- Grades9 to 12
- Cost$15 to $15
Writing competitions for students under 18
Writing competitions are the cheapest high-prestige awards a teenager can win, and many carry real scholarship money. Most are single-submission and judged blind, so there is no coaching advantage and no travel cost. Read the winning entries from previous years before you write anything: the anthologies are almost always published for free.
PreparationA portfolio of poetry or prose ready for outside judging
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Writing
Bennington Young Writers Awards
A three-category writing prize from a college known for its writing programme, with scholarship money attached.
Writing
Foyle Young Poets
A free international poetry award for 11 to 17 year olds, with a hundred winners chosen each year.
Business
InvestWrite
A free national essay competition on investing, judged on reasoning rather than returns.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
53 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
325 days left
- Grades4 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Writing
JEA Write-off Competitions
On-site journalism contests held at national conventions across news, feature, sports, design and photojournalism.
Writing
John Locke Institute Essay Competition
A free global essay prize in seven academic subjects, judged by academics from Oxford and Princeton.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- Cost$10 to $30
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
172 days left
- Grades7 to 12
- CostUp to $20
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Civics and social science
National Civics Bee
Write a short essay about a problem in your community, then defend it in a live civics quiz.
Academic
National History Day
Original historical research presented as a paper, exhibit, documentary, performance or website.
Check site
- Grades6 to 8
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
146 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree to $150
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Writing
New York Times Student Editorial Contest
Write a 450-word evidence-based opinion piece on anything you care about, judged by Times editors.
Writing
NYT Student Podcast Contest
Make a five-minute podcast on any subject, free, judged by New York Times editors.
Writing
Ocean Awareness Contest
A free international contest accepting art, writing, film, music and interactive media on a yearly ocean and climate theme.
Check site
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatEither
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatEither
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline
Writing
Patriot's Pen
A short patriotic essay contest for middle school students, free, with national awards.
Art and design
Poetry Out Loud
Memorise and perform published poems, from a classroom contest all the way to a national final in Washington.
Writing
Profile in Courage Essay Contest
Write about an elected official who took a politically courageous stand, for a $10,000 first prize.
Writing
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
The longest-running recognition programme for creative teenagers in the United States, across 29 categories.
Writing
The Concord Review
The only journal in the world that publishes academic history papers by secondary students.
Check site
- Grades6 to 8
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
52 days left
- Grades8 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
179 days left
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
124 days left
- Grades7 to 12
- Cost$15 to $40
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
83 days left
- Grades9 to 12
- Cost$40 to $100
PreparationA research essay with endnotes and a bibliography, at a standard close to undergraduate work
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Civics and social science
Voice of Democracy
Record a three-minute audio essay on a patriotic theme and compete for scholarships from local post to national level.
Writing
Write the World
Free monthly writing prompts with peer review and expert feedback built into the process.
Art and design
YoungArts
A national arts award across ten disciplines, and the sole route to a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts nomination.
53 days left
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
52 days left
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades10 to 12
- CostFree to $35
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
27 days left
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