Write the World

Write the World monthly writing competitions

Free monthly writing prompts with peer review and expert feedback built into the process.

Run by Write the World

Eligible grades: Not confirmed. Check the organiser's rules before entering.
Write the World sets eligibility by age, not grade.
Eligible ages: Ages 13 to 19.
Source, checked 2026-09-02
Individual or team: Individual
Where it runs: Online · International
Entry cost: FreeBoth the platform and the monthly competitions are free.
Registration deadline: Set locally, not published as a single national date There is no single deadline. Competitions begin on the first Monday of each month and each has its own closing date, so check the schedule for the one you want to enter.
Competition dates: A published schedule runs well ahead. Announced competitions include Flash Fiction (August 2026), Short Story (September 2026), Creative Writing on Justice (October 2026, sponsored by the Supreme Court Historical Society), Environmental Writing (November 2026, sponsored by Patagonia), People's Choice Award (December 2026), Opinion Journalism (January 2027), YA Romance (February 2027), Songwriting (March 2027) and Nature Poetry (April 2027).
Difficulty: Open to beginnersNo prior competition experience assumed. If you can do the school-level material, you can enter and score points.
Prizes: Small cash prizes and publicationCash prizes plus features on the Write the World blog and social media. Specific amounts vary by competition and were not confirmed on the pages checked. Most competitions name a best entry, runner-up and best peer review.

What Write the World is

Write the World runs a new writing competition roughly every month across genres including flash fiction, poetry, journalism, environmental writing and op-ed. What distinguishes it from other contests is the built-in feedback loop: entrants submit a draft, receive commentary from a guest expert reviewer, and may revise before final judging. For a young writer, the feedback is often worth more than the prize.

How the competition works

A different genre each month: poetry, science fiction and fantasy, flash fiction, journalism, screenwriting, fairytales and myths, op-ed, memoir and others. A distinctive feature is the draft and revision cycle: writers can submit a draft, receive peer and expert feedback, then revise before the final deadline. Judged by guest authors, editors and writing professionals.

Eligibility notes

Open worldwide to young writers aged 13 to 19. You join the platform directly with no school involvement.

How to register

Create a free account on writetheworld.org.
Choose the current month's competition and read the prompt and word limit.
Submit a draft before the peer review deadline so you receive feedback.
Revise using the feedback and submit the final version before the closing deadline.

What skills you need

Recommended resources

Write the World Official · free
Free platform membership, current competitions, prompts and published winning entries.

Past problems and materials

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

Published winning entries
Winners and runners-up from every past competition are published on the platform.

Frequently asked questions

Why enter a competition with such small prizes?

The feedback. Entrants receive commentary from a guest expert reviewer on their draft and can revise before final judging, which is a form of coaching that most competitions do not offer at any price.

How often can I enter?

A new competition opens roughly every month across different genres, so you can enter continuously through the year.

Reviews, tips and resources from other students

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Something out of date?

If a deadline, fee or eligibility rule on this page no longer matches the official site, flag it and it goes into the review queue.

Verification

Not yet re-checked 2026-08-29

The free membership, monthly competition cycle, draft-and-revise feedback structure and age 13 to 19 eligibility follow the platform's long-standing published description. Current prompts, deadlines and prize amounts change monthly and were not confirmed.

Not confirmed for this cycle: Who can enter, Registration deadline, Competition dates, Entry cost, Individual or team, Prizes, How to register. Check these on the official site.

Source: the organiser's own site. No individual fact on this page has been re-checked against it for the current cycle.

Cycle checked: Rolling monthly; schedule published through April 2027

Looked for and not found: deadline, grades, prizes, school_affiliation. These are shown as not confirmed rather than estimated.

Rules and dates change. Confirm everything on the official site before you rely on it.

At a glance

CategoryWriting
Grades7 to 12
CostFree
FormatIndividual
LocationOnline
Difficulty1 of 5
Top prize$100

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