
| Engineer Girl | 3rd-12th | National | short story |
February 1, 2019 |
| Black Heritage Creative Contest | K-12th | State | essay & poetry | February 11, 2019 |
| Promising Young Writers (NCTE) | 8th | State | various | February 15, 2019 |
| Achievement Awards in Writing (NCTE) | 11th | State | various | February 15, 2019 |
| Vocabulary Video* | Ages 13-19 | International | video | February 18, 2019 |
| English Jueju | K-12; adults | State | poetry | March 1, 2019 |
| Scope's Write-a-Story Contest | 5th-10th | National | short story | March 1, 2019 |
| Sejong Cultural Society | K-12; adults | National | poetry (sijo) & literary analysis essay | March 31, 2019 |
| Podcast (NPR) | 5th-12th | National | podcast | March 31, 2019 |
| Editorial* | Ages 13-19 | International | editorial | April 1, 2019 |
| Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest | PK-12th; adults | National | bad sentence | April 15, 2019 |
| Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards Program in Partnership with We Need Diverse Books | 12th | National | poetry, memoir/personal essay, fiction/drama, & spoken-word | April 15, 2019 |
|
8th-12th |
National |
essay |
April 25, 2019 |
|
| Found Poetry* | Ages 13-19 | International | found poetry | May 6, 2019 |
| Podcast* | Ages 13-19 | International | podcast | May 20, 2019 |
| Summer Reading* | Ages 13-19 | International | essay | August 23, 2019 |
| *The Learning Network from The New York Times | ||||
