2023: Fiction Writing Contests for High School Students
While there are various writing awards for adult writers, few are available to high school students specializing in literary fiction. In this article, we are going to introduce various writing competitions for aspiring high school writers.
ENGINEERGIRL WRITING CONTEST
Deadline
2/1/2023
Guidelines
The 2023 EngineerGirl Writing Contest asks students to write a piece that shows how female and/or non-white engineers have contributed to or can enhance engineering’s great achievements. High school student essays must be no more than 750 words. You must also include a reference list of 3-10 resources. Each resource should be listed using the APA citation style. The reference list does not count toward your essay's word count.
ADROIT PRIZE
Deadline
TBD (in April)
Guidelines
The Adroit Prizes are awarded annually to two students of secondary or undergraduate status. We’re fortunate to receive exceptional work from emerging writers in high school and college, and the best of the best will be recognized by the Adroit Prizes. All secondary and undergraduate students are eligible, including international students and students who have graduated a semester early (in this case, in December 2021). Submissions may include up to six poems (maximum of ten pages single-spaced) and/or up to three works of prose (combined word limit of 3,500 words). Excerpts of longer works are acceptable.
OCEAN AWARENESS WRITING CONTEST
Deadline
6/13/2023
Guidelines
The 2023 Ocean Awareness Contest – Climate Heroes in Action – encourages students to learn about both climate change and solutions to the climate crisis. We want to celebrate the work of countless everyday heroes fighting to make the world more habitable and just in the face of human-induced climate change. These heroes are leading with determination, resolve, and even joy to create a better world for us all. The 12th annual Ocean Awareness Contest is a platform for young people to learn about environmental issues through art-making and creative communication, explore their relationship to a changing world, and become advocates for positive change. Students ages 11-18 from around the world are invited to participate.
YOUNGARTS
Deadline
October
Guidelines
For many young people, applying to YoungArts may be the first step in affirming “I am an artist.” YoungArts is one of the only organizations in the U.S. that supports artists across 10 disciplines at all stages of development, beginning with the critical moment when they decide to pursue a life in the arts, and continuing throughout their careers. Artists ages 15–18, or grades 10–12, in the U.S. are encouraged to apply in the discipline of their choice. All applications are judged by esteemed discipline-specific panels of artists through a rigorous blind adjudication process, and award winners are offered a lifetime of artistic support and ongoing connection with an extraordinarily robust network of peers and mentors.
BENNINGTON YOUNG WRITERS AWARD
Deadline
November
Guidelines
Each year, students in the 9th-12th grades are invited to enter in one of the following categories with the following submission:
Poetry: A group of three poems
Fiction: A short story (1,500 words or fewer) or one-act play (run no more than 30 minutes of playing time)
Nonfiction: A personal or academic essay (1,500 words or fewer)
A first, second, and third place winner is selected in each category.
RIVER OF WORDS
Deadline
January
Guidelines
River of Words® (ROW) is a program of The Center for Environmental Literacy and a part of the Kalmanovitz School of Education. The contest is open to K–12th grade students, ages 5–19. Students must be enrolled in school to be eligible. All entries must be submitted by a parent, guardian, educator, or facilitator unless the student is 18 years old or older. Participants may submit up to 5 entries for poetry and 5 entries for art (total of up to 10 entries).
FITZGERALD LITERARY MUSEUM WRITING CONTEST
Deadline
December
Guidelines
The Fitzgerald Museum’s Literary Contest is accepting submissions of short fiction, poetry, ten-minute plays, film scripts, and multi-genre works. Works will be judged within three separate age categories, not by genre, so please be clear about the age category. Submissions should not exceed ten pages (with font sizes no smaller than 11 point). Each student may only enter once. Each age/grade category will have a single winner and possibly an honorable mention.
STORYTELLERS OF TOMORROW
Deadline
December
Guidelines
High-school-age students are invited to submit unpublished, original English-language stories of up to 2,000 words in length for the annual “Storytellers of Tomorrow” Contest. The sole criterion for earning prizes in this contest is simply overall quality, meaning that well-edited, engaging, and evocative stories have the best chance of winning over the judges.
