If you're a high schooler and have a passion for writing, writing competitions can be a great place to foster your talent and earn accolades and recognition for your work.

Performing well in writing competitions also validates your talent, and provides you with a platform where you can meet like-minded students.

In this post, we cover the top 10 writing competitions for high school students in 2024, including overviews, key dates, eligibility, and more.

1. Scholastic Art and Writing Awards About: One of the oldest and most prestigious award programs for creative teens, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards occurs annually and hosts numerous entry categories to compete in.

These range from short stories, poetry, painting, to film and animation and many others.

Eligibility: In grades 7-12, age 13 or older, residing in the United States or U.

S. territories, or Canada Awards: Tier-based awards system; all students enter regional selection and top entries are awarded Gold Keys.

These submissions advance to the national awards where students receive Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals in their categories.

Special prizes and/or scholarships are given as well.

Dates: Submission deadline varies by region but typically falls between December and January.

See here to find your local deadline.

Cost: $10 per submission or $30 per portfolio (for artistic works)

2. National YoungArts Competition Description: The YoungArts competition is one of the most prestigious and well-known creative-based competitions in the world.

Students may submit pieces of work to 10 disciplines, including (but not limited to) writing, visual arts, film, photography, dance, and classical music.

Eligibility: 15-18 years old or in grades 10-12, and based in the United States Awards: Cash prizes from $250 to $10,000, receive artistic support and a network of peers and mentors, plus the opportunity to be nominated for a U.

S.

Presidential Scholar in the arts Dates: 2025 application opens in July 2024; deadline for submissions usually falls in October each year.

Cost: $35 application fee.

3. Young Lions Fiction Award Description: Established in 2001, the Young Lions Fiction Award is one of the most prestigious and well-regarded literary awards in the world.

This competition is sponsored by the New York Public Library and awards a young writer each spring for a novel or collection of short stories.

Eligibility: Be aged 35 or younger Awards: $10,000 in cash Dates: Deadline for the submission falls on around September each year.

Cost: Free.

4. NYT Teen Tiny Memoirs About: The New York Times holds the annual Tiny Memoir contest that challenges students around the globe to write a 100-word memoir that describes a meaningful experience from their lives.

Students are graded on content, language, voice, and the presence of a narrative arc.

See here for past winners.

Eligibility: Middle or high school students aged 13-19 based anywhere in the world Awards: Publication on The Learning Network and being eligible to be chosen for publication in the print editions of the NYT Dates: Deadline falls on around November each year Cost: Free

5. John F.

Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest About: Sponsored by the John F.

Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, this competition awards students with top essay submissions responding to the prompt, "Describe and analyze an act of political courage by a US elected official who served during or after 191

7. " Essays are required to have 700-1,000 words and cite at least 5 sources.

Eligibility: U.

S. high school students in grades 9-12 or U.

S. students under the age of 20 and enrolled in a high school correspondence/GED program Awards: $10,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place, $1,000 awarded to 5 finalists, and $100 to ten semi-finalists Dates: Deadline falls on around January each year.

Cost: Free

6. EngineerGirl Writing Contest About: EngineerGirl hosts this annual writing contest that aims to recognize creative, STEM-oriented teens who see ordinary life processes with a unique perspective.

Participants respond to a prompt and write a 1,200-word maximum essay.

This year, the prompt was to "write a piece exploring the lifecycle of an object that you use in your daily life. " Eligibility: Elementary, Middle school, and High school students Awards: $500 for first place winners, $250 for second, and $100 for third Dates: Closes around February each year.

Cost: Free

7. NYT Student Review Contest About: Also sponsored by the NYT, this contest invites students to submit an original critique on any media or piece that falls within a category of creative expression.

However, students must review works from the relevant year to be considered to encourage free discourse about modern events.

Eligibility: Middle or high school students aged 13-19 based anywhere in the world Awards: Publication on The Learning Network.

Dates: Deadline lies around December each year Cost: Free

8. Ocean Awareness Contest About: This annual contest aims to bring awareness to the ongoing climate crisis and spotlight stories of those who have examined their "individual responses to our evolving world. " The competition emphasizes that these stories do not have to be catastrophic in nature, but rather invites discussion over how climate change impacts students' everyday lives.

Students may submit art, writing, performance, film, or multimedia to the contest.

Eligibility: Students ages 11-18 from around the world (Junior Division: Age 11-14; Senior Division: Age 15-18) Awards: $1,000 first prize, $750 second prize, $500 bronze prize, $250 pearl prize, $100 honorable mention Dates: Deadline is  June 10, 202

4. Cost: Free

9. The Adroit Prizes for Poetry and Prose About: The Adroit Prizes for Poetry and Prose awards creative and literary excellence in the poem and prose categories.

Participants are able to submit up to five packets for the poetry category and five for prose.

Each packet may contain either 6 poems or 3 pieces of prose (up to 3,500 total words combined in fiction or nonfiction).

Eligibility: All secondary/high school and undergraduate students are eligible based anywhere in the world.

Awards: $200 prize along with publication in the Adroit Journal.

Runners-up and finalists will receive a copy of the judge's latest book.

Dates: May 1, 2024 deadline.

Cost: $15 submission fee.

Financial assistance is available. 1

0. NYT Informational Writing Contest Description: This is one of the more quirky and fun writing contests.

Also hosted by the NYT, this competition challenges students to write their own "how-to" tell-some for any sort of task (as long as it's appropriate for a family newspaper).

To be eligible for the contest, students are required to include one expert on their subject matter.

Eligibility: Middle or high school students aged 13-19 based anywhere in the world Awards: Publication on The Learning Network.

Dates: Submission period ends on around mid February each year.

Cost: Free.

Writing Competitions for High Schoolers—Concluding Remarks In this post, we provided the top 10 writing competitions for high schoolers in 202

4. Submitting to writing competitions opens up a Pandora's box of benefits: practice for honing your craft, gaining support communities, recognition and outreach for your pieces, etc.

Especially as a high schooler, winning writing competitions can be a surefire way to earn prestige and an audience for your works.

However, if your intellectual curiosity isn't specific to only literature and writing, check out these 50+ opportunities in STEM in this curated, comprehensive guide.

Remember, high school competitions can not only be beneficial to place on college applications, but can also provide students with valuable experiences and opportunities for growth.

Best of luck in competing!.