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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.

19 in this category · 12 free to enter · 16 available online

Writing Adroit Prizes A respected literary prize for secondary students, judged by working writers, with free entry available.

Grades9 to 12
Cost$15 to $15
PreparationA portfolio of poetry or prose ready for outside judging
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

Check site

Writing Bennington Young Writers Awards A three-category writing prize from a college known for its writing programme, with scholarship money attached.

Grades9 to 12
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

50 days left

Writing Foyle Young Poets A free international poetry award for 11 to 17 year olds, with a hundred winners chosen each year.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

322 days left

Business InvestWrite A free national essay competition on investing, judged on reasoning rather than returns.

Grades4 to 12
CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

Check site

Writing JEA Write-off Competitions On-site journalism contests held at national conventions across news, feature, sports, design and photojournalism.

Grades9 to 12
Cost$10 to $30
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person

169 days left

Writing John Locke Institute Essay Competition A free global essay prize in seven academic subjects, judged by academics from Oxford and Princeton.

Grades7 to 12
CostUp to $20
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

Check site

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.

Grades6 to 8
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereBoth

143 days left

Academic National History Day Original historical research presented as a paper, exhibit, documentary, performance or website.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree to $150
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person

Check site

Writing New York Times Student Editorial Contest Write a 450-word evidence-based opinion piece on anything you care about, judged by Times editors.

Grades7 to 12
CostFree
FormatEither
WhereOnline

Check site

Writing NYT Student Podcast Contest Make a five-minute podcast on any subject, free, judged by New York Times editors.

Grades7 to 12
CostFree
FormatEither
WhereOnline

Check site

Writing Ocean Awareness Contest A free international contest accepting art, writing, film, music and interactive media on a yearly ocean and climate theme.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline

Check site

Writing Patriot's Pen A short patriotic essay contest for middle school students, free, with national awards.

Grades6 to 8
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereBoth

49 days left

Art and design Poetry Out Loud Memorise and perform published poems, from a classroom contest all the way to a national final in Washington.

Grades8 to 12
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person

176 days left

Writing Profile in Courage Essay Contest Write about an elected official who took a politically courageous stand, for a $10,000 first prize.

Grades9 to 12
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

121 days left

Writing Scholastic Art and Writing Awards The longest-running recognition programme for creative teenagers in the United States, across 29 categories.

Grades7 to 12
Cost$15 to $40
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

80 days left

Writing The Concord Review The only journal in the world that publishes academic history papers by secondary students.

Grades9 to 12
Cost$40 to $100
PreparationA research essay with endnotes and a bibliography, at a standard close to undergraduate work
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

50 days left

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.

Grades9 to 12
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereBoth

49 days left

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

Grades7 to 12
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

Check site

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.

Grades10 to 12
CostFree to $35
FormatIndividual
WhereBoth

24 days left

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