Getting Competitive

We are now all rapidly approaching high school writing award season, making now the perfect time to talk about one of the best ways that young writers can get motivated to write and demonstrate their writing abilities to colleges, writing programs, or just themselves. Every Fall, many of the top youth arts foundations/publications host hugely popular writing competitions across multiple categories. Winning recognition in these contests is typically a very big deal and could mean a cash prize, invitation to a special program, or even a college scholarship. Across the board, however, getting recognition from a big competition can demonstrate an individual's writing ability, and I would highly recommend that any serious high school writer at least gives it a shot by submitting their best pieces for all the top prizes. I myself have done so, and was able to win recognition, so I can attest to the fact that it really is possible. It is certainly, however, difficult, but giving it a shot is always a good idea. Here are a list of the competitions I recommend specifically for high schoolers looking to submit short stories, as that is my area of expertise. I have submitted previously to all the following competitions. Bennington Young Writers Awards: https://www.bennington.edu/events/young-writers-awards This competition, hosted by Bennington College, an arts-focused small liberal arts college located in Vermont, features poetry, fiction and non-fiction categories. It is particularly tough to gain recognition from, since it only declares three winners per category. The fiction category specifically (the one I submitted to) allows short stories with a maximum of 1,500 words, so really just flash fiction. Submission deadline: November 1st. Scholastic Art and Writing Awards: https://www.artandwriting.org/awards/how-to-enter/ and YoungArts: https://youngarts.org/discipline/writing/ Both Scholastic and YoungArts are huge arts, not specifically writing-focused, organizations/foundations. They offer many categories for work submission, ranging from performance art specific categories such as ballet, tap, theater and jazz composition to writing categories as wide ranging as comedy, flash fiction, spoken word and novel. Because there are so many categories with varying levels of selectivity, it can be easier to get recognition on a case by case basis. However, it is still a huge achievement to do so, and winners of the highest prizes in either competition are then given the chance to take part in elite programs. Submission deadline for both: December 1st. Adroit Prizes for Poetry and Prose: https://theadroitjournal.org/adroit-prizes/ The only non-early school year competition on this list, the Adroit Prizes are competed for by both high schoolers and college students, making recognition here especially impressive. This is balanced out somewhat by the fact that it is possible to be recognized for varying levels of achievement, with a little under forty students netting some title each year. This prize is hosted by what many would consider the most prestigious literary magazine regularly publishing high school work, The Adroit Journal. It is also possible to submit to the magazine itself, though the schedule is different than for the competition. Submission deadline: May 1st.