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Best Writing Contests in 2024

Showing 342 contests that match your search.

The Reedsy Prompts Contest

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

Every Friday, Reedsy sends out five writing prompts. Enter your response within a week for a chance at $250. Winners may also be included in a future issue of Reedsy’s literary magazine, Prompted.

Additional prizes:

$25 credit toward Reedsy editorial services

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: December 31, 2024

Haiku Poetry Contest

FanStory.com Inc.

Genres: Poetry

Share a Haiku! That's a poem with only three lines that generally follows the 5-7-5 syllable count. So the first line of your poem will have three syllables. Second line seven. Final line five!

💰 Entry fee: $13

📅 Deadline: April 15, 2023 (Expired)

Ironclad Creative Short Story Competition

Ironclad Creative CIC

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novella, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller

We are looking for short stories that respond in any way to: 7:12am. You can use that in the text, as a theme, or any way you want. We accept any prose genre and any length of story up to 6k words. We’re looking for writers who have exciting voices and can move us - that can happen in any genre of prose. We’re not accepting plays or poetry for this competition.

2nd: £50 | 3rd & 4th: £25 | 10 short-listed entries: publication

💰 Entry fee: $8

📅 Deadline: April 30, 2024

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Rigel 2024: $500 for Prose, Poetry, Art, or Graphic Novel

Sunspot Literary Journal

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

Literary or genre works accepted. Winner receives $500 plus publication, while runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Closes: February 29. Entry fee: $12.50. Enter as many times as you like through Submittable or Duotrope

$500 + publication

Runners-up and finalists are offered publication

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: February 29, 2024 (Expired)

The Bath Children's Novel Award

The Bath Novel Awards

Genres: Children's, Fiction, and Young Adult

The Bath Children's Novel Award is a £5,000 international prize for emerging writers of children's fiction. Submit the first 5,000 words plus a one page synopsis of your chapter book or novel for children or young adults, or up to three picture book texts with summaries. Shortlistees receive feedback on their full manuscript from young judges and all listees receive editorial director feedback on their extract and synopsis.

£1,800 course for one longlistee

💰 Entry fee: $38

📅 Deadline: November 30, 2024

F(r)iction Short Story Contest

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, and Short Story

We seek work that actively pushes boundaries, that forces us to question traditions and tastes. If your work takes risks, we want to read it. We like strong narratives that make us feel something and stories we haven’t seen before. We accept work, written in English, from anywhere in the world—regardless of genre, style, or origin—and welcome speculative writing and experimental literature. Strange is good. Strange with a strong character arc is even better. Keep it weird, folks.

Publication

💰 Entry fee: $15

$1000 for 1000 Words Contest

The Layla Beban Young Authors

Genres: Children's and Short Story

The $1000 for 1000 Words fiction writing contest is open to all students enrolled in grades 6-12. Each entrant may submit a fiction piece consisting of exactly 1,000 words (not including title or author’s name). The fiction piece can be on any topic, as long as it is not vulgar or offensive, does not use inappropriate profanity, and is the original work of the entrant not previously published.

📅 Deadline: February 01, 2024 (Expired)

Maggie Award for Published Writers

Georgia Romance Writers

Genres: Novel and Romance

The purpose of the Published Maggie Award for Excellence is to recognize the achievements of published authors of romantic fiction. The Maggie Award is a symbol of achievement given by the Georgia Romance Writers (GRW) to bring special attention to these authors. The Maggie, a silver medallion commissioned by GRW, receives national attention. Books will be ranked by librarians, booksellers, and other professionals in the publishing industry.​​

💰 Entry fee: $40

📅 Deadline: April 05, 2024 (Expired)

The Iowa Review Awards

The Iowa Review

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Each January since 2003, The Iowa Review has invited submissions to The Iowa Review Awards, a writing contest in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Winners receive $1,500; first runners-up receive $750. Winners and runners-up are published in each December issue.

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: January 31, 2024 (Expired)

Travel Writing Award

Ottawa Tourism

Genres: Travel

Ottawa Tourism offers an annual $500 CAD prize for outstanding travel writing featuring Canada’s Capital Region. Eligible entries include items in English or in French that have appeared in magazines, newspapers, or online media in 2023 that highlight Ottawa as a travel destination.

📅 Deadline: February 02, 2024 (Expired)

Primal Fears Horror Short Story Challenge

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, and Short Story

For this short story challenge, all participants will be randomly assigned a horror sub-genre and will receive a list of 20 primal fears. All participants will receive the same 20 primal fears. As soon as you receive your randomly assigned sub-genre and the list of primal fears, you'll have until the closing time to write and submit a short story of any length up to 5,000 words. Your story should fit the sub-genre you were assigned and should be underpinned by one of the primal fears from the list. You get to choose the primal fear that will underpin your story. The available horror sub-genres are: body horror, folk horror, eco horror, psychological horror, and fantasy horror. Early entry tickets are £2.50, general entry tickets are £5, and late entry tickets are £9.

Publication on website

📅 Deadline: February 19, 2024 (Expired)

Tusculum Review Nonfiction Chapbook Prize

The Tusculum Review

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

A prize of $1,000, publication of the essay in The Tusculum Review’s 20th Anniversary Issue (2024), and creation of a limited edition stand-alone chapbook with original art is awarded. Editors of The Tusculum Review and contest judge Mary Cappello will determine the winner of the 2024 prize.

📅 Deadline: June 15, 2024

Ghost Novellas for the "Presence" Collection

Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Novella, and Thriller

Ghost novellas wanted from (but not limited to) underrepresented authors by April 31, 2024. Entries must be between 15,000-25,000 words, incorporating BIPOC cultures, traditions, and histories. Selected submissions receive $1000 USD and publication within Kinsman Quarterly’s journal and the “Presence” collection. $25 submission fee required.

Publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and the "Presence" collection

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)

Western Writing Contest

Share your Western story for this writing contest. Share your story that has a clear western theme. Your old west story can earn you a cash prize.

Winning stories will be features on the FanStory.com welcome page.

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: March 16, 2024 (Expired)

The Clay Reynolds Novella Prize

Texas Review

Genres: Fiction and Novella

Established in 2001, The Clay Reynolds Novella Prize highlights one book a year that excels in the novella format. Since 2019 the Prize comes with $500, a standard royalty contract, and 20 copies of the published book.

A Standard Royalty contract, 20 copies of the novella published

swamp pink Prizes

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

From January 1st to January 31st, submit short stories and essays of up to 25 pages or a set of 1-3 poems. Winners in each genre will receive $2,000 and publication.

Free Verse Poetry Contest

Write a free verse poem. This is a method of writing poetry, which does not essentially follow any structure or style. There is no fixed meter and no structure regarding rhyme and lines in each stanza.

📅 Deadline: August 22, 2022 (Expired)

First Pages Prize

Genres: Fiction and Non-fiction

First Pages Prize invites you to enter your first 5 pages of a longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction. Prizes in both fiction & creative nonfiction. Open to un-agented writers worldwide, the prize supports emerging writers with cash awards, developmental mentoring, & agent consultation. This year our judge is Edwidge Danticat! Opens March 2024!

Agent Consultation, Developmental Mentorship

📅 Deadline: April 10, 2024 (Expired)

Spring Flash Fiction Contest

The Berlin Literary Review

Genres: Flash Fiction

The Berlin Literary Review is looking forward to receiving submissions from around the world (in English), for our Spring Flash Fiction Contest. Up to 1,500 words, and up to 660€ in awards.

💰 Entry fee: $6

📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024

The Letter Review Prize for Unpublished Books

The Letter Review

Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

Free to enter. Seeking 0-5000 word (poetry: 15 pgs) excerpts of unpublished books (Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction), including most self-published and indie-published works. 2-4 Winners (publication of extract is optional). We Shortlist 10-20 writers. Open to writers from anywhere in the world, with no theme or genre restrictions. Judged blind.

Optional Publication of Excerpt, Letter of Recommendation

The Heartland Review Open Calls

The Heartland Review

Founded in 2000, The Heartland Review (ISSN: 2473-9545) is published in the spring and fall as an imprint of The Heartland Review Press. Our biannual journal publishes fiction, creative nonfiction/fiction, and poetry of any all subcategories, styles, and voices. Our writers have ranged in age from 15 to 80+ from around the world. We consider established writers as well as emerging writers. In the past we have reserved space for student writers and emerging artists. We are currently accepting poetry.

Publication in The Heartland Review

📅 Deadline: April 15, 2024

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing 2023

Write the World

Fantasy and sci-fi stir our imaginations, inviting us to think outside the limits of the life we know. This month, you have the extraordinary and exciting task of reimagining the world. In a fantasy or sci-fi short story, take your readers on a journey into a world of your imagination.

Runner up: $50 | Best peer review: $50

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: October 23, 2023 (Expired)

James Jones First Novel Fellowship

Wilkes University

Genres: Fiction and Novel

A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. Runners-up will receive $1000. A selection from the winning work is published in Provincetown Arts.

💰 Entry fee: $33

📅 Deadline: March 15, 2024 (Expired)

Aurora Polaris Creative Nonfiction Award

Trio House Press

Genres: Essay, Memoir, and Non-fiction

We seek un-agented full-length creative nonfiction manuscripts including memoir, essay collections, etc. 50,000 - 80,000 words.

📅 Deadline: May 15, 2024

Annual Short Story Contest

We are looking for stories (of any genre) ranging between 1,000 and 3,000 words, with strong characters, a well-crafted plot and realistic dialogue (where used). Make us laugh, make us cry, but most of all, make us feel!

£200 for 2nd place, £100 for 3rd place

Kurt Vonnegut Speculative Fiction Prize

North American Review

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, and Suspense

The Vonnegut Prize is an annual fiction competition intended to recognize the finest speculative fiction, which can include, but is not limited to, work influenced by the postmodern science-fiction of Kurt Vonnegut. We love Vonnegut’s dark humor, but please avoid mere imitation. We are enthusiastic about all work painted with speculative fiction’s broad brush: fairy tale, magical realism, fabulism, the fantastic, horror, Afro-futurism, science fiction hard and soft, and everything in between. The winning entry will appear in the North American Review's annual summer issue, and all finalists will be considered for publication.

💰 Entry fee: $23

📅 Deadline: November 02, 2024

First Chapter + Synopsis Competition

Fiction Factory

Why not enter the Fiction Factory First Chapter Competition? Send us your first chapter + a 1 page synopsis (if your first chapter is more than 5000 words, send it with the 5000 word point clearly marked). First Prize: £500 + an appraisal and a reading by a top London Literary Agent. All short-listed entrants will receive a free appraisal. Appraisals: For an extra fee, £20, we will write a comprehensive appraisal of your chapter. Results will be published in July, 2024

A reading by a top London Literary Agent plus publication

💰 Entry fee: $22

Hispanic Culture Review Contest 2022-2023

Hispanic Culture Review

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Flash Fiction

As the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano once said, "the best that the world has is in the many worlds that the world contains." Therefore, this year we invite you to reflect on the following questions: How do you or your community celebrate these connections? How do you value those experiences with those people who leave a mark on your life? 1 work will be awarded in each category: 1) photography & visual arts, 2) poetry, and 3) narrative/essay/academic investigation.

$100 for photography, poetry, and essay winners

📅 Deadline: February 01, 2023 (Expired)

Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition

Writer's Digest

Enter our 91st Annual Writing Competition for the chance to have your work be seen by editors and agents! Almost 500 winners will be chosen. The top winning entries of this writing contest will also be on display in the Annual Writer’s Digest Competition Collection. [$20 for a poetry entry, $30 for a manuscript entry]

2nd: $500 | 3rd: $100

💰 Entry fee: $30

📅 Deadline: May 06, 2024

Folly Short Story Prize 2024

Folly Journal

Genres: Fiction, Humor, and Short Story

The Folly Prize launched in 2023 with fierce competition from an incredible array of edgy, off the wall, sexy, fun writing submitted by talented writers from around the globe. The 2024 Folly Prize runs from 15 January - 30 April 2024, with a cash first prize of $1000 NZD and a Runner up prize of $500 NZD. The Prizewinner Runner Ups will be published in Issue 2 of Folly, due to be launched in late October 2024 and will receive a copy of the publication. We encourage entries from writers from around the world, and are specifically looking for work that is accessible (fun), yet well written. Your story doesn't need to be New Zealand-centric - we are looking for local and international stories that are pacey, provocative, honest and light. We want to choke into our coffee and laugh out loud. Submissions are via our Submittable portal, found on the Submissions page.

Runner-up: $500 NZD

Snowbound Chapbook Award

Tupelo Press

The Snowbound Chapbook Award includes a cash award of $1,000 in addition to publication by Tupelo Press, 25 copies of the winning title, a book launch, and national distribution with energetic publicity and promotion. Manuscripts are judged anonymously and all finalists will be considered for publication.

Publication by Tupelo Press

Fish Poetry Prize

Fish Publishing

The top ten poems of the annual Fish Poetry Contest will be published in Fish Anthology. First prize winner will receive €1000 and the second prize winner will receive a week in residence at Anam Cara Writers ' Reatreat. 3rd: €300

2nd: writer's retreat | 3rd: €300

💰 Entry fee: $14

Passionate Plume

Passionate Ink

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Novella, Romance, and Short Story

The 2024 Passionate Plume celebrates the best in erotic fiction, both long and short, and features a special category for emerging authors.

Engraved award

Publication in the Passionate Ink Charity Anthology

📅 Deadline: March 21, 2024 (Expired)

Jim Duggins, PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize

Lambda Literary

Genres: Fiction, LGBTQ, and Novel

Dedicated to the memory of author and journalist Jim Duggins, this prize honors LGBTQ-identified authors who have published multiple novels, built a strong reputation and following, and show promise to continue publishing high quality work for years to come.

📅 Deadline: February 16, 2024 (Expired)

Nimrod Literary Awards

Nimrold International Journal of Prose and Poetry

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Novel

All finalists in fiction and poetry will be published and paid at our standard publication rate. Semi-finalists in poetry will also be published and paid at our standard publication rate.

$2000 + Publication

2nd: $1000 + Publication

📅 Deadline: April 01, 2024 (Expired)

Discover the finest writing contests of 2024 for fiction and non-fiction authors — including short story competitions, essay writing competitions, poetry contests, and many more. Updated weekly, these contests are vetted by Reedsy to weed out the scammers and time-wasters. If you’re looking to stick to free writing contests, simply use our filters as you browse.

Why you should submit to writing contests

Submitting to poetry competitions and free writing contests in 2024 is absolutely worth your while as an aspiring author: just as your qualifications matter when you apply for a new job, a writing portfolio that boasts published works and award-winning pieces is a great way to give your writing career a boost. And not to mention the bonus of cash prizes!

That being said, we understand that taking part in writing contests can be tough for emerging writers. First, there’s the same affliction all writers face: lack of time or inspiration. Entering writing contests is a time commitment, and many people decide to forego this endeavor in order to work on their larger projects instead — like a full-length book. Second, for many writers, the chance of rejection is enough to steer them clear of writing contests. 

But we’re here to tell you that two of the great benefits of entering writing contests happen to be the same as those two reasons to avoid them.

When it comes to the time commitment: yes, you will need to expend time and effort in order to submit a quality piece of writing to competitions. That being said, having a hard deadline to meet is a great motivator for developing a solid writing routine.

Think of entering contests as a training session to become a writer who will need to meet deadlines in order to have a successful career. If there’s a contest you have your eye on, and the deadline is in one month, sit down and realistically plan how many words you’ll need to write per day in order to meet that due date — and don’t forget to also factor in the time you’ll need to edit your story!

For tips on setting up a realistic writing plan, check out this free, ten-day course: How to Build a Rock-Solid Writing Routine.

In regards to the fear of rejection, the truth is that any writer aspiring to become a published author needs to develop relatively thick skin. If one of your goals is to have a book traditionally published, you will absolutely need to learn how to deal with rejection, as traditional book deals are notoriously hard to score. If you’re an indie author, you will need to adopt the hardy determination required to slowly build up a readership.

The good news is that there’s a fairly simple trick for learning to deal with rejection: use it as a chance to explore how you might be able to improve your writing.

In an ideal world, each rejection from a publisher or contest would come with a detailed letter, offering construction feedback and pointing out specific tips for improvement. And while this is sometimes the case, it’s the exception and not the rule.

Still, you can use the writing contests you don’t win as a chance to provide yourself with this feedback. Take a look at the winning and shortlisted stories and highlight their strong suits: do they have fully realized characters, a knack for showing instead of telling, a well-developed but subtly conveyed theme, a particularly satisfying denouement?

The idea isn’t to replicate what makes those stories tick in your own writing. But most examples of excellent writing share a number of basic craft principles. Try and see if there are ways for you to translate those stories’ strong points into your own unique writing.

Finally, there are the more obvious benefits of entering writing contests: prize and publication. Not to mention the potential to build up your readership, connect with editors, and gain exposure.

Resources to help you win writing competitions in 2024

Every writing contest has its own set of submission rules. Whether those rules are dense or sparing, ensure that you follow them to a T. Disregarding the guidelines will not sway the judges’ opinion in your favor — and might disqualify you from the contest altogether. 

Aside from ensuring you follow the rules, here are a few resources that will help you perfect your submissions.

Free online courses

On Writing:

How to Craft a Killer Short Story

The Non-Sexy Business of Writing Non-Fiction

How to Write a Novel

Understanding Point of View

Developing Characters That Your Readers Will Love

Writing Dialogue That Develops Plot and Character

Stop Procrastinating! Build a Solid Writing Routine

On Editing:

Story Editing for Authors

How to Self-Edit Like a Pro

Novel Revision: Practical Tips for Rewrites

How to Write a Short Story in 7 Steps

How to Write a Novel in 15 Steps

Literary Devices and Terms — 35+ Definitions With Examples

10 Essential Fiction Writing Tips to Improve Your Craft

How to Write Dialogue: 8 Simple Rules and Exercises

8 Character Development Exercises to Help You Nail Your Character

Bonus resources

200+ Short Story Ideas

600+ Writing Prompts to Inspire You

100+ Creative Writing Exercises for Fiction Authors

Story Title Generator

Pen Name Generator

Character Name Generator

After you submit to a writing competition in 2024

It’s exciting to send a piece of writing off to a contest. However, once the initial excitement wears off, you may be left waiting for a while. Some writing contests will contact all entrants after the judging period — whether or not they’ve won. Other writing competitions will only contact the winners. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind after you submit:

Many writing competitions don’t have time to respond to each entrant with feedback on their story. However, it never hurts to ask! Feel free to politely reach out requesting feedback — but wait until after the selection period is over.

If you’ve submitted the same work to more than one writing competition or literary magazine, remember to withdraw your submission if it ends up winning elsewhere.

After you send a submission, don’t follow it up with a rewritten or revised version. Instead, ensure that your first version is thoroughly proofread and edited. If not, wait until the next edition of the contest or submit the revised version to other writing contests.

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51 Writing Contests You Can Submit to Now (June - September 2022)

Find 51 excellent writing contests below with deadlines between June 2022 and September 2022. Polish your manuscript and submit it to one of these great writing contests (and, if you're looking for a class in fiction , poetry , nonfiction , or screenwriting , we've got you covered):

Bauhan Publishing

May sarton new hampshire poetry prize.

A prize of $1,000, publication by Bauhan Publishing, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Rebecca Kaiser Gibson will judge. Using only the online...

Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry

Griffin poetry prize.

Two prizes of $65,000 Canadian (approximately $51,123) each are given annually for poetry collections by a Canadian poet or translator and by an international poet or...

Poetry London

Poetry london prize.

A first-place prize of £5,000 (approximately $6,762), a second-place prize of £2,000 (approximately $2,705), and a third-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,353) will be...

University of North Texas Press

Katherine anne porter prize.

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

Twyckenham Notes

Joe bolton poetry award.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Twyckenham Notes is given annually for a poem or group of poems. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission...

Lascaux Review

Prize in flash fiction.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review online and in print is given annually for a work of flash fiction. Previously published stories are eligible. Using...

International Short Story Prize

A prize of €3,000 (approximately $3,423) is given annually for a short story. A prize of a weeklong retreat at Circle of Misse in Missé, France, with a €250 (approximately $285...

University of Pittsburgh Press

Drue heinz literature prize.

A prize of $15,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Writers who have published at least one previous book...

Cider Press Review

Editors’ prize book award.

A prize of $1,000, publication by Cider Press Review , and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48...

Winning Writers

North street book prize.

A grand prize of $8,000 and seven additional prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for self-published books of poetry, fiction, genre fiction, creative nonfiction, children’...

Los Angeles Review

Literary awards.

Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Los Angeles Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, a short short story, and an essay. Joshua Rivkin will...

Barrow Street Press

A prize of $1,500 and publication by Barrow Street Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Tina Chang will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages with a $25...

Hidden River Arts

William van wert memorial fiction award.

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story or a novel excerpt. Using only the online submission system, submit up to 25 pages of fiction (and a synopsis if...

Omnidawn Publishing

Poetry chapbook contest.

A prize of $1,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 100 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Ruth Ellen Kocher will judge. Submit a manuscript of 20 to...

Claremont Graduate University

Kingsley & kate tufts poetry awards.

The $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award is given annually to honor a book of poetry by a midcareer U.S. poet. The winner will spend one week in residence at Claremont Graduate...

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Barbara mandigo kelly peace poetry award.

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation website is given annually for a single poem that explores “positive visions of peace and the human spirit...

Conduit Books & Ephemera

Marystina santiestevan first book prize.

A prize of $1,500, publication by Conduit Books & Ephemera, and 30 author copies is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Bob Hicok will judge. Submit a manuscript...

Regal House Publishing

Petrichor prize for finely crafted fiction.

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a novel. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 350 pages with a $25 entry fee...

Ghost Story

Screw turn flash fiction competition.

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Ghost Story website and in the 21st Century Ghost Stories anthology is given twice yearly for a work of flash fiction with a...

The Story Prize

A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a short story collection written in English and published in the United States in the current year. Two runners-up receive $5,000 each...

Bellevue Literary Review

Prizes in poetry and prose.

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellevue Literary Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay about health, healing, illness, the...

Comstock Review

Muriel craft bailey memorial award.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Comstock Review is given annually for a single poem. Ellen Bass will judge. Submit up to five poems of no more than 40 lines each...

Cincinnati Review

Robert and adele schiff awards.

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Cincinnati Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Rebecca Lindenberg will judge in poetry,...

Poetry Contest

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a poem or group of poems. The poetry editors will judge. Using only the online submission system,...

The Word Works

Tenth gate prize.

A prize of $1,000, publication by the Word Works, and 30 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has published at least two full-length books of...

Poetry Prize

A prize of $15,000 and publication in Rattle is given annually for a single poem. A Reader’s Choice Award of $5,000 is also given to one of ten finalists. Submit up to...

Santa Fe Writers Project

A prize of $1,500 and publication by the Santa Fe Writers Project is given biennially for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction. Deesha Philyaw will judge. Using only the...

Poetry and Short Story Awards

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sixfold are given quarterly for a group of poems and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit up to...

Hawk Mountain Short Story Collection Award

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Hidden River Press is given annually for a story collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of approximately...

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales

Dogfish head poetry prize.

A prize of $500, publication by Broadkill River Press, 10 author copies, and two cases of Dogfish Head craft beer are given annually for a poetry collection written by a poet...

Munster Literature Centre

Seán o’faoláin international short story collection.

A prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,178) and publication in Southword is given annually for a short story. The winner also receives a weeklong residency at the Anam Cara...

Award for Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Press 53, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Tom Lombardo will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 120 pages with...

New Millennium Writings

New millennium writing awards.

Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in New Millennium Writings and on the journal’s website are given twice yearly for a poem, a short story, a short short...

Prairie Heritage, Inc.

Jan garton prairie heritage book award.

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a published book of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction that “illuminates the heritage of North America’s mid-continental prairies.” Authors...

Red Wheelbarrow

A prize of $1,000 and publication in  Red Wheelbarrow  is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also receive 20 copies of a letterpress broadside of the...

Staunch Book Prize

A prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,303) will be given for a thriller novel in which “no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped, or murdered.” Books published or...

Howling Bird Press

Book contest.

A prize of $2,500 and publication by Howling Bird Press is given in alternating years for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. The 2023 prize will be awarded in...

Spring Story Contest

A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a short short story, an essay, or an excerpt from a work of fiction or creative...

Connecticut Poetry Society

Experimental poetry contest.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Connecticut River Review will be given annually for an innovative poem. Richard Deming will judge. Using only the online submission...

Sewanee Review

Fiction, poetry, and nonfiction contest.

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sewanee Review are given annually for a group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Richie Hofmann will judge in poetry,...

Radar Poetry

Coniston prize.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Radar Poetry is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who identifies as a woman. Dorianne Laux will judge. Using only the...

Delaware Division of the Arts

Individual artist fellowships.

Three Established Professional Fellowships of $6,000 each and three Emerging Artist Fellowships of $3,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative...

Granum Foundation

Granum foundation prizes.

A prize of $5,000 will be given annually to a poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer to support the completion of a manuscript-in-progress. Up to three finalists...

Literary Arts

Oregon literary fellowships.

Fellowships of $3,500 each are given annually to Oregon writers to initiate, develop, or complete literary projects in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. These include...

Aspen Words

Literary prize.

A prize of $35,000 is given annually for a book of fiction published in the current year that “illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power...

Gival Press

Short story award.

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Gival Press website is given annually for a short story. Submit a story of 5,000 to 15,000 words with a $25 entry fee by August 8....

TulipTree Publishing

Stories that need to be told contest.

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay that “tells a story that needs to be told.” The winner will also receive a two-year subscription to...

Grayson Books

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Grayson Books is given annually for a poetry collection. John Sibley Williams will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

Open Book Prize

A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 100 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Shane McCrae will judge. Submit a manuscript of 40 to...

Other Futures Award

A prize of $1,000, publication by Futurepoem, and 25 author copies is given annually for a book of innovative poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid-genre work “that challenges...

Indiana Review

1/2 k prize.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Indiana Review is given annually for a poem or a work of flash fiction or creative nonfiction. Submit up to three poems, stories,...

Kallisto Gaia Press

Poetry and short fiction prizes.

Two prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Ocotillo Review are given annually for a poem and a short story. Zoë Fay-Stindt will judge the Julia Darling Memorial...

Masters Review

Short story award for new writers.

A prize of $3,000 and publication in  Masters Review  is given twice yearly for a short story by an emerging writer. Writers who have not published a book are eligible, as...

Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition

A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,089) and publication by the Munster Literature Centre is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive accommodations...

Talking Gourds

Fischer prize.

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also be featured in a Bardic Trails online reading in 2023 and will receive a $100 honorarium for...

Utica College

Eugene paul nassar poetry prize.

A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published in the previous year by a resident of upstate New York. The winner will also give a reading and teach a...

Creative Writing Award

Two prizes of £2,500 (approximately $3,256) each and publication in Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual are given annually for a poem and a short story. In addition, the...

University of New Orleans Press

A prize of $10,000 and publication by University of New Orleans Press is given annually for a short story collection or novel. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

Prize in Translation

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given in alternating years for a group of poems or a prose excerpt translated from any language into English. The 2022...

Barthelme Prize for Short Prose

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given annually for a short work of prose. Submit a prose poem, a work of flash fiction, or a micro essay of up to 500...

Gemini Magazine

Flash fiction contest.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a short short story. The editors will judge. Submit a story of up to 1,000 words with a $7...

Black Lawrence Press

St. lawrence book award.

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Black Lawrence Press is given annually for a debut collection of poems, short stories, or essays. The editors will judge. Using only the...

Off the Grid Poetry Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Grid Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer over the age of 60. Garrett Hongo will judge. Using only the online...

American-Scandinavian Foundation

Translation awards.

A prize of $2,500 and publication of an excerpt in Scandinavian Review is given annually for an English translation of a work of poetry, fiction, or creative...

Academy for Teachers

Stories out of school flash fiction contest.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in A Public Space will be given annually for a work of flash fiction about teachers and school, in which the protagonist or narrator is...

Academy of American Poets

First book award.

A prize of $5,000, publication by Graywolf Press, and a six-week residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy, is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet...

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Dogwood are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Submit up to three poems totaling no more than 10...

Finishing Line Press

New women’s voices chapbook competition.

A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook by a writer who identifies as a woman and has not yet published a full-length...

Nature Writing Prize

A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,089) and publication in the Moth is given annually for a poem, story, or essay that features “an exploration of the writer’s...

Fordham University at Lincoln Center 

Poetic justice institute prizes.

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Fordham University Press are given annually for poetry collections. The winners also receive a publicity consultation and headline...

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How to get published.

Essay Writing Contests: The Ultimate List of 2024

Did you know that the very first recorded essay contest can be traced back to the early 16th century, initiated by none other than the renowned philosopher and essayist Michel de Montaigne? In 1580, Montaigne published his collection of essays titled 'Essais,' which not only marked a pivotal moment in the evolution of the essay as a literary form but also contained an implicit challenge to his readers. He encouraged them to engage with his ideas and respond by writing their own essays, essentially laying the groundwork for what we now recognize as essay contests.

Fast forward to the vibrant year of 2024, and this tradition of writing competitions has evolved into a global phenomenon, offering emerging writers from all walks of life a captivating platform to share their thoughts, emotions, and narratives with the world.

In this article, our essay writer will review essay writing contests, presenting you with an exclusive selection of the most promising opportunities for the year ahead. Each of these competitions not only provides a stage to demonstrate your writing prowess but also offers a unique avenue for personal growth, self-expression, and intellectual exploration, all while competing for impressive writing awards and well-deserved recognition.

Top Essay Writing Contests in 2024

If you enjoy expressing your thoughts and ideas through writing, you're in for a treat. Essay writing competitions in 2024 offer you a chance to do just that and win some great prizes in the process. We've put together a list of contests specially designed for students like you. These contests cover various interesting essay topics , giving you a unique opportunity to showcase your writing skills and potentially earn cash prizes or scholarships. So, let's jump right into these fantastic opportunities.

2024 International Literary Prize by Hammond House Publishing

The 2024 Writing Competition beckons writers with over £3000 in cash prizes, publication opportunities in anthologies, and a chance to participate in a televised Award Ceremony. Sponsored by the University Centre Grimsby, this annual contest, now in its eighth year, draws entries from approximately 30 countries worldwide. Entrants can vie for prizes across four categories, gaining exposure at the televised award ceremony and receiving expert feedback at the annual literary festival.

And if you're determined to learn how to overcome writer's block for this contest, we have a wealth of expert tips and strategies to guide you through the process!

Deadline: 30th September 2024

• 1st Prize: £1000
• 2nd Prize: £100
• 3rd Prize: £50

Ready to Break Free From Essay Stress?

Let our writing wizards rescue your grades with a tailor-made essay that'll make your professors do a double-take!

International Voices in Creative Nonfiction Competition by Vine Leaves Press

Vine Leaves Press welcomes writers worldwide, prioritizing voices from marginalized communities such as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and individuals with chronic illnesses or disabilities, among others. Submissions, which must be in English and previously unpublished, are accepted from February 1, 2024, until July 1, 2024. Manuscripts can be either narrative (50,000 – 80,000 words) or experimental (at least 100 pages), adhering to specific formatting guidelines, including anonymity to ensure impartial judging. Each submission requires a $25 entry fee via Submittable, and multiple entries are allowed. Entries will be judged based on originality, creativity, writing quality, and adherence to genre, with finalists announced in October 2024, shortlisted in January 2025, and winners in March 2025.

Deadline: July 01, 2024

• The winner will receive a cash prize of $1000.
• Publication of the winning manuscript will occur in 2026 by Vine Leaves Press.
• Runners-up will also be considered for publication.

Solas Awards by Best Travel Writing

The Solas Awards, continuing a tradition since 1993, celebrate travel stories that inspire. They're looking for engaging tales that capture the essence of exploration, whether funny, enlightening, or adventurous. Winners may get published and join a community of fellow storytellers. Entries in essay, non-fiction, and travel genres are welcome with a $25 submission fee.

Deadline: September 21, 2024

• $1,000 Gold
• $750 Silver
• $500 Bronze

Vocal Challenges by Creatd

Vocal, in partnership with Voices in Minor (ViM), announces a creator-led challenge in celebration of International Women's Day, open to all Vocal creators. Participants are invited to write a 600-800 word piece about a woman who has inspired them for International Women's Day in the Year of the Dragon 2024. Submissions must adhere to specific length criteria and can be of any genre or format. Vocal will review entries and create a shortlist, from which ViM will select two co-grand prize winners and ten runners-up.

Deadline: Mar 12, 2024

• 2 Co-Grand Prizes: $200
• 10 Runners-up: $20

Cambridge Re:think Essay Competition 2024

The Re:think Essay Competition welcomes students aged 14 to 18 worldwide to participate in crafting essays under 2000 words, following MLA 8 citation style, with submissions undergoing plagiarism and AI checks. Essay prompts cover diverse themes, such as the role of women in STEM , provided by distinguished professors from prestigious institutions like Harvard, Brown, UC Berkeley, Cambridge, Oxford, and MIT. To maintain anonymity during review, submissions should be in PDF format without personal details.

Deadline : 10th May, 2024

• Gold: $150 cash, $500 CCIR scholarship, digital certificate, interview, Cambridge invite.
• Silver: $100 cash, $300 CCIR scholarship, digital certificate, interview, Cambridge invite.
• Bronze: $50 cash, $200 CCIR scholarship, digital certificate, interview, Cambridge invite.

The Hudson Prize by Black Lawrence Press

Each year, Black Lawrence Press presents The Hudson Prize, inviting submissions for an unpublished collection of poems or prose. This competition is open to writers at all stages of their careers, offering the winner book publication, a $1,000 cash prize, and ten copies of the published book. Entries are read blind by a panel of editors, requiring manuscripts to adhere to specific formatting guidelines, including pagination and font choice. Poetry manuscripts should be 45-95 pages, while prose manuscripts should range from 120-280 pages.

Deadline : March 31, 2024

• Top prize $1,000

Irene Adler Prize by Lucas Ackroyd

Introducing The Irene Adler Prize essay writing contest, offering a $1,000 US scholarship to the winner, with up to two $250 awards for honorable mentions. Open to women pursuing bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. degrees in journalism, creative writing, or literature worldwide, regardless of age. Unlike previous years, this year's competition welcomes applicants from any country. The application period runs from January 30, 2024, to May 30, 2024, with no late submissions accepted. Each application requires a 500-word essay on one of five provided prompts and a completed entry form, both submitted via email.

Deadline : May 30, 2024

• 2x honorable mentions: $250

100 Word Writing Contest by Tadpole Press

With a doubled first-place prize of $2,000 USD, participants are invited from all corners of the globe, regardless of age, gender, or nationality. Pen names are accepted, and winning entries will be published under those names. Previously published pieces are also welcome, with no restrictions. Any genre is accepted, with the theme centered around creativity. Each entry must be 100 words or less, including the title.

Deadline : April 30, 2024

• 1st place: $2,000 USD.
• 2nd place: Writing coaching package valued at $450 USD.
• 3rd place: Developmental and diversity editing package valued at $250 USD.

African Diaspora Awards 2024 by Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc

The African Diaspora Award 2024 seeks original works from Afro-descendants, including short stories, flash fiction, essays, poetry, or visual art. Winners can earn up to $1000 USD and publication in Kinsman Quarterly and "Black Butterfly: Voices of the African Diaspora." Submissions reflecting cultural themes are due by June 30, 2024. Authors retain copyrights, and entrants must be 18 or older. No plagiarism is allowed, and Kinsman Quarterly employees cannot enter. Various genres are accepted with specific word count limits.

Deadline : June 30, 2024

• Grand Prize: $1000 cash and publication in Kinsman Quarterly & anthology.
• 1st Runner Up: $300 cash and publication 
• 2nd Runner Up: $200 cash and publication 
• 3rd Runner Up: $50 cash and publication
• Top 6 Finalists: $25 Amazon gift card and publication 
• 6 Honorary Mentions: Publication in Kinsman Quarterly & anthology.

Work-In-Progress (WIP) Contest by Unleash Press

The Unleash WIP Award 2024 offers $500, feedback, coaching, and a feature in Unleash Lit to help writers with their book projects in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. All writers can apply. So, if you're looking for resources like free Harvard online courses to hone your writing skills, consider entering this competition. Submissions of the first 25 pages and answers to questions are due by July 15, 2024. Multiple entries are okay, but follow the rules, especially keeping your submission anonymous. Unleash also welcomes previously self-published works.

Deadline : July 15, 2024

• Top prize: $500
• Additional prizes: Coaching, interview, and editorial support

Aurora Polaris Creative Nonfiction Award by Trio House Press

Open to all writers, the poetry manuscripts should be 48-70 pages, and the prose manuscripts should be up to 80,000 words. Submissions must be from U.S. residents and must be original works. AI-generated submissions and translations are not eligible. Manuscripts should be sent as a single Word doc. or docx. file with no identifying information, and a cover letter with bio and contact details should be uploaded separately.

Deadline: May 15, 2024

• $1,000, publication, and 20 books

Poetry & Spoken Word Competition 2024 by Write the World

Young writers aged 13 to 19.5 are invited to enter this upcoming competition, with submissions of 50 to 500 words. Inspired by Audrey Lorde's words and the power of poetry, participants are encouraged to craft original poems or spoken word pieces advocating for change and self-expression. Winners, including top prizes for written and recorded performances, will be announced on June 14. Malika Booker, a renowned British poet, serves as the guest judge. To enter, writers should sign up on Write the World, respond to the prompt, and submit their final entries before the deadline.

Deadline : May 27, 2024

• Best entry: $100
• Best Peer Review: $50

Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award

The Killer Nashville essay writing contests seek to uncover new talent and recognize outstanding works by established authors, aiming to introduce their works to a broader audience. With numerous fiction and non-fiction categories available, writers have the opportunity to showcase their talent across a wide range of genres. The top prize includes a $250 award, and entry requires a fee of $79. Genres eligible for entry encompass crime, essay, fantasy, fiction, humor, memoir, mystery, non-fiction, novel, poetry, science fiction, script writing, short story, and thriller.

Deadline : June 15, 2024

• Top prize: $250

Journalism Competition 2024 by Write the World

In this upcoming competition, young writers aged 13 to 19.5 are invited to participate, with entries ranging from 400 to 1000 words. Participants are tasked with exploring and reporting on significant events within their own country, fostering a deeper understanding of local issues. Optional draft submissions for expert review are available until July 8, with feedback returned to writers by July 12. Winners will be announced on August 9. To enter, writers must sign up for a free account on Write the World, respond to the prompt, and submit their final entries before the deadline.

Deadline : July 22, 2024

National Essay Contest by U.S. Institute of Peace

This year, AFSA is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the United States Foreign Service. They've been involved in important events throughout history, like making decisions about war and peace, supporting human rights, and responding to disasters. Now, AFSA wants students to think about the future of diplomacy. They're asking students to imagine how diplomats can adapt to the changing world and its challenges. It's a chance for students to explore how diplomacy can continue to make a difference in the world.

Deadline : April 01, 2024

• Top prize: $2,500
• Additional prizes: Runner-up: $1,250

In 2023, the world of writing competitions offers a diverse tapestry of opportunities for writers across the globe. From exploring the depths of nature to delving into the mysteries of microfiction, these competitions beckon with enticing prizes and platforms for your creative voice. So, pick your favorite, sharpen your pen, and embark on a journey of literary excellence!

Unlock the Essay Enchantment!

Our expert wordsmiths are standing by, wands at the ready, to craft your essay masterpiece. No potions, just perfect prose!

Related Articles

ThePensters Essay Writing Contest: $1000 Scholarship for Your Essay

• Third Essay Writing Contest
• Second Essay Competition
• First Essay Writing Contest

Third: Meet Third ThePensters Writing Contest Winners for Scholarship $1000

• The first winner is Manasa Akella from New Albany High School, MD with the essay "How the Food We Take for Granted Can Cure Depression by Manasa Akella"
• Second prize goes to Caleb Cuzner from Columbia College Chicago with the essay "Food-Mood Essay by Caleb Cuzner" and Alani D. Mason-Callaway from American University with the essay "How Food Affects Our Mood by Alani D. Mason"

Third ThePensters Essay Competition

August 2017 - May 2018

Though a $1000 scholarship will be awarded to the winner, second and third place will also win prizes. We hold contests and competitions each year for students’ benefits in the form of scholarships. The aim of this contest is to encourage great student writers and to give them a leg up in their studies.

Are you all ears now? Good! Then it’s time for you to read the terms and conditions of our third essay competition.

How to Participate in Our Third Contest

Step 2. Send your essay to [email protected] before May 31st, 2018. We will not notify you about receiving your email. So, please do not send us emails several times and do not ask us if we received your submission.

Together with the essay, add your contact information:

• first name/middle name/surname
• college/high school
• year of graduation
• phone number

Step 3. Wait for us to contact you, because if you get a note from us, you are a winner!

Essay Requirements

• The length of the essay should be between 500-700 words.
• Please write about three reasons for believing in your thesis statement in the form of body paragraphs and back up your reasons with viable evidence from respected sources.
• Do not write about yourself and don’t explain why you deserve to win the scholarship. We only care about the quality of your writing. Your reasons for participating and the explanations of why you need the money are not relevant in this case.
• Any point of view is acceptable, but use credible evidence in your essay.
• Have an introduction with a thesis statement, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Who has the Right to Participate?

All genders, ages, and nationalities are welcome to participate. Our only requirement is that you should be a current high school/college/university student. Only in this case will we consider your essay.

Contest Results

All essays will be reviewed by June 10, 2018 . We will contact winners by June 15, 2018 and discuss how we will transfer the prize money.

Good luck to all participants!

Second: Meet Second ThePensters Writing Contest Winners for Scholarship $1000

• The first winner is Tyra White from Baltimore, MD with the essay "Tyra White Essay - Writing Context Medalist #1"
• Second prize goes to: Joel Stephen Burma from British Columbia Okanagan with the essay "Joel Stephen Burma Essay - Writing Context Medalist #2"
• Jacqueline Marie Krantz from Florida Southern College with the essay "Jacqueline Marie Krantz Essay - Writing Context Medalist #3"

Second ThePensters Essay Competition

October 2016 - May 2017

After our first, successful essay contest, which was based in 2015-2016 we decided to supply aid to students again by way of a $1000 scholarship for winning the contest. Second and third place will also win prizes. We hold contests and competitions each year for students’ benefits in the form of scholarships. The aim of this contest is to encourage great student writers, help them develop their creative thinking skills, and to give them a leg up in their studies. This short story writing can serve a great motivating factor for further academic achievements. Take the challenge and be guided by your competitive spirit!

Are you all ears now? Good! Then it’s time for you to read the terms and conditions of our second essay competition.

How to Participate in the Our Second Contest

Step 2. Send your essay to [email protected] before May 31, 2017. Together with the essay, add all of your contact information:

• name/middle name/surname

Step 3. Wait for us to contact you by June 15, 2017, because if you get a note from us, you are a winner!

• Do not write about yourself and don’t try to explain why you deserve to win the scholarship. We only care about the quality of your writing. Your reasons for participating and the explanations of why you need the money are not relevant in this case.
• Topics within the prompt can include these areas of focus and more: poetry education, education for free, education without teachers, learning to write letters in different languages, creative education for kids, future of fiction writing education, applications for virtual universities, money in education, the future of literary education, online education through websites, require adults to be educated, student learning from writers and poets, international virtual high school, learning to write everything virtually, from an application letter to a nonfiction book or novel.

All genders, ages, races, and nationalities are welcome to participate. Our only requirement is you should be a current high school/college/university student. Only in this case will we consider your essay.

Deadline to Apply

Please send your writing by May 31, 2017. We will not notify you about receiving your email. So, please do not send us emails several times and do not ask us if we received your submission.

All essays will be reviewed by June 10, 2017. We will contact winners by the 15 of June 2017 and discuss how we will transfer the prize money.

First: Meet First ThePensters Writing Contest Winners for Scholarship $1000

• The first winner is Keziah Young from Edinburgh, Scotland with the essay "Keziah Young Essay - Writing Context Winner"
• Second prize goes to: Maria Phelan from Kelowna, BC, Canada with the essay "Maria Phelan Essay - Writing Context Medalist #1" Gina S. Falcone from New Mexico, USA with the essay "Gina S. Falcone Essay - Writing Context Medalist #2"

First ThePensters Essay Writing Contest

April 2015 - May 2016

Our custom writing service works hard to make your college life easier. We offer professional help with essay writing to everyone in need and are happy to reap the fruits of labour in the form of your improved grades and academic proficiency. However, we’ve decided to go even further and provide a college scholarship of $1,000 to the proud winner of our first contest.

Are you all ears now? Good! Then it’s time for you to read the terms and conditions of our first contest.

How to Participate in the First Contest

Step 1. Write a creative narrative essay in English (400-500 words). Follow our requirements for essay writing, which are stated below.

Step 2. Send your essay to [email protected] till May 31, 2016 . Together with the essay, add all of your contact information:

• name/surname
• attending college/high school

Step 3. Wait for us to contact you by June 15, 2016, because if you get a note from us – you are the winner!

• Essay length should be a minimum of 400-500 words.
• Who is the Penster?
• What is his/her story?
• Why does our world need heroes like him/her?

Bear in mind: There is no need to answer the questions directly. Your answers could be traced all over the writing. For example, you could write about a real person that deserves the rank of the Penster (but don’t forget to explain why you consider him/her worthy of this title). You could also create a legend, a myth or a fairy tale and write about that. Or, if it suits you better, you could write a whole research paper on this topic.

• The recommended essay type would be narrative writing, but we give you complete freedom to express yourself in your own way. So don’t limit yourself to the suggested narrative writing, which normally would suit this task best.
• Do not write about yourself and don’t try to explain why you deserve to win the scholarship. We only care about the quality and creativity of your writing. Your reasons for participating and the explanations on why you need the money are not relevant in this case.
• Any point of view is acceptable. However, there must be no racism, sexism or fascism in your story. It is really hard to get these things into an essay about the Penster, so please don’t try to do it ☺.
• If you use clichés, use amusing ones. It is also okay to use slang as long as your writing style requires it. However, we would strongly recommend you to avoid profanity.
• You don’t have to stick to academic style in this essay – you have enough of that in college, after all. So be creative.

Who Has the Right to Participate

We don’t care about your gender, age, race or nationality. Our only requirement is that you should be a current high school/college/university student. Only in this case, will we check your essay.

Please send your writing by May 31, 2016 . We will not notify you about receiving your email. So, please do not send us emails several times and do not ask us if we received your submission.

First Contest Results

All essays will be reviewed by June 10, 2016. We will contact the winner by the 15th of June and discuss how we will transfer the money.

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• Writing Tips

7 Essay Writing Contests to Look Out For in 2023

• 7-minute read
• 28th December 2022

Essay contests are not only a great way to exercise your essay-writing skills but also an awesome way to win cash prizes, scholarships, and internship or program opportunities. They also look wonderful on college applications as awards and achievements.

In this article, you’ll learn about 7 essay writing contests to enter in 2023. Watch the video below, or keep reading to learn more.

1. Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest 

Deadline: Now–April 30, 3023

Who may enter:

This is an international contest for people of all ages (except for residents of Syria, Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Russia, and Belarus due to US government restrictions).

Contest description:

●  The contest is organized by Winning Writers, located in MA, USA.

●  They accept stories and essays on any theme, up to 6,000 words each. This contest defines a story as any short work of fiction and an essay as any short work of nonfiction.

●  Your stories and essays must be submitted in English.

●  You may submit published or unpublished work.

Entry fee: USD 22 per entry

●  Story: First Prize is USD 3,000.

●  Essay: First Prize is USD 3,000.

●  10 Honorable Mentions will receive USD 300 each (any category).

●  The top 12 entries will be published online.

Official website

Please visit the competition’s official website for more information on judges and submissions.

2. 2023 Calibre Essay Prize 

Deadline: Now–January 15, 2023, 11:59 pm

Who may enter: All ages and any nationality or residency are accepted.

●  This contest is hosted by the Australian Book Review.

●  Your essay must be between 2,000 and 5,000 words.

●  You may submit nonfiction essays of all kinds, e.g., personal, political, literary, or speculative.

●  You may enter multiple essays but will need to pay separate fees for each one.

●  Your essay must be unpublished.

Entry fee: AU 30 for non-members

Prize: AU 7,500

Official website:

For more information on this contest, please visit its official website.

3. John Locke Institute Essay Competition 

Deadline: June 30, 2023

●  Students from any country.

●  Students aged 15 to 18 years by the competition deadline.

●  Students aged 14 years or younger by the competition deadline are eligible for the Junior prize.

●  The contest is organized by the John Locke Institute.

●  Your essay cannot exceed 2,000 words.

●  There are seven subjects or categories for essay submissions: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law.

Entry fee: Free to enter

●  The best overall essay winner receives an honorary John Locke Fellowship, which comes with a USD 10,000 scholarship to attend one or more summer schools or gap year courses.

●  There is also a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category and the Junior category is a scholarship worth USD 2,000 toward the cost of a summer program.

●  All winning essays will be published on the Institute’s website.

For more information about this competition and the John Locke Institute, please visit the official website . Also, be sure to check out our article on all you need to know about this contest.

4. The American Foreign Service Association 2023 Essay Competition 

Deadline: April 3, 2023

●  Students in grades 9–12 in any of the 50 states, DC, the US territories, or if they are US citizens or lawful permanent residents attending high school overseas.

●  Students attending a public, private, or parochial school.

●  Home-schooled students.

●  Your essay should be 1,000–1,500 words.

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●  You will select a country or region in which the United States Foreign Service has been involved at any point since 1924 and describe how the Foreign Service was successful or unsuccessful in advancing American foreign policy goals – including promoting peace – in this country or region and propose ways in which it might continue to improve those goals in the coming years.

●  Your essay should follow MLA guidelines.

●  Your essay should use a variety of sources.

●  The first-place winner receives USD 2,500, a paid trip to the nation’s capital from anywhere in the U.S. for the winner and their parents, and an all-expense-paid educational voyage courtesy of Semester at Sea.

●  The runner-up receives USD 1,250 and full tuition to attend a summer session of the National Student Leadership Conference’s International Diplomacy program.

Please visit the American Foreign Service website for more information.

5. The Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) 2023 Essay Contest 

Deadline: Mid-February 2023–June 1, 2023

Who may enter: High school (including homeschooled), college, and graduate students worldwide.

●  The 2023 essay contest topic is marriages and proposals.

●  High school students may focus on Pride and Prejudice only or bring in other Austen works.

●  Undergraduate and graduate students should discuss at least two Austen novels of their choice.

●  Your essay must be in MLA format and 6 to 8 pages (not including your Works Cited page).

●  Your essay must be written in English.

●  First place wins a USD 1,000 scholarship.

●  Second place wins a USD 500 scholarship.

●  Third place wins a USD 250 scholarship.

●  Winners will also receive one year of membership in JASNA, publication of their essays on this website, and a set of Norton Critical Editions of Jane Austen’s novels.

For more information and submission guidelines, please visit JASNA’s official website .

6. 2023 Writing Contest: Better Great Achievements by EngineerGirl

Deadline: February 1, 2023

●  Students in Grades 3–12. If international or homeschooled, please select your grade level based on if you were attending a public school in the U.S.

●  This contest is organized by EngineerGirl.

●  Students should write a piece that shows how female or non-white engineers have contributed to or can enhance engineering’s great achievements.

●  You should choose one of the 20 Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century as a topic and explore the technologies developed in the last century and the new ones being developed today. Make sure to follow the specific guidelines for your grade level.

●  Essays should be 650–750 words based on your grade level.

●  Please visit the contest’s website to see specific requirements based on your grade.

Winners in each grade category will receive the prizes listed below:

●  First-place winners will be awarded USD 500.

●  Second-place entries will be awarded USD 250 .

●  Third-place entries will be awarded USD 100 .

For more information and submission guidelines, please visit the official website .

7. World Historian Student Essay Competition

Deadline: May 1, 2023

Who may enter: Students enrolled in Grades K–12 in public, private, and parochial schools and home-study programs worldwide.

●  Your essay must address the following issue: In what way has the study of world history affected my understanding of the world in which I live?

●  Your essay should be 1,000 words.

Prizes: USD 500

For more information and submission requirements, please visit the contest’s official website.

Essay contests are a great way to expand your writing skills, discuss a topic that is important to you, and earn prize money and opportunities that will be great for you in the long term. Check out our articles on writing thesis statements, essay organization, and argumentative writing strategies to ensure you take first place every time.

If you need help with your essays and would like to make sure that every comma is in place, we will proofread your first 500 words for free !

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Essay  COMPETITION

2024 global essay prize, registrations are now open all essayists must register  here  before friday 31 may, 2024.

The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. Our Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.

Entering an essay in our competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of our essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte.

The judges will choose their favourite essay from each of seven subject categories - Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law - and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject. There is also a separate prize awarded for the best essay in the junior category, for under 15s.

Q1. Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?

Q2. Do girls have a (moral) right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?

Q3. Should I be held responsible for what I believe?

Q1. Is there such a thing as too much democracy?

Q2. Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?

Q3. When is compliance complicity?

Q1. What is the optimal global population?  

Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?

Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?

Q1. Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?

Q2. Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?

Q3. Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?

Q1. When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?

Q2. In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?

Q3. Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?

Q1. According to a study by researchers at four British universities, for each 15-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by around 35% for a man but decreases by around 58% for a woman. Why?

In the original version of this question we misstated a statistic. This was caused by reproducing an error that appeared in several media summaries of the study. We are grateful to one of our contestants, Xinyi Zhang, who helped us to see (with humility and courtesy) why we should take more care to check our sources. We corrected the text on 4 April. Happily, the correction does not in any way alter the thrust of the question.

Q2. There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?

Q3. What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?

Q1. “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?

Q2. Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?

Q3. Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?

JUNIOR prize

Q1. Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?

Q2. Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?

Q3. Is there life after death?

Q4. How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise? 

Q5. When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?

Q6. Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies? 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & FURTHER DETAILS

Please read the following carefully.

Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 is open to students from any country.

Registration  

Only candidates who registered before the registration deadline of Friday, 31 May 2024 may enter this year's competition. To register, click here .  

All entries must be submitted by 11.59 pm BST on  the submission deadline: Sunday, 30 June 2024 .  Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on that date. (Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date.)

Entry is free.

Each essay must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration). 

The filename of your pdf must be in this format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf; so, for instance, Alexander Popham would submit his answer to question 2 in the Psychology category with the following file name:

Alexander-Popham-Psychology-2.pdf

Essays with filenames which are not in this format will be rejected.

The candidate's name should NOT appear within the document itself. 

Candidates should NOT add footnotes. They may, however, add endnotes and/or a Bibliography that is clearly titled as such.

Each candidate will be required to provide the email address of an academic referee who is familiar with the candidate's written academic work. This should be a school teacher, if possible, or another responsible adult who is not a relation of the candidate. The John Locke Institute will email referees to verify that the essays submitted are indeed the original work of the candidates.

Submissions may be made as soon as registration opens in April. We recommend that you submit your essay well in advance of th e deadline to avoid any last-minute complications.

Acceptance of your essay depends on your granting us permission to use your data for the purposes of receiving and processing your entry as well as communicating with you about the Awards Ceremony Dinner, the academic conference, and other events and programmes of the John Locke Institute and its associated entities.  

Late entries

If for any reason you miss the 30 June deadline you will have an opportunity to make a late entry, under two conditions:

a) A late entry fee of 20.00 USD must be paid by credit card within twenty-four hours of the original deadline; and

b) Your essay must be submitted  before 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 10 July 2024.

To pay for late entry, a registrant need only log into his or her account, select the relevant option and provide the requested payment information.

Our grading system is proprietary. Essayists may be asked to discuss their entry with a member of the John Locke Institute’s faculty. We use various means to identify plagiarism, contract cheating, the use of AI and other forms of fraud . Our determinations in all such matters are final.

Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful .

Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.

The writers of the best essays will receive a commendation and be shortlisted for a prize. Writers of shortlisted essays will be notified by 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 31 July. They will also be invited to London for an invitation-only academic conference and awards dinner in September, where the prize-winners will be announced. Unlike the competition itself, the academic conference and awards dinner are not free. Please be aware that n obody is required to attend either the academic conference or the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London.

All short-listed candidates, including prize-winners, will be able to download eCertificates that acknowledge their achievement. If you win First, Second or Third Prize, and you travel to London for the ceremony, you will receive a signed certificate. 

There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme, and the essays will be published on the Institute's website. Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in London, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet some of the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome.

The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or visiting scholars programmes. 

The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

R egistration opens: 1 April, 2024.

Registration deadline: 31 May, 2024. (Registration is required by this date for subsequent submission.)

Submission deadline: 30 June, 2024.

Late entry deadline: 10 July, 2024. (Late entries are subject to a 20.00 USD charge, payable by 1 July.)

Notification of short-listed essayists: 31 July, 2024.

Academic conference: 20 - 22 September, 2024.

Awards dinner: 21 September, 2024.

Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to [email protected] . Please be aware that, due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot guarantee to answer every query. In particular, regrettably, we are unable to respond to questions whose answers can be found on our website.

If you would like to receive helpful tips  from our examiners about what makes for a winning essay or reminders of upcoming key dates for the 2024  essay competition, please provide your email here to be added to our contact list. .

Thanks for subscribing!

The John Locke Institute's Global Essay Prize is acknowledged as the world's most prestigious essay competition. 

We welcome tens of thousands of submissions from ambitious students in more than 150 countries, and our examiners - including distinguished philosophers, political scientists, economists, historians, psychologists, theologians, and legal scholars - read and carefully assess every entry. 

I encourage you to register for this competition, not only for the hope of winning a prize or commendation, and not only for the chance to join the very best contestants at our academic conference and gala ceremony in London, but equally for the opportunity to engage in the serious scholarly enterprise of researching, reflecting on, writing about, and editing an answer to one of the important and provocative questions in this year's Global Essay Prize. 

We believe that the skills you will acquire in the process will make you a better thinker and a more effective advocate for the ideas that matter most to you.

I hope to see you in September!

Best wishes,

Jamie Whyte, Ph.D. (C ANTAB ) 

Chairman of Examiners

Q. I missed the registration deadline. May I still register or submit an essay?

A. No. Only candidates who registered before 31 May will be able to submit an essay. 

Q. Are footnote s, endnotes, a bibliography or references counted towards the word limit?

A. No. Only the body of the essay is counted. 

Q. Are in-text citations counted towards the word limit? ​

A. If you are using an in-text based referencing format, such as APA, your in-text citations are included in the word limit.

Q. Is it necessary to include foo tnotes or endnotes in an essay? ​

A. You  may not  include footnotes, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. You should give your sources of any factual claims you make, and you should ackn owledge any other authors on whom you rely.​

Q. I am interested in a question that seems ambiguous. How should I interpret it?

A. You may interpret a question as you deem appropriate, clarifying your interpretation if necessary. Having done so, you must answer the question as directly as possible.

Q. How strict are  the age eligibility criteria?

A. Only students whose nineteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. In the case of the Junior category, only students whose fifteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. 

Q. May I submit more than one essay?

A. Yes, you may submit as many essays as you please in any or all categories.

Q. If I am eligible to compete in the Junior category, may I also (or instead) compete in another category?

A. Yes, you may.

Q. May I team up with someone else to write an essay?  

A. No. Each submitted essay must be entirely the work of a single individual.

Q. May I use AI, such as ChatGPT or the like, in writing my essay?

A. All essays will be checked for the use of AI. If we find that any content is generated by AI, your essay will be disqualified. We will also ask you, upon submission of your essay, whether you used AI for  any  purpose related to the writing of your essay, and if so, you will be required to provide details. In that case, if, in our judgement, you have not provided full and accurate details of your use of AI, your essay will be disqualified. 

Since any use of AI (that does not result in disqualification) can only negatively affect our assessment of your work relative to that of work that is done without using AI, your safest course of action is simply not to use it at all. If, however, you choose to use it for any purpose, we reserve the right to make relevant judgements on a case-by-case basis and we will not enter into any correspondence. 

Q. May I have someone else edit, or otherwise help me with, my essay?

A. You may of course discuss your essay with others, and it is perfectly acceptable for them to offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses in your writing or content, leaving you to address them.

However, no part of your essay may be written by anyone else. This means that you must edit your own work and that while a proofreader may point out errors, you as the essayist must be the one to correct them. 

Q. Do I have to attend the awards ceremony to win a prize? ​

A. Nobody is required to attend the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London. But if we invite you to London it is because your essay was good enough - in the opinion of the First Round judges - to be at least a contender for First, Second or Third Prize. Normally the Second Round judges will agree that the short-listed essays are worth at least a commendation.

Q. Is there an entry fee?

A. No. There is no charge to enter our global essay competition unless you submit your essay after the normal deadline, in which case there is a fee of 20.00 USD .

Q. Can I receive a certificate for my participation in your essay competition if I wasn't shortlisted? 

A. No. Certificates are awarded only for shortlisted essays. Short-listed contestants who attend the award ceremony in London will receive a paper certificate. If you cannot travel to London, you will be able to download your eCertificate.

Q. Can I receive feedba ck on my essay? 

A. We would love to be able to give individual feedback on essays but, unfortunately, we receive too many entries to be able to comment on particular essays.

Q. The deadline for publishing the names of short-listed essayists has passed but I did not receive an email to tell me whether I was short-listed.

A. Log into your account and check "Shortlist Status" for (each of) your essay(s).

Q. Why isn't the awards ceremony in Oxford this year?

A. Last year, many shortlisted finalists who applied to join our invitation-only academic conference missed the opportunity because of capacity constraints at Oxford's largest venues. This year, the conference will be held in central London and the gala awards dinner will take place in an iconic London ballroom. 

TECHNICAL FAQ s

Q. The system will not accept my essay. I have checked the filename and it has the correct format. What should I do?  

A. You have almost certainly added a space before or after one of your names in your profile. Edit it accordingly and try to submit again.

Q. The profile page shows my birth date to be wrong by a day, even after I edit it. What should I do?

A. Ignore it. The date that you typed has been correctly input to our database. ​ ​

Q. How can I be sure that my registration for the essay competition was successful? Will I receive a confirmation email?

A. You will not receive a confirmation email. Rather, you can at any time log in to the account that you created and see that your registration details are present and correct.

TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR SUBMISSION

If you are unable to submit your essay to the John Locke Institute’s global essay competition, your problem is almost certainly one of the following.

If so, please proceed as indicated.

1) PROBLEM: I receive the ‘registrations are now closed’ message when I enter my email and verification code. SOLUTION. You did not register for the essay competition and create your account. If you think you did, you probably only provided us with your email to receive updates from us about the competition or otherwise. You may not enter the competition this year.

2) PROBLEM I do not receive a login code after I enter my email to enter my account. SOLUTION. Enter your email address again, checking that you do so correctly. If this fails, restart your browser using an incognito window; clear your cache, and try again. Wait for a few minutes for the code. If this still fails, restart your machine and try one more time. If this still fails, send an email to [email protected] with “No verification code – [your name]” in the subject line.

SUBMITTING AN ESSAY

3) PROBLEM: The filename of my essay is in the correct format but it is rejected. SOLUTION: Use “Edit Profile” to check that you did not add a space before or after either of your names. If you did, delete it. Whether you did or did not, try again to submit your essay. If submission fails again, email [email protected] with “Filename format – [your name]” in the subject line.

4) PROBLEM: When trying to view my submitted essay, a .txt file is downloaded – not the .pdf file that I submitted. SOLUTION: Delete the essay. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “File extension problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

5) PROBLEM: When I try to submit, the submission form just reloads without giving me an error message. SOLUTION. Log out of your account. Open a new browser; clear the cache; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Submission form problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

6) PROBLEM: I receive an “Unexpected Error” when trying to submit. SOLUTION. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If this resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Unexpected error – [your name]” in thesubject line. Your email must tell us e xactly where in the submission process you received this error.

7) PROBLEM: I have a problem with submitting and it is not addressed above on this list. SOLUTION: Restart your machine. Clear your browser’s cache. Try to submit again. If this fails, email [email protected] with “Unlisted problem – [your name]” in the subject line. Your email must tell us exactly the nature of your problem with relevant screen caps.

READ THIS BEFORE YOU EMAIL US.

Do not email us before you have tried the specified solutions to your problem.

Do not email us more than once about a single problem. We will respond to your email within 72 hours. Only if you have not heard from us in that time may you contact us again to ask for an update.

If you email us regarding a problem, you must include relevant screen-shots and information on both your operating system and your browser. You must also declare that you have tried the solutions presented above and had a good connection to the internet when you did so.

If you have tried the relevant solution to your problem outlined above, have emailed us, and are still unable to submit before the 30 June deadline on account of any fault of the John Locke Institute or our systems, please do not worry: we will have a way to accept your essay in that case. However, if there is no fault on our side, we will not accept your essay if it is not submitted on time – whatever your reason: we will not make exceptions for IT issues for which we are not responsible.

We reserve the right to disqualify the entries of essayists who do not follow all provided instructions, including those concerning technical matters.

Munster Literature Centre Ionad Litríochta an Deisceart

Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition

Open for entries 1 September – 30 November

Most recent results here

Line limit: 40 Closing date: 30th November (midnight) Entry fee: €7 per poem or €30 for a batch of five

The competition is open to original, unpublished and unbroadcast poems in the English language of 40 lines or fewer. The poem can be on any subject, in any style, by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. Translated work is not in the scope of this competition. Once entered, no alterations can be made to the submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted but please notify us immediately should your work be accepted elsewhere.

• Featured reading at the  Cork International Poetry Festival (with four-night hotel stay and full board)
• Featured on the Southword Poetry Podcast
• Publication in  Southword
• Publication in  Southwor d

ten Runners-Up

2024 judge tba, submission details, email entry.

Send to:  [email protected] Subject:  GOD entry

Attach the poem(s) for submission, with each poem attached separately (Word / RTF/ ODT – we cannot accept PDFs or weblinks such as Google Drive). Please use the title of the poem (or the first few words of the title) as the title of each document. As the competition is judged anonymously, we request that you do not write your name or personal details anywhere on this document.

Attach the cover letter (separate text document (Word / RTF / ODT – we cannot accept PDFs or weblinks such as Google Drive) attached to the same email, not in the body of the email). The cover letter should include:

• Poem title(s)
• Email address
• Email associated with your PayPal account (if different from your contact email address)
• Phone number
• Postal address
• Image of PayPal receipt or the PayPal transaction ID number
• How your heard about the competition
• A brief bio (optional)

Payment of the entry fee can be made through PayPal below. PayPal will deduct the fee in your own currency. LINK WILL APPEAR HERE DURING SUBMISSION WINDOW.

Postal Entry

• Poem(s) for submission (typed). To ensure anonymity, please do not write your name or any other personal details on the page. Each poem should be printed on a separate page with no back to back printing.
• Cover letter: see required details above. Cover letter should be on a separate page to ensure anonymity.
• Payment: If you have paid through PayPal, just quote the PayPal transaction ID. Alternatively, we accept cheques or bank drafts payable to the “Munster Literature Centre” in Euro, U.S Dollars or Pounds Sterling at a rate of €7 EUR per poem (or €30 EUR for a batch of five), $7 USD per poem (or $30 USD for a batch of five), or £6 GBP per poem (or £25 GBP for a batch of five). We also accept postal orders from the Republic of Ireland only. Please note that we cannot accept cash payment or Western Union money orders.
• Send to: Gregory O’Donoghue Competition, The Munster Literature Centre, 84 Douglas Street, Cork, T12 X802 Ireland
• Please do not send entries by registered post. Unfortunately, we are less likely to receive entries sent by registered post and your submission may be ineligible due to the delay incurred.
• If you would like us to send you confirmation of your postal entry, please include a self-addressed stamped postcard or envelope (if posted within Ireland). We can confirm the receipt of international entries via email.
• Postal entries postmarked on or before 31st November (even if received by us after the deadline) will be accepted.

Fees-Free entry

In a social justice initiative, the Munster Literature Centre is offering free entries of two poems each for thirty poets currently residing in a developing country (Africa, Central and South America, South East Asia, the Philippines, in the main) who do not have the financial means to pay the entrance fee for this year’s Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition. The places are offered on a trust basis. If you can afford the fee, we implore you not to use this facility as you will be depriving someone who really needs it. Only one free entry of two poems per person is allowed. Anyone who submits more than one free entry of two poems will have all their entries disqualified.

SUBMISSION PORTAL WILL APPEAR HERE DURING SUBMISSION WINDOW

The above Submittable portal will bring you to the fee-free submission option. Entries will not be accepted by other means outside of this time. The portal will close automatically when 30 entries have been received. Prepare in advance the following information, ready to input into an online form (copy and paste) as soon as the submission opens on 1 st September (12 p.m. midday Irish Standard Time).

• Titles of your poems (maximum of two)
• Your complete postal address
• Your email address
• Your complete phone number (including country code)

You will need to upload two documents:

• Cover letter containing a bio note and the same information listed above
• Your poems, maximum of two, each with a maximum of 40 lines in Word or other text documents – we cannot accept PDFs. Please use the title of the poem (or the first few words of the title) as the title of each document. As the competition is judged anonymously, we request that you do not write your name or personal details anywhere on this document.

No changes to entries can be made after they have been submitted. The Submittable portal is for fees-free entries only.

More about the competition

The Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition was first held in 2010. It is a poetry prize for a single poem, open to writers from around the world from September to November annually. Sponsored by the Munster Literature Centre, the prize is named in honour of the late Irish poet long associated with the Centre.

Due to the large volume of entries, the judge will not be able to notify the authors of non-winning entries or give individual feedback. A shortlist will be posted on our website homepage by late February / early March, with winners and runners-up contacted contacted before the public announcement. If you need to withdraw an entry, please email [email protected]. We recommend following us on social media or signing up for our newsletter to stay up to date with all competition developments directly:

Join Our Mailing List

Email (required) *

Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from Munster Literature Centre. (You can unsubscribe anytime)

The Munster Literature Centre is a not-for-profit organisation; all money raised from the competition benefits writers and writing.

Previous Winners

Skip to Main Content of WWII

2023 student writing contest, 2023-2024 student writing contest winners.

Congratulations to our winners! There were over 200 entries from students across the United States. Entries went through three vigorous rounds of blind vetting by classroom teachers from across the country, Museum curators and Museum educators.

Junior Division

Senior division.

The 2024-2025 Student Writing Contest topic will go live in mid-October and submissions will be accepted from the end of October through January 2025. We look forward to having YOU participate!

Topic Overview

According to Cornell Law School, civil liberties are:

• Freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution (primarily from the First Amendment ). They are natural rights which are inherent to each person. While they are commonly referred to as " rights ," civil liberties actually operate as restraints on how the government can treat its citizens . As such, the First Amendment's language (" congress shall make no law") explicitly prohibits the government from infringing on liberties, such as the freedom of speech .
• Civil liberties are constitutionally protected freedoms.
• Civil rights are claims built upon legislation .
• A violation of civil rights affords the injured party a right to legal action against the violator. For example, the freedom of religion is recognized as both a civil right and civil liberty; it is protected under the Constitution from government infringement (liberty) as well as under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 from being the basis of discriminatory practices.

Approximately 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the US Armed Forces during World War II. Many of them voluntarily enlisted despite having their civil liberties infringed upon by the US government with the execution of Executive Order 9066 in 1942. This order forcibly incarcerated around 122,000 men, women and children in relocation centers in the interior of the United States.

The majority of those 33,000 served in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team or as linguists with the Military Intelligence Service. The 100th/442nd remains the most decorated unit for its size and duration of service in US Army history. “Go for Broke” means risking everything to win big. This was the motto adopted by these units.

Writing Prompt

Write a speech from the perspective of one of these service members speaking to a group of students today in 2023.

In it, you must:

• Include that person’s motivation for voluntarily enlisting in the military despite the circumstances.
• Describe any opposition to that idea (motivation) that people may have had then or may have now.
• Discuss the legacy of this chapter of American history and how it relates to modern civil liberties.
• Use evidence from at least three sources listed here.
• Use information and examples from your own knowledge of US History.
• Civil Exclusion Order Poster
• Article on Japanese Incarceration
• Glossary of Terms
• Walter Imahara Oral History
• 1944 Rohwer Center Yearbook
• Article on High School Life in Rohwer Center
• Article on Music at Heart Mountain
• Article on Jimmy Kanaya
• Profile of Sadao Munemori
• Profile of Senator Daniel Inouye
• Article on 100th Infantry Battalion
• Article on 442nd Regimental Combat Team
• Article on the Military Intelligence Service
• Article on 1800th Engineering Battalion
• Article on Japanese American Wartime Experiences in Hawaii
• Article on Servicemen’s Thoughts on Japanese Incarceration
• Article on the Return of Japanese Americans to the West Coast
• Article on an Incarcerated Interracial Couple
• Article on Redress and Reparations
• Letter of Apology
• Student Webinar on Japanese American Servicemembers Pt. 1
• Student Webinar on Japanese American Servicemembers Pt. 2
• Electronic Field Trip on Japanese Incarceration
• 1943 Government Propaganda Film
• Image Gallery
• Day of Remembrance
• The Go for Broke Spirit Website
• Korematsu v. US Case
• Fred T. Korematsu Institute Website
• 14th Amendment

Contest Policies

Eligibility

The contest is open to United States students in grades 7 through 12 attending public, private, parochial, or home schools; U.S. students under the age of twenty enrolled in a high school correspondence/GED program in any of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or the U.S. territories; and U.S. citizens attending schools overseas.

Requirements

• The contest opens on October 18, 2023 and the deadline to submit is January 29, 2024 at 11:59 PM (CST).
• Students may submit a typed copy OR a video of themselves reciting it.
• If typed, speeches can be no more than 750 words but must be a minimum of 500 words. It should be double spaced, have a title and be in 12-point font. It should be uploaded as a PDF.
• If you choose to record yourself in a video, it should be between 4 and 8 minutes long. Please be mindful of background noise and your attire. Be sure to speak loudly and clearly. Please do not read; instead, speak naturally (it's okay to write and review before you record or to have talking points). It must be uploaded as a MOV, MP4 or WMV.
• Speeches must be the original work of the student.

All entries must be submitted by 11:59pm (CST) on January 29, 2024 to be eligible for judging. The National WWII Museum is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, damaged, illegible, or incomplete submissions.

Decisions of the NWWIIM Student Writing Contest are final. Winners will be notified by email by February 7, 2024. The winners will be posted on The National WWII Museum’s website and will also receive a certificate by the end of February 2024. Awards will be sent via direct deposit during the Spring of 2024.

By entering, you agree that your speech will become the property of The National WWII Museum and will not be returned. The National WWII Museum reserves the right to print and display the speeches names and photographs of the contest winners.

Recognition and Awards

There will be 2 categories: Junior (grades 7-9) and Senior (grades 10-12).

• First place winners in both categories will win $750 each.
• Second place winners in both categories will win $500 each.
• Third place winners in both categories will win $250 each.
• Honorable Mention in both categories will win $100 each.

Submit your speech here .

This writing contest is inspired by the special exhibit currently at The National WWII Museum. The Go for Broke Spirit: Legacy in Portraits is on display in the Joe W. and Dorothy D. Brown Foundation Special Exhibit Gallery until March 31, 2024.

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

FREE Poetry Worksheet Bundle! Perfect for National Poetry Month.

The Best Student Writing Contests for 2023-2024

Help your students take their writing to the next level.

When students write for teachers, it can feel like an assignment. When they write for a real purpose, they are empowered! Student writing contests are a challenging and inspiring way to try writing for an authentic audience— a real panel of judges —and the possibility of prize money or other incentives. We’ve gathered a list of the best student writing contests, and there’s something for everyone. Prepare highly motivated kids in need of an authentic writing mentor, and watch the words flow.

1.  The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

With a wide range of categories—from critical essays to science fiction and fantasy—The Scholastic Awards are a mainstay of student contests. Each category has its own rules and word counts, so be sure to check out the options  before you decide which one is best for your students.

How To Enter

Students in grades 7-12, ages 13 and up, may begin submitting work in September by uploading to an online account at Scholastic and connecting to their local region. There are entry fees, but those can be waived for students in need.

2.  YoungArts National Arts Competition

This ends soon, but if you have students who are ready to submit, it’s worth it. YoungArts offers a national competition in the categories of creative nonfiction, novel, play or script, poetry, short story, and spoken word. Student winners may receive awards of up to $10,000 as well as the chance to participate in artistic development with leaders in their fields.

YoungArts accepts submissions in each category through October 13. Students submit their work online and pay a $35 fee (there is a fee waiver option).

3. National Youth Foundation Programs

Each year, awards are given for Student Book Scholars, Amazing Women, and the “I Matter” Poetry & Art competition. This is a great chance for kids to express themselves with joy and strength.

The rules, prizes, and deadlines vary, so check out the website for more info.

4.  American Foreign Service National High School Essay Contest

If you’re looking to help students take a deep dive into international relations, history, and writing, look no further than this essay contest. Winners receive a voyage with the Semester at Sea program and a trip to Washington, DC.

Students fill out a registration form online, and a teacher or sponsor is required. The deadline to enter is the first week of April.

5.  John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest

This annual contest invites students to write about a political official’s act of political courage that occurred after Kennedy’s birth in 1917. The winner receives $10,000, and 16 runners-up also receive a variety of cash prizes.

Students may submit a 700- to 1,000-word essay through January 12. The essay must feature more than five sources and a full bibliography.

6. Bennington Young Writers Awards

Bennington College offers competitions in three categories: poetry (a group of three poems), fiction (a short story or one-act play), and nonfiction (a personal or academic essay). First-place winners receive $500. Grab a poster for your classroom here .

The contest runs from September 1 to November 1. The website links to a student registration form.

7. The Princeton Ten-Minute Play Contest

Looking for student writing contests for budding playwrights? This exclusive competition, which is open only to high school juniors, is judged by the theater faculty of Princeton University. Students submit short plays in an effort to win recognition and cash prizes of up to $500. ( Note: Only open to 11th graders. )

Students submit one 10-page play script online or by mail. The deadline is the end of March. Contest details will be published in early 2024.

8. Princeton University Poetry Contest for High School Students

The Leonard L. Milberg ’53 High School Poetry Prize recognizes outstanding work by student writers in 11th grade. Prizes range from $100 to $500.

Students in 11th grade can submit their poetry. Contest details will be published this fall.

9. The New York Times Tiny Memoir Contest

This contest is also a wonderful writing challenge, and the New York Times includes lots of resources and models for students to be able to do their best work. They’ve even made a classroom poster !

Submissions need to be made electronically by November 1.

10.  Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest

The deadline for this contest is the end of October. Sponsored by Hollins University, the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest awards prizes for the best poems submitted by young women who are sophomores or juniors in high school or preparatory school. Prizes include cash and scholarships. Winners are chosen by students and faculty members in the creative writing program at Hollins.

Students may submit either one or two poems using the online form.

11.  The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers

The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers is open to high school sophomores and juniors, and the winner receives a full scholarship to a  Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop .

Submissions for the prize are accepted electronically from November 1 through November 30.

12. Jane Austen Society Essay Contest

High school students can win up to $1,000 and publication by entering an essay on a topic specified by the Jane Austen Society related to a Jane Austen novel.

Details for the 2024 contest will be announced in November. Essay length is from six to eight pages, not including works cited.

13. Rattle Young Poets Anthology

Open to students from 15 to 18 years old who are interested in publication and exposure over monetary awards.

Teachers may choose five students for whom to submit up to four poems each on their behalf. The deadline is November 15.

14. The Black River Chapbook Competition

This is a chance for new and emerging writers to gain publication in their own professionally published chapbook, as well as $500 and free copies of the book.

There is an $18 entry fee, and submissions are made online.

15. YouthPlays New Voices

For students under 18, the YouthPlays one-act competition is designed for young writers to create new works for the stage. Winners receive cash awards and publication.

Scroll all the way down their web page for information on the contest, which accepts non-musical plays between 10 and 40 minutes long, submitted electronically. Entries open each year in January.

16. The Ocean Awareness Contest

The 2024 Ocean Awareness Contest, Tell Your Climate Story , encourages students to write their own unique climate story. They are asking for creative expressions of students’ personal experiences, insights, or perceptions about climate change. Students are eligible for a wide range of monetary prizes up to $1,000.

Students from 11 to 18 years old may submit work in the categories of art, creative writing, poetry and spoken word, film, interactive media and multimedia, or music and dance, accompanied by a reflection. The deadline is June 13.

17. EngineerGirl Annual Essay Contest

Each year, EngineerGirl sponsors an essay contest with topics centered on the impact of engineering on the world, and students can win up to $500 in prize money. This contest is a nice bridge between ELA and STEM and great for teachers interested in incorporating an interdisciplinary project into their curriculum. The new contest asks for pieces describing the life cycle of an everyday object. Check out these tips for integrating the content into your classroom .

Students submit their work electronically by February 1. Check out the full list of rules and requirements here .

18. NCTE Student Writing Awards

The National Council of Teachers of English offers several student writing awards, including Achievement Awards in Writing (for 10th- and 11th-grade students), Promising Young Writers (for 8th-grade students), and an award to recognize Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines.

Deadlines range from October 28 to February 15. Check out NCTE.org for more details.

19. See Us, Support Us Art Contest

Children of incarcerated parents can submit artwork, poetry, photos, videos, and more. Submissions are free and the website has a great collection of past winners.

Students can submit their entries via social media or email by October 25.

20. The Adroit Prizes for Poetry & Prose

The Adroit Journal, an education-minded nonprofit publication, awards annual prizes for poetry and prose to exceptional high school and college students. Adroit charges an entry fee but also provides a form for financial assistance.

Sign up at the website for updates for the next round of submissions.

21. National PTA Reflections Awards

The National PTA offers a variety of awards, including one for literature, in their annual Reflections Contest. Students of all ages can submit entries on the specified topic to their local PTA Reflections program. From there, winners move to the local area, state, and national levels. National-level awards include an $800 prize and a trip to the National PTA Convention.

This program requires submitting to PTAs who participate in the program. Check your school’s PTA for their deadlines.

22. World Historian Student Essay Competition

The World Historian Student Essay Competition is an international contest open to students enrolled in grades K–12 in public, private, and parochial schools, as well as those in home-study programs. The $500 prize is based on an essay that addresses one of this year’s two prompts.

Students can submit entries via email or regular mail before May 1.

23. NSHSS Creative Writing Scholarship

The National Society of High School Scholars awards three $2,000 scholarships for both poetry and fiction. They accept poetry, short stories, and graphic novel writing.

Apply online by October 31.

Whether you let your students blog, start a podcast or video channel, or enter student writing contests, giving them an authentic audience for their work is always a powerful classroom choice.

If you like this list of student writing contests and want more articles like it, subscribe to our newsletters to find out when they’re posted!

Plus, check out our favorite anchor charts for teaching writing..

You Might Also Like

Best 2024 Competitions for Students in Grades K-12

Competitions in STEM, ELA and the arts, and more! Continue Reading

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John Estey Student Writing Competition

5th Annual Student Writing Competition

2024 Competition Prompt

“Tradition was safety; change was danger.” — Mary Doria Russell, The Sparrow

Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow is a visionary work that combines speculative fiction with deep philosophical inquiry. The Sparrow tells the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who leads a scientific mission entrusted with a profound task: to make first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life. The mission begins in faith, hope, and beauty, but a series of small misunderstandings brings it to a catastrophic end.

The Sparrow is recommended for ages 16 and up.

This prompt is a quote from Russell’s The Sparrow and can be used as a first line, a last line, a jumping-off point, an inspiration for your students’ work. They can use the entire quote or portions of it to write a fiction or nonfiction story, poem, song, scene, short monologue or other form of writing. Submissions should be 1,000 words or less regardless of format.

Prizes for the John Estey Student Writing Competition are as follows:

• 3 Winners from the Elementary Grade category will receive $500 each
• 3 Winners from the Middle School Category will receive $1,000 each
• 3 Winners from the High School category will receive $2,000 each

Homeschoolers are welcome to participate in the competition. Please indicate school name as ‘Homeschool’ while filling out the form.

International students may participate in the competition. Please indicate your school’s city and country clearly in the school name field when filling out the form. Be advised, the AWM requires a teacher email and name to participate. 

Steps to submit your students’ written pieces:

• Fill out the intent to participate form below.
• Submission links will be sent out to you on Monday, April 22, 2024. Note: Submissions will be accepted only via our submission link.
• Once you submit your written piece, you will receive an automated email.
• Winners will be contacted by August 30, 2024 before the names are announced to the public.

Submission deadline: June 7, 2024 at 11:59 PM CDT*

Winner announcement: September 10, 2024

* Not eligible to participate: Past winners of the competition, relatives of AWM staff or board.

*To submit your student’s work, please fill out the intent to participate form and you will receive a submission link from the education team at a later date. Submissions will ONLY be accepted through the submission link.

• The 3  winners of the Elementary Grade category will receive $500
• The 3 winners of the Middle School category will receive $1,000
• The 3 winners of the High School category will receive $2,000

Category Selection

• Elementary Grade Level (Grades 3-5)
• Middle School Grade Level (Grades 6-8)
• High School Grade Level (Grades 9-12)
• Only 3 entries per category from one school.
• Teachers will be allowed to submit entries for multiple categories.
• A school with K-8 students can submit 6 entries (3 for Elementary and 3 for Middle School).
• A school that is a stand alone middle school, or a high school can submit only 3.
• If multiple teachers in a school have their students compete, the school needs to pick the top 3 for the school.
• Winners agree to be filmed reading their work and to be featured in a press release and on the American Writers Museum website.

Contact [email protected] with any questions

Previous Winners

• Siaansh Singh Bhadauria – Deerfield Elementary School, CA
• Aydin Soner – Homeschool, SC
• Aiza Liya Vattoth – Forest Park Elementary, AR
• Olivia Bakal – Oakwood School, CA
• Evelyn Basken – Alcott College Prep Elementary School, IL
• Catherine Huang – Collegewood Elementary School , CA
• Chloe Truong – Norwood Park School, IL
• Sophiya Subba – Whittier Elementary School, IL
• Raymond Cai – Keystone School, TX
• Audriana Giudice – Lazar Middle School, NJ
• Taylor Haase – The Rhoades School, CA
• Chloe Lind – Ashley Hall School, SC
• Alessandra Giordano – Lazar Middle School, NJ
• Alisha Walker – Lincoln Middle School, IL
• Taskin Arisha – Castle Hill Middle School, NY
• Aisling Panjwani – Skinner North Classical School, IL
• Brooke Elwell – Eastern Camden County Regional High School, NJ
• Anita Raj – Eastern Camden County Regional High School, NJ
• Charity White – Carlisle School, VA
• Elizabeth Boguslavsky – Glenbard South High School, IL
• Lana Olarte – Durham School of the Arts, NC
• Katie Liske – Marian High School, NE
• Adina Tanner – Yeshiva University High School for Girls, NY
• Nina Artwell – Niles North High School, IL
• Ysa Quiballo – Niles North High School, IL
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The Winners of Our ‘How To’ Contest

Over 2,200 teenagers submitted essays on how to do everything from fix a toilet to fight a kangaroo. We’ll be publishing the work of the winners all week.

By The Learning Network

Almost from the time our new “ How To” Informational Writing Contest for Teenagers went live in January, we knew it would be a success.

First there was the creative range of topics. As submissions rolled in — 2,223 by the deadline — we were happy to see students take on a variety of key emotional, intellectual and physical skills, including how to win an argument, fix a toilet, cope with anxiety, remember names and trip gracefully.

But we were even more delighted to be introduced to a few offbeat skills we hadn’t previously realized were crucial, like how to do the worm, snowball-attack your sister, fight a kangaroo and “talk to your crush without sounding like a talking potato.”

Our participants had fun. We know that because in their accompanying process statements they told us so. They liked coming up with topic ideas, and writing something for school in a format they’d never seen before. They even enjoyed finding and interviewing experts — a contest requirement that had seemed daunting at first to many, but turned out to be one of the most rewarding steps.

We hope you’ll enjoy the results as much as we have. We’ll be publishing the work of the top 11 winners all week, and we’ll add links here when we do.

In alphabetical order by the writer’s first name

“ How to Befriend an Introvert ” : Ashley Zhang, 14, Collingwood School, West Vancouver, British Columbia

“ How to Do the Worm ” : Camille Gonzales, 18, Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston

“ How to Find Your Balance ” : Chelsea Hu, 18, Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.

“How to Make Bubble Tea” : Hanyi Zhou, 14, Chinese International School, Hong Kong

“How to Make the Perfect Sandwich” : Jackson DeNichilo, 15, Fallston High School, Fallston, Md.

“How to Wrap a Dumpling” : Jacob Wang, 16, Charterhouse School, Godalming, England

“How to Conduct a Podcast Interview” : Matthew Jeong, 17, Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston

“How to Be a Kid Forever” : Raniya Chowdhury, 17, John Fraser Secondary School, Mississauga, Ontario

“How to Become Friends With a Wild Bird” : Shannon Hong, 16, Herricks High School, New Hyde Park, N.Y.

“How to Host Unexpected Guests” : Sofia Fontenot, 18, Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston

“How to Make Fear Your Friend” : Zoe Brown, 14, Summit High School, Bend, Ore.

“How to Recover After Yet Another Disappointing Season by Your Favorite N.F.L. Team” : Alden Comes, 13, Briarcliff Middle School, Mountain Lakes, N.J.

“How to Tell the Ugly Truth” : Alex (Hayoung) Jung, 16, Seoul Foreign School, Seoul

“How to Remember Names” : Anahita Driver, 13, Gregory Middle School, Naperville, Ill.

“How to Find Gratitude in Everyday Life” : Andrew Coraggio, 16, Arrowhead Union High School, Hartland, Wis.

“How to Antique Shop” : Callisto Lim, 17, Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston

“How to Build an Optimal Environment for Your Fish” : Chasity Rolon, 16, Deer Park High School, New York, N.Y.

“How to Snowball Attack Your Sister” : Harper Mooney, 14, Marblehead High School, Marblehead, Mass.

“How to Achieve Inner Peace by Washing Your Dishes” : Jackson Cooke, 18, Briarwood Christian High School, Birmingham, Ala.

“How to Spot Counterfeit Currency” : Kaylie Milton, 17, West High School, Iowa City, Iowa

“How to Pee On a Hike” : Lauren Acker, 17, Lakeside High School, DeKalb County, Ga.

“How to Mimic an Accent” : Michael Noh, 14, Korea International School Pangyo Campus, Seongnam, South Korea

“How to Speak Like a British Person” : Owen Wilde, 16, Maynard High School, Maynard, Mass.

“How to Ask a Teacher for Help” : Sarah Harris, 15, Boothbay Region High School, Boothbay Harbor, Maine

“How to Spin Pens” : Siddharth S., 16, Peepal Prodigy School Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

“How to Make Kids Excited About History” : Vivian Wenan Chang, 17, BASIS Chandler, Chandler, Ariz.

“How to Ride a Roller Coaster Without Fear” : Wang Ziyun, 16, Raffles Girls’ School, Singapore

“How to Make a Three-Point Shot” : Will Peña, 17, Academy at the Lakes, Land O’ Lakes, Fla.

“How to Play Darts” : Xizhe Yang, 15, Shanghai High School International Division, Shanghai

Honorable Mentions

“How to Survive Middle School Hallways” : Alice Liang, 13, Islander Middle School, Mercer Island, Wash.

“How to Learn a New Language” : Andrew Chen, 14, International School of Beijing, Beijing

“How to Let Go of Someone” : Ariel Ting, 16, Taipei American School, Taipei, Taiwan

“How to Cope With Your Anxiety” : Ava Cho, 18, Daegu International School, Daegu, South Korea

“How to Live Openly As a Lesbian” : Ayco Phlypo, 17, Atheneum Gentbrugge, Ghent, Belgium

“How to Make Homemade Pasta” : Bella DiBernardo, 16, Alta Vista Middle College, Santa Barbara, Calif.

“How to Prepare for Running a Marathon” : Brett Barker, 17, Arrowhead Union High School, Hartland, Wis.

“Keep the Sandman at Bay” : Bryant, 18, Bandung Independent School, Bandung, Indonesia

“How to Fix a Toilet!” : Carla Lopez, 16, Jose Marti STEM Academy, Union City, N.J.

“How to Order at a Specialty Coffee Shop” : Cassandra Garcia, 16, home school, Portland, Texas

“How to Trip Gracefully” : Eileen Kim, 15, Urbana High School, Ijamsville, Md.

“How to Drive Your Siblings Mad” : Elaine Kim, 15, West Ranch High School, Stevenson Ranch, Calif.

“Being Objective” : James Yi, 17, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, Calif.

“How to Accept Failure” : Jamie Park, 16, Yongsan International School of Seoul, Seoul

“How to Cope With a Panic Attack” : Jason Kim, 15, Georgetown Preparatory School, North Bethesda, Md.

“How to Escape a Night Market” : Joyce Chang, 16, Stella Matutina Girls’ High School, Taichung City, Taiwan

“How to Overcome Assault: A Survivor’s Guide on Trauma-Related Shame” : Juliana Segal, 17, The Montessori School of Raleigh Upper School, Raleigh, N.C.

“How to Play Out of Tune On the Flute” : Kavya Muralidhar, 13, Islander Middle School, Mercer Island, Wash.

“How to Write a Poem” : Lareina Yuan, 14, YK Pao School, Shanghai

“How to Make Tanghulu” : Lehan Gu, 15, Northwood High School, Irvine, Calif.

“How to Be When Meeting New People” : MaryEden Rall, 13, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School, Montgomery, Ala.

“How to Make the Perfect Playlist” : Rachel Wieland, 17, Arrowhead Union High School, Hartland, Wis.

“How to Talk to Your Crush Without Sounding Like a Talking Potato” : Roxanne Wu, 16, International School of Beijing, Beijing

“How to Help a Child With Autism” : Sarah Zeng, 15, Victoria Park Collegiate Institute, Toronto

“How to Deal With Nerves” : Sasha Luhur, 14, Northwood School, Lake Placid, N.Y.

“How to Watch Clouds” : Shio Kim, 14, North London Collegiate School Jeju, Seogwipo, South Korea

“How to Discuss Controversial Issues With Parents” : Siyao Feng, 18, Linden Hall School for Girls, Lititz, Pa.

“How to Write a Song” : Sophia Kim, 15, Chadwick International School, Incheon, South Korea

“How to Write a Song” : Stephanie Ma, 16, The Webb Schools, Claremont, Calif.

“How to Be a Good Dukjil-er” : Suevean (Evelyn) Chin, Asia Pacific International School, Seoul

“How to Win an Argument” : Suri Boryang Kim, PTGMS, South Korea

“How to Tie a Shoe” : Vivian Olivera, 17, Academy at the Lakes, Land O’ Lakes, Fla.

“Grilling Pork Belly For the Best Flavor” : Yoonseo Cho, 17, Portola High School, Irvine, Calif.

Thank you to our contest judges.

Ana Paola Wong, Annissa Hambouz, Caroline Gilpin, Dana Davis, Elisa Zonana, Isaac Aronow, Jeremy Engle, Jeremy Hyler, John Otis, Juliette Seive, Katherine Schulten, Kathryn Curto, Ken Paul, Kimberly Wiedmeyer, Kirsten Akens, Michael Gonchar, Natalie Proulx, Phoebe Lett, Shannon Doyne, Sharon Murchie, Shira Katz, Sue Mermelstein, Susan Josephs, Sydney Stein

July Deadlines: 12 Writing Contests Ending This Month

Just like a dazzling firework, these wonderful contests will be gone before you know it! Take the time to check out our curated list, and find the perfect fit for your explosively brilliant writing!

Richard J. Margolis Award

Inspired by journalist and essayist Richard J. Margolis, this prize has provided financial and other support to a promising journalist whose work combines warmth, humor, and wisdom with social justice since 1992. This prize recognizes one writer with $5000, and a one-month residency at the Blue Mountain Center in Blue Mountain Lake, NY. Applicants need to provide a cover letter, biographical note, a project description, and two writing samples. Guidelines here.

Entry Fee : FREE Deadline : July 1

2020 LAR Literary Awards

Here is a great chance for writers of all stripes, as the Los Angeles Review ’s contest rewards authors in creative nonfiction, short fiction, flash fiction, and poetry! Aimee Liu judges creative nonfiction, Kristen Millares Young judges short fiction, Ellen Meeropol judges flash fiction, and Francisco Aragón judges poetry. The winner in each category receives $1000 and publication – Make sure you submit to the correct category! Submission guidelines here.

Entry Fee : $20 Deadline : July 14

Bellevue Literary Review Prizes

All three of the Bellevue Literary Review’ s contests are ending soon, so enter now if you want to receive one of the three $1000 and publication first-place prizes! All entries should be related to themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body. Dan Chaon is judging fiction, Jen Bervin is judging poetry, and Kay Redfield Jamison is judging nonfiction. Honorable mention winners also earn $250 and publication! Submit here.

Entry Fee : $20 Deadline : July 15

The Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers

These awards, presented by Nimrod International Journal through the University of Tulsa, honor the work of writers at the beginning of their careers in either fiction or poetry. Contestants can enter up to five pages of poetry, and up to 5000 words of prose. The winner of each category will receive $500 and their manuscript will be published in the spring issue of Nimrod ! Details here.

Entry Fee : $12 Deadline : July 15

Rattle Poetry Prize

Rattle is looking for an outstanding piece of poetry, and they are definitely willing to bribe you for it! This annual competition awards $15,000 for a single poem to be published in the winter issue of their magazine. Ten finalists also receive $500 and publication, and are eligible for the $5000 Reader’s Choice Award. Four poems are allowed per entry, and there is no line limit. What are you waiting for? Enter here!

Entry Fee : $25 Deadline : July 15

Robert and Adele Schiff Awards

The Cincinnati Review is currently accepting submissions for their annual contest, but all good things will eventually come to an end. The winning poem, fiction piece, and literary nonfiction piece will be judged by Rebecca Lindenberg, Michael Griffith, and Kristen Iversen, respectively. The winning entries will be published in 2021 and receive $1000 each, so don’t lose your chance! Learn more here.

Spring 2020 Travel Writing Contest

The award-winning literary travel magazine Nowhere is looking for writers who know how to convey time and place with ease and grace! Submissions may be fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or essay, and can range from 800 to 5000 words. The winner receives $1000 and publication, and up to 10 finalists will be published as well. Check it out!

Entry Fee : $15 Deadline : July 15

The Story Prize

This competition is a daunting gauntlet for any first-time author to run, but the reward at the end is well worth the effort! A $20,000 book prize is awarded to the author of a collection of short stories that was published this year, and entries may be submitted by agents, authors, or publishers. Currently they’re accepting submissions of books that were published from January through June. Are you eligible? Do it!

Entry Fee : FREE Deadline : July 15

Bard Fiction Prize

This amazing prize is offered to a promising emerging writer through Bard College, and the winners receive a stipend of $30,000, an appointment as writer-in-residence on campus for one semester, and the opportunity to give a public lecture. Be aware, though, they’re looking for writers who are 39 years old or younger. You’ll need to have published a book in order to apply, but this is the chance of a lifetime! More information here.

Entry Fee : FREE Deadline : July 30

Narrative Spring Story Contest

This contest is open to all fiction and nonfiction writers, writing anything from short stories and memoirs, to essays and literary nonfiction! The entries need to be less than 15,000 words and previously unpublished, while containing a strong narrative drive and intense insights. First prize is $2500, second is $1000, and third is $500. Guidelines here.

Entry Fee : $27 Deadline : July 31

Red Hen Press Novella Award

This is the third year for Red Hen Press’ contest, whose prize is for any writer with a previously unpublished, original work of fiction! Acceptable submissions are between 15,000 and 30,000 words. The winner, selected by judge Donna Hemans, receives $1000 and publication by Red Hen Press. Learn more here!

Entry Fee : $25 Deadline : July 31

Virginia Quarterly Review READING SESSION

This is the month to send in your work to the Virginia Quarterly Review , because it’s the only time of year that they accept unsolicited submissions! They’re looking for fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, and they’re willing to pay over $1000 for accepted content. Don’t miss your chance! Details here.

Entry Fee : FREE Deadline : July 31

by Kimberly Guerin

New Writing on the Net: June 2020

New voices: “sorry about your bird” by kathryn m. barber.

Win $1000 In The Pensters Essay Contest

If you’re student who enjoys writing, don’t miss this opportunity to win a $1000 grant. The essay contest is being organized by The Pensters.

Who can apply? Students from all over the world are eligible to send in an essay. So if you think you’ve got what it takes, here are the guidelines.

• Send in a persuasive 500 – 700 word essay on the theme: “Will Virtual Reality Classes Replace Traditional Education?”
• Email all entries to [email protected]
• Submissions deadline is 31st of May 2017.
• No application fees required
• In the body of the essay, applicants should include their;

Name/Middle name/Surname College/High school Year of graduation Major i.e. Course of Study Phone number Email address

Applications will be accepted from countries all over the world. Successful candidates will be contacted by the 15th of June 2017.

For more information, visit The Pensters Essay Writing Competition Webpage.

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Nathaniel Tower

Juggling writing and life

How to Host a Writing Contest

Last Updated on March 4, 2024 by Nathaniel Tower

Running a writing contest may seem like a risky undertaking for an individual, a literary magazine, or any other type of publication. In order to get any interest at all, you have to put up some prize money. What happens if there aren’t enough entrants to cover your prize purse? How is a publication supposed to come up with that cash? Well, if money’s the only thing you’re worried about, then you aren’t prepared to host a writing contest.

As managing editor at Bartleby Snopes Literary Magazine , I created and ran the Dialogue-Only writing contest for nine years. During that time, we received thousands of entries and awarded over $10,000 in prize money. The Dialogue-Only contest was one of the best-paying writing contests on the web. How does a contest sponsored by a small literary magazine get to be so big?

Here’s everything you need to know to host a successful writing contest.

Minimizing the Risk

Before getting into the details about how to make your writing contest huge, let’s talk briefly about how to reduce the risk. There are several risks involved when hosting a contest. The two biggest are:

• Losing money
• Dealing with complaints (about judging, submission fees, etc.)

In order to minimize the money lost, I recommend using a formula similar to what we did at Bartleby Snopes . Start with a guaranteed amount that won’t break the bank (we originally started with $250 and eventually guaranteed at least $1,000). Charge a modest submission fee (we always charged $10). Add a little bit of money to the prize pot for each entry over a certain threshold. For example, once you get to 25 entries, add an extra $5-$6 for each new submission. Two warnings here:

• You will need more entries than you think to cover the prize money (if you have a $10 entry fee, you should only count on $9 per entry after processing fees).
• You’ll get the majority of entries near the deadline, so don’t panic if it seems like you’re behind.

Don’t promise an amount that you don’t feel comfortable losing. Always imagine the worst-case scenario. Can you afford to pay the entire prize money out of your pocket? If not, then lower your starting amount (or don’t have the contest at all).

The other major risk you run into when hosting a contest is backlash from the non-winning writers. If you aren’t careful, there may be cries of bias or unfair judging procedures. Writers may ask for their fees to be returned. You may hear complaints that the winning entries weren’t any good. You need to be sure your contest rules are clearly stated, including a bit of legalese. Don’t forget to include these statements:

• All decisions made by the judges regarding the winners are final
• No contest entry fees will be returned
• By submitting, you are agreeing to all contest rules
• Contest rules are subject to change

Additionally, it’s always a good idea to be specific regarding all the various components of the contest. Tell your submitters who the judges are, where the contest fees go, when the winning stories will be published, etc. By taking this proactive and transparent approach, we were able to to stay clear of complaints. None of the writers asked for their fee to be returned (unless there was a glitch), and only one writer ever complained about the results (it was a cry of sexism because one year all 5 winners in our BLIND contest had male-sounding names).

Getting Enough Entries

Our Dialogue-Only contest wasn’t always a big deal. During our first year, we gave out just $450 in prize money. While many writers would be thrilled to win a piece of that, we’re not exactly talking about big bucks. Five years later, our prize pot was over five times that. How were we able to grow so much during that time?

If you want to maximize the number of entries your writing contest gets, you need to do a few things:

• Make the prize worth it
• Establish credibility
• Be transparent
• Advertise and promote
• Do something unique

Let’s discuss each of these elements in detail.

Make the Prize Worth It

A contest doesn’t have to award thousands of dollars to be worth it. Of course, that all depends on what you are asking the writers to do. The higher the fee you are charging, the bigger the prize should be. I recommend a prize-to-fee ratio of at least 20 to 1 (that’s a $100 prize for a $5 entry fee). If the prize is only $25, you aren’t going to get people who are willing to pay $5 or $10 to enter. If your prize-to-fee ratio is on the lower end, be sure to throw in some extra incentive (such as a free issue or subscription). Never  offer guaranteed publication to all entrants.

There are a couple other things to consider when making a prize that’s worth the entry fee:

• What are the odds of winning?
• How much work does the writer need to do to participate?

If you are getting thousands of entries, you need a huge prize. The lower the odds an individual writer has, the more you better hand out.

If you are asking for a very specific story, or if your contest requests a large volume of work, then you need to respect the effort a writer will have to put in to participate. Writers aren’t going to create a story just for your contest if they have only a small chance of winning a small prize.

Establish Credibility

This might sound like it’s impossible to achieve during the first year of your contest, but it definitely can be done. Here are a few suggestions:

• Get an endorsement from a respected figure in the writing community (this could be in the form of a guest judge)
• Get your contest listed by credible publications
• Establish yourself as a respected and professional publisher/editor prior to hosting a contest
• Make sure your contest details are thorough

I wouldn’t recommend launching a contest during the first few months your publication exists. Establish yourself first, then establish your contest. And make sure you have a real website before launching your contest. No one is going to submit if there isn’t clear evidence your contest is real.

Be Transparent

In a world where privacy is becoming more and more of a commodity, people want to know more and more about what they are getting into. Don’t hide anything about your contest. Be forthcoming about everything, including:

• Who the judges are (provide names and links for guest judges)
• Where the money will go (especially if your contest will bring in more money than it awards)
• When and how the winners will be paid
• When and how entrants will be notified
• When the winning stories will be published

Additionally, if you’ve run the contest in the past, you need to make examples of past winners easily available. If the only way to see past winners is by paying money, then you aren’t being transparent. It’s also a good idea to write a blog post or article about the contest. For example, you could discuss the types of stories that generally don’t do well in your contest. Or you could give tips about preparing a contest entry. Naturally, this will also help to establish your credibility.

Advertise and Promote

Advertising your contest can add up quickly. An ad in  Poets & Writers can run you $500 or more. Add in a few other ads and maybe some promoted posts on Facebook and Twitter, and you are easily looking at $800-$1000 just to advertise your contest (which is about what we spent to promote our contest during our biggest years).

If paying big bucks to promote your contest isn’t in the cards for you, then find as many free outlets as possible. Make sure you have a contest listing everywhere you can. There are dozens of lists that compile writing contests for free. Make sure you are on all of them (or at least all the ones you qualify for). Have a separate listing on Duotrope that’s just for your contest. Post about your contest in legitimate writing forums. Reach out to MFA programs and ask if they will spread the word. Be sure to put together a professional announcement regarding the contest. In many cases, your free promotion will bring in more entries than your sponsored ads .

Of course, you should also use social media, but promoting your contest doesn’t just mean you Tweet about it every day. If you really want to promote a contest, you need to find a variety of outlets. The most valuable promotion is anywhere people are already looking for opportunities to make money as writers (online contest listings,  Poets & Writers  Contest Issue, social media groups dedicated to paying publications, etc.).

Do Something Unique

There are thousands of writing contests held every year. If you want people to enter yours, you need to do something different from everyone else. If your guidelines are “Write any story you want and we’ll pick the best one and give you a handful of money,” then no one is going to submit. When I created the Dialogue-Only Contest, I was trying to do something I hadn’t seen done anywhere else before. My “great” ideas included:

• A rolling rejection process
• Unlimited entries for one price
• A growing prize purse
• A very specific format (stories had to be composed entirely of dialogue)

I can’t tell you how many writers contacted me to say they really enjoyed participating in this contest. Every year, I was surprised by how many entrants responded to rejection letters by thanking me for hosting the contest.

Final Notes

Hosting a writing contest is no easy task. There are plenty of obstacles you will deal with along the way, none more difficult than the colossal challenge of sorting through all the entries to pick a winner. If you run your contest the right way, you will find it a rewarding experience. Being able to award almost $2400 to writers is definitely worth the hard work.

How to Host a Writing Contest FAQs

Can anyone host a writing contest.

Yes, in theory, any website or publication can host a writing contest. Before hosting a contest, you should clearly define your contest rules and develop a plan for collecting submissions.

Where can I advertise my writing contest?

You can and should advertise your writing contest in as many places as possible. Some of the best places are Poets & Writers, Duotrope, MFA programs, other online contest listings, and social media. Make sure you have an advertising budget. Promoting your writing contest can get expensive if you aren't careful.

Do I have to award prizes for my writing contest?

If you want people to enter your writing contest, you need to offer prizes. The most appealing prizes are monetary. Publication is also a highly desired outcome. The bigger the prizes, the more entries you'll get.

Can I charge an entry fee for my writing contest?

While some writing contests are free to enter, most require an entry fee. There is nothing wrong with charging a contest entry fee as long as you make the prize worthwhile and you are transparent about where the entry fees go. If you are keeping any of the money as profit, you should disclose this.

What if no one enters my writing contest?

If no one enters your writing contest, or you just don't get many entries, you can try extending the deadline and increasing your promotion efforts. It's always a good idea to include a disclaimer in your contest rules that requires a minimum number of entries for the contest to be held. This way, if you only get a handful of entries, you don't have to award a big prize that will cause you to lose a lot of money.

For writers interested in entering a writing contest

Are you a writer interested in entering a writing contest? Check out these helpful posts:

• How to win a writing contest
• Should I enter a writing contest?
• Everything you need to know before entering a writing contest

Do you have any additional tips for hosting a writing contest? Share your thoughts or questions in the comments. If you are interested in hosting a writing contest, feel free to reach out directly to me for advice. And, as always, please share this post on all your favorite channels.

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2 thoughts on “ How to Host a Writing Contest ”

Recently, I have started using old comics for writing practice. They are public domain and from the WW II era. It is a lot of fun and a challenge since the pictures are already done. Do you have any thoughts on me organizing a writing contest in which writers fill in the blanked dialog balloons. Every entry would have the same eight pages to fill in.

This a great article thank you for being so truthful about the process of build a contest.

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Regions Riding Forward® Scholarship Contest

Their Story. Your Voice.

Your voice is your own. But it's also been impacted by others. Who, we wonder, has inspired you? Let us know by entering the Regions Riding Forward Scholarship Contest. 

You could win an $8,000 college scholarship

For the opportunity to win an $8,000 scholarship, submit a video or written essay about an individual you know personally (who lives in your community) who has inspired you and helped you build the confidence you need to achieve your goals.

The details

The 2024 Regions Riding Forward Scholarship Contest consists of four (4) separate Quarterly Contests - one for each calendar quarter of 2024. Regions is awarding four $8,000 scholarships through each Quarterly Contest.

Each Quarterly Contest has its own separate entry period, as provided in the chart below.

The entry deadline for each Quarterly Contest is 11:59:59 PM Central Time on the applicable Quarterly Contest period end date (set forth in the chart above).

No purchase or banking relationship required.

Regions believes in supporting the students whose passion and actions every day will continue to make stories worth sharing. That’s why we have awarded over $1 million in total scholarships to high school and college students.

How to enter, 1. complete an online quarterly contest application.

Enter the Regions Riding Forward Scholarship Contest by completing a Quarterly Contest application.  The second Quarterly Contest runs from April 1, 2024 through June 30, 2024. Complete and save all requested information. 

2. Prepare your Written Essay or Video Essay

For each Quarterly Contest, the topic of your Written Essay or Video Essay (your “Essay Topic”) must be an individual you know personally, who lives in your community. Your Written Essay or Video Essay must address how the individual you have selected as your Essay Topic has inspired you and helped you build the confidence you need to achieve your goals.

Written Essay and Video Essay submissions must meet all of the requirements described in the contest Official Rules. Your Written Essay or Video Essay must be (i) in English, (ii) your own original work, created solely by you (and without the use of any means of artificial intelligence (“AI”)), and (iii) the exclusive property of you alone.

Written Essays must be 500 words or less. You can write your Written Essay directly in the application, or you can copy and paste it into the appropriate area in the application form.

Video Essay submissions must be directly uploaded to the contest application site. Video Essays must be no more than 3 minutes in length and no larger than 1 GB. Only the following file formats are accepted: MP4, MPG, MOV, AVI, and WMV. Video Essays must not contain music of any kind nor display any illegal, explicit, or inappropriate material, and Video Essays must not be password protected or require a log-in/sign-in to view. You must upload your Video Essay to the application, and you may not submit your Video Essay in DVD or other physical form. (Video Essays submitted via mail will not be reviewed or returned.)

Tips to Record Quality Videos on a Smartphone:

• Don’t shoot vertical video. Computer monitors have landscape-oriented displays, so shoot your video horizontally.
• Use a tripod. Even small movements can make a big difference when editing.
• Don’t use zoom. If you need to get a close shot of the subject, move closer as zooming can cause pixilation.
• Use natural lighting. Smartphone lighting can wash out your video.

3. Review and submit your Quarterly Contest application

Review your information on your Quarterly Application (and check the spelling of a Written Essay) and submit your entry by 11:59:59 p.m. Central Time on the applicable Quarterly Contest period end date. The second Quarterly Contest period end date is June 30, 2024.

4. Await notification

Winning entries are selected by an independent panel of judges who are not affiliated with Regions. If your entry is selected as a Quarterly Contest winner, you will need to respond to ISTS with the required information.

Eligibility

For purposes of this contest:

• The “Eligible States” are defined as the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
• An “accredited college” is defined as a nonprofit, two- or four-year college or university located within one of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia.

To be eligible to enter this contest and to win an award in a Quarterly Contest, at the time of entry, you must:

• Be a legal U.S. resident of one of the Eligible States.
• Be age 16 or older.
• Have at least one (1) year (or at least 18 semester hours) remaining before college graduation.
• If you are not yet in college, begin your freshman year of college no later than the start of the 2025 – 2026 college academic school year.
• As of your most recent school enrollment period, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 in school (and if no GPA is provided at school, be in “good standing” or the equivalent thereof in school).

View Official Rules

NO PURCHASE OR BANKING RELATIONSHIP REQUIRED. PURCHASE OR BANKING RELATIONSHIP WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. The 2024 Regions Riding Forward Scholarship Contest (the “Contest”) consists of four (4) separate quarterly contests (each a “Quarterly Contest”): (1) the “Q-1 Contest;” (2) the “Q-2 Contest;” (3) the “Q-3 Contest;” and (4) the “Q-4 Contest.” The Q-1 Contest begins on 02/01/24 and ends on 03/31/24; the Q-2 Contest begins on 04/01/24 and ends on 06/30/24; the Q-3 Contest begins on 07/01/24 and ends on 09/30/24; and the Q-4 Contest begins on 10/01/24 and ends on 12/31/24. (For each Quarterly Contest, entries must be submitted and received by 11:59:59 PM CT on the applicable Quarterly Contest period end date.) To enter and participate in a particular Quarterly Contest, at the time of entry, you must: (a) be a legal U.S. resident of one of the Eligible States; (b) be 16 years of age or older; (c) have at least one (1) year (or at least 18 semester hours) remaining before college graduation; (d) (if you are not yet in college) begin your freshman year of college no later than the start of the 2025 – 2026 college academic school year; and (e) as of your most recent school enrollment period, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 in school (and if no grade point average is provided at school, be in “good standing” or the equivalent thereof in school). (For purposes of Contest, the “Eligible States” are defined as the states of AL, AR, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MS, MO, NC, SC, TN and TX.) Visit regions.com/ridingforward for complete Contest details, including eligibility and Written Essay and Video Essay requirements and Official Rules. (Limit one (1) entry per person, per Quarterly Contest.) For each Quarterly Contest, eligible entries will be grouped according to form of entry (Written Essay or Video Essay) and judged by a panel of independent, qualified judges. A total of four (4) Quarterly Contest Prizes will be awarded in each Quarterly Contest, consisting of two (2) Quarterly Contest Prizes for the Written Essay Entry Group and two (2) Quarterly Contest Prizes for the Video Essay Entry Group. Each Quarterly Contest Prize consists of a check in the amount of $8,000 made out to winner’s designated accredited college. (Limit one (1) Quarterly Contest Prize per person; a contestant is permitted to win only one (1) Quarterly Contest Prize through the Contest.) Sponsor: Regions Bank, 1900 Fifth Ave. N., Birmingham, AL 35203.

© 2024 Regions Bank. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. Regions and the Regions logo are registered trademarks of Regions Bank. The LifeGreen color is a trademark of Regions Bank.

2023 Winners

High school:.

• Amyrrean Acoff
• Leon Aldridge
• Kharis Andrews
• Colton Collier
• Indya Griffin
• Christopher Hak
• Aquil Hayes
• Jayden Haynes
• McKenna Jodoin
• Paris Kelly
• Liza Latimer
• Dylan Lodle
• Anna Mammarelli
• Karrington Manley
• Marcellus Odum
• Gautami Palthepu
• Melody Small
• Lauryn Tanner
• Joshua Wilson
• Mohamed Ali
• Kayla Bellamy
• Lauren Boxx
• Alexandria Brown
• Samuel Brown
• Thurston Brown
• Conner Daehler
• Tsehai de Souza
• Anjel Echols
• Samarion Flowers
• Trinity Griffin
• Kristina Hilton
• Ryan Jensen
• Miracle Jones
• Shaniece McGhee
• Chelby Melvin
• Lamiya Ousley
• Kiera Phillips
• Gabrielle Pippins
• Ethan Snead
• Sydney Springs
• Kirsten Tilford
• Tamira Weeks
• Justin Williams

2022 Winners

• Paul Aucremann
• William Booker
• Robyn Cunningham
• Kani'ya Davis
• Oluwatomi Dugbo
• Lillian Goins
• Parker Hall
• Collin Hatfield
• Gabrielle Izu
• Kylie Lauderdale
• Jacob Milan
• Jackson Mitchell
• Carmen Moore
• Madison Morgan
• Kaden Oquelí-White
• Kaylin Parks
• Brian Perryman
• De'Marco Riggins
• Brianna Roundtree
• Sydney Russell
• Carlie Spore
• Morgan Standifer
• Ionia Thomas
• Ramaya Thomas
• Jaylen Toran
• Amani Veals
• Taylor Williams
• Alana Wilson
• Taryn Wilson
• Aryaunna Armstrong
• Hannah Blackwell
• T'Aneka Bowers
• Naomi Bradley
• Arianna Cannon
• Taylor Cline
• Catherine Cummings
• Margaret Fitzgerald
• Chloe Franklin
• Camryn Gaines
• Thomas Greer
• Kayla Helleson
• Veronica Holmes
• Logan Kurtz
• Samuel Lambert
• Jaylon Muchison
• Teresa Odom
• Andrew Payne
• Carey Price
• Emily SantiAnna
• Curtis Smith
• Jered Smith
• Mariah Standifer
• Maura Taylor
• Anna Wilkes