Adrianne is a Senior Admissions Counselor and TV/film director, producer, writer, and actress currently based in LA. She uses her experience in multiple disciplines to help students achieve their personal and academic goals.
Are you a high school student who enjoys writing? Here are ten writing competitions for high school students in 2026.
Are you an aspiring novelist, a hobby writer, or a burgeoning poet? Have you tried your hand at nonfiction essays or playwriting? If so, you might be a great candidate for a national, regional, or state writing competition for high school students. Although specifics of each competition vary widely, these are usually great opportunities to showcase your talents, win some scholarship money, and buff up your writer’s resume. You might even get the chance to publish your work in a major journal or literary magazine or gain a mentor.
Here are ten writing competitions with deadlines in 2026 and 2027 that you can start preparing for right now. While most of these competitions are only open to U.S. citizens, some are also open to international students. Check each competition’s webpage for more information!
Table of Contents
1. YoungArts Competitions for High School Students
Genres: Classical Music, Dance, Design Arts, Film, Jazz, Photography, Theater, Visual Arts, Voice, Writing
Award: Up to $10,000 and national recognition
Eligibility: US citizens and permanent resident/green card recipients in grades 10-12 or
15-18 years of age in December
Fee: $35 (waivers available)
Deadline: October 2026 (TBD)
YoungArts is one of the most prestigious artistic competitions in the country, encompassing a wide variety of disciplines and forms. Through this competition, the National YoungArts Foundation identifies the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary, and performing arts, and provides them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers.
2. Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
Genres: Nonfiction, Novel, Play or Script, Poetry, Short Story, Spoken Word
Award: Up to $12,500 and national, state, and/or regional recognition
Eligibility: Grade 7-12 or 13+ years old
Fee: $7 per individual, $25 per portfolio (waivers available)
Deadline: January/December 2026 (depends on region)
The Awards give students opportunities for recognition, exhibition, publication, and scholarships. All entries are considered for Gold Key, Silver Key, Honorable Mention, American Voices Nominee, and American Visions Nominee awards. These are presented to students along with celebration ceremonies and exhibitions in each region.
3. The American Foreign Services Association Essay Contest
Genres: Nonfiction
Award: Up to $2,500 and an all-expense paid educational voyage courtesy of Semester at Sea; runner-up received $1,250 and a full scholarship to attend the International Diplomacy Program of the National Student Leadership Conference
Eligibility: U.S. citizens in grades 9-12 whose parents are not in the Foreign Service
Fee: None
Deadline: March 1, 2026
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)’s National High School Essay Contest encourages students to think about how and why the United States engages globally to build peace, and about the role that diplomacy plays in advancing U.S. national security and economic prosperity.
This year, students are asked to make a case for one of two positions: either explain how the United States can maintain global leadership without these tools, or argue that it cannot—and why.
4. VFW Voice of Democracy
Genres: Nonfiction
Award: Up to $35,000 in scholarships
Eligibility: U.S. Citizens in grades 9-12
Fee: None
Deadline: October 2026 (TBA)
Established in 1947, the Voice of Democracy audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regard to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay. Each year, nearly 64,500 9-12 grade students from across the country enter to win their share of more than $2 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program. All student entries must be submitted to a sponsoring local VFW Post.
5. Bennington Young Writers Awards
Genres: Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry
Award: Up to $1,000 and potential scholarships at Bennington College up to $60,00
Eligibility: U.S. and international students in grades 9-12
Fee: None
Deadline: November 1, 2026
Bennington launched the Young Writers Awards to promote excellence in writing at the high school level. All entries must be original work reviewed, approved, and sponsored by a high school teacher. Winners’ works will be published on Bennington’s website.
6. Atlas Shrugged – Essay Contest
Genre: Nonfiction
Award: Annual grand prize: $22,000; Seasonal Awards: First place: $3,000; Second place: $2,000; Third place: $1,000
Eligibility: High school, college, and graduate students
Fee: None
Deadline: January 31, 2026
The Atlas Shrugged novel essay contest is open to all students globally. Atlas Shrugged is a heroic mystery novel written by Ayn Rand. Choose a prompt and write an 800-1,600 word essay. The Ayn Rand Institute holds two other contests covering Rand’s work with deadlines in 2026.
7. The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers
Genres: Poetry
Award: Scholarships to Young Writers Workshop, publication
Eligibility: Grades 10 & 11
Fee: TBD
Deadline: November 2026 (TBA)
Hosted annually by the Kenyon Review, the Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize was created in 2007 to recognize outstanding young poets. The Kenyon Review also hosts a Short Fiction and Short Nonfiction competition yearly for a wide variety of authors.
8. Center for Environmental Literacy — River of Words
Genres: Poetry
Award: Recognition and publication
Eligibility: Grades K-12 and/or ages 5-19
Fee: None
Deadline: January 31, 2026
River of Words® (ROW) is a program of The Center for Environmental Literacy and a part of the Kalmanovitz School of Education. Acknowledged pioneers in the field of place-based education, River of Words has been inspiring educators and their students for over twenty-five years with an innovative blend of science and the arts. This free, annual, international youth poetry and art contest — the largest in the world — inspires children ages 5 to 19 to translate their observations into creative expression.
9. World Historian Student Essay Competition
Genres: Nonfiction
Award: $500
Eligibility: K-12
Fee: None
Deadline: May 1, 2026
The World Historian Student Essay Competition is an international competition open to students enrolled in grades K–12 in public, private, and parochial schools, and those in home-study programs. Each competitor will submit an essay that addresses one of the following topics and discuss how it relates to you personally and to World History: Your view of a family story related to a historical event or your personal family cultural background, or an issue of personal relevance or specific regional history/knowledge, such as “My ancestor walked with Abraham Lincoln from Illinois to fight in the Black Hawk War of 1832.”
10. The Concord Review
Genres: Nonfiction, historical research
Award: Publication and potential to win The Emerson Prize
Eligibility: Work completed while you were a high school student
Fee: $70+
Deadline: Rolling basis
The Concord Review was founded in March 1987 to recognize and publish exemplary history essays by high school students in the English-speaking world. Although this is not a traditional writing competition, it offers students the opportunity to publish their historical research and gain recognition throughout the academic year. Outstanding submissions may even receive the Emerson Prize, an award named after essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. The entry fee is steeper than most, but it comes with a year-long subscription to The Concord Review.
What are you waiting for? Polish your submissions and share your work today!
If you’re looking for help editing your scholarship applications or general college admissions consulting, don’t hesitate to set up a free consultation today.
