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Writing Art and design

Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

The longest-running recognition programme for creative teenagers in the United States, across 29 categories.

Run by Alliance for Young Artists and Writers

Official website How to prepare Reviews and tips

Key facts

Eligible grades
Grades 7 to 12.
Source, checked 2026-09-02
Eligible ages
Age 13 and up.
The Awards state both conditions together: grades 7 to 12 AND age 13 or older. A 12-year-old in grade 7 does not qualify.
Source, checked 2026-09-02
Individual or team
Individual · Individual entries only.
Where it runs
Online · United States, Canada excluding Quebec, US territories and military bases
Entry cost
$15.00 per individual entry and $40.00 per portfolio entry.A fee waiver option is available at checkout if the fee is a barrier. Because the fee is per entry, submitting several pieces multiplies the cost.
Registration deadline
Regional deadlines vary. The first falls 1 December 2026 and some run as late as 6 January 2027. Art and writing may have different deadlines within the same region. 83 days leftUse the Region Locator on artandwriting.org to find yours. Missing it by a day means missing the whole cycle.
Competition dates
The 2027 Awards open for entries 1 October 2026. Regional Announcement Day is 27 January 2027, when the portal is updated with regional results and certificates. National Announcement Day is 31 March 2027, viewable at medals.artandwriting.org.
Difficulty
CompetitiveSerious preparation over a season. Advancing past the first round separates prepared students from unprepared ones.
Prizes
Scholarships up to $12,500 for National MedalistsNational Medals, scholarships and publication or exhibition opportunities. Reported scholarship figures include up to $12,500 for Gold Medal Portfolios and $2,000 for Silver Medal Portfolios, which were not confirmed on the official pages checked. National Awards Week is held in New York City in June.

What Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is

Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards are the largest and most established creative competition for teenagers in the United States. Teens in grades 7 to 12 aged 13 and up submit work in 29 categories spanning writing (poetry, short story, journalism, personal essay, critical essay, novel, science fiction and fantasy) and art (drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, comic art, film and animation, fashion, design). Work is judged regionally first, then nationally, and National Medalists are eligible for scholarships of up to $12,500.

How the competition works

Roughly 28 to 29 categories across writing and visual art, including poetry, short story, flash fiction, novel writing, personal essay and memoir, critical essay, journalism, painting, photography, sculpture and digital art, plus portfolio entries. Every submission is judged first at regional level for Honorable Mention, Silver Key or Gold Key. A Gold Key is the highest regional honour and automatically advances the work to national judging.

Eligibility notes

You must attend school and reside in the United States, US territories or military bases, or Canada excluding Quebec. Home-schooled students and students at American schools abroad are eligible. Work must be original and created in the current awards year.

Is Scholastic Art and Writing Awards right for you?

Experience needed
None. Categories span beginner to near-professional and judging is blind.
Time commitment
Whatever your work takes, plus a careful selection pass.
What you actually do
Submit finished creative work in one of 28 categories. Regional judging first, then national. No performance or interview.

A good fit if

  • You already make art or write
  • You want a respected award that costs almost nothing
  • You want blind judging on the work alone

Probably not for you if

  • Students who want feedback, since none is given

Compare this against competitions matched to you

Common mistakes

  • Submitting recent work rather than best work.
  • Missing that regional deadlines differ by area and are earlier than people expect.
  • Ignoring the fee waiver, which exists and is under-used.

How to register

  1. Use the Region Locator on artandwriting.org to find your region and its deadline. Art and writing deadlines may differ.
  2. Create a teen account at portal.artandwriting.org.
  3. Choose a category. Read the category definitions carefully; entering the right one materially affects your chances.
  4. Upload your work with the required titles, descriptions and artist or writer statements. Art needs a high-quality photograph or video.
  5. Complete payment or apply a fee waiver. Submit before your regional deadline, not the national one.

Register on the official site

What skills you need

  • Creative writing or studio art practice
  • Self-editing
  • Selecting your strongest work
  • Writing an artist or writer statement
  • Meeting formal submission requirements

How to prepare

Jurors are told to look for three things: originality, technical skill, and personal voice or vision. Of these, personal voice is what most entries lack. Competent, careful work in a familiar mode does not medal; work that could only have been made by one specific person does. The second largest source of lost awards is category choice and deadline confusion, both of which are entirely within your control.

What to study

Originality
Jurors reward work that breaks convention, blurs genre boundaries, or challenges how a concept is usually expressed. The safest version of a familiar idea is the least competitive submission you can make.
Technical skill
Practised craft in service of a clear intention. For writing this means sentence-level control; for art it means the technique matches what the piece is trying to do.
Personal voice or vision
An authentic and specific point of view. Concrete detail drawn from your own life and attention is the most reliable route to this.
Category fit
There are 29 categories. A hybrid piece entered in a crowded category may lose to weaker work; the same piece in the right category can win. Read all the definitions before choosing.
The senior portfolio
Graduating seniors can submit six-work portfolios, judged as a body. Coherence across the six matters as much as the quality of any one.

Full preparation guide, including a week-by-week plan

Recommended resources

Past problems and materials

Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.

Helpful videos

Frequently asked questions

Who can enter the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards?

Teens in grades 7 to 12 who are at least 13 years old as of the date of entry, attending school and residing in the United States, US territories or military bases, or Canada excluding Quebec. Home-schooled students within that grade range and students at American schools abroad are eligible.

When is the deadline?

It depends on your region. Entries open 1 October 2026, the earliest regional deadline is 1 December 2026, and some regions run as late as 6 January 2027. You may have different deadlines for art and for writing. Use the Region Locator to find yours.

How much does it cost to enter?

There is a fee per individual submission and a higher fee per portfolio, and fee waivers are available for students who need them. Confirm current amounts on the official site.

How many pieces can I submit?

There is no limit. You may enter as many submissions as you like across as many of the 29 categories as you like, subject to paying the fee or applying a waiver for each.

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