Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

How do I enter work in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards?
Scholastic Writing

Sign Up!

The 2017 Scholastic Awards are open to students in grades 7 – 12. The writing and art deadlines vary according to region. Many fall in mid-December.  You can participate in the 2017 Scholastic Awards by creating an account and uploading your work .

Create!

The Scholastic Awards look for work that demonstrates originality, technical skill, and emergence of a personal voice or vision. After you have created your work, uploaded it to your Scholastic Awards Account! Visit our online galleries to see examples of works from past National Medalists. Be sure to visit our copyright and plagiarism FAQ to learn more about submitting original works.

Stamp It and Send It!

After uploading your work, print your submission forms, have a parent/guardian and an educator sign them, and then mail them to the Affiliate Partner in your local region. Mailing instructions can be found on the submission form or on your local Affiliate’s Website.

What else do I need to know?

Eligibility

Public, private, or home-school students in the U.S., Canada, or American schools abroad enrolled in grades 7–12 are eligible to participate in the Scholastic Awards.

Category Descriptions: For a full list of category descriptions, click HERE.

Blind Judging:  The Scholastic Awards are adjudicated without knowledge of the artists/writers identity. Please make sure that your submission does not contain any personal information.

Freedom of Expression: Young artists and writers are free to explore any and all topics. There are no pre-defined prompts and no work is ever disqualified from the Scholastic Awards because of the nature of its content.

Judging Criteria

Originality: Work that breaks from convention, blurs the boundaries between genres, and challenges notions of how a particular concept or emotion can be expressed.

Technical Skill: Work that uses technique to advance an original perspective or a personal vision or voice, and show skills being utilized to create something unique, powerful, and innovative.

Emergence of a Personal Vision or Voice: Work with an authentic and unique point of view and style.

NJCTE High School Writing Contest

NJCTE High School WritingNJCTE High School Writing Contest invites New Jersey students in grades 9-12 to submit ONE entry in each category:

  • Poetry (one poem, 50-line max.) –FREE CHOICE (no theme)
  • Short story (5-page max. double-spaced) – FREE CHOICE (no theme)
  • Personal essay* (5-page max., double-spaced) – RESPOND TO PROMPT BELOW

See website for details.  Click here to register for the contest.

Have the following items ready to submit:

  1. Your sponsoring teacher’s name – Make sure to ask the teacher’s permission to use his/her name since each teacher can only sponsor 10 students per genre.
  2. Your teacher’s email address
  3. Your poem, short story or essay in pdf or MS Word format – The name of the file must match your title.
  4.  Make sure your name and personal information do NOT appear on the document you are submitting.
  5. Please refer to the writing contest flyer for length limitations.

2017 Personal Essay Writing Prompt — STICKS and STONES:

“Sometimes one or two words have a tremendous impact.  This may be true of words we have uttered or words that have been spoken or written to us.  We may have observed someone close to us afflicted or strengthened by words directed at them.  Write about a time when a word or a set of words had a powerful effect. (See, for example, Countee Cullen’s  “Incident”.) Did this word/these words have a long-term effect on your life or the life of someone close to you?  If the words inflicted pain, how and why? Did an insult ever make you stronger? Did a word haunt you for days or weeks later?  Did a word of praise ever come to your rescue?  Were you motivated to act decisively or change your ways by something someone said to you?  Bring readers into your story and help them think about the power of words.  Make us understand your thoughts, feel your pain, or share your joy.”

How to enter:

  1. Visit our web-site at njcte.com and follow the instructions provided. You must be a New Jersey high school student to enter.
    2017 NJCTE HS Writing Contest Flyer.doc
    Microsoft Word Document 40.0 KB

    You must complete a registration form for each genre you plan to submit.

Tips to Avoid Disqualification:

  1. The file submitted must be anonymous. Files with student name, school or class on them will be disqualified.
  2. Each student may submit a maximum of one entry in each category (i.e. only one poem, one short story and one essay).
  3. Each teacher may submit up to ten entries for their students in each genre. Surplus entries will be disqualified in order of submission date.

Awards:

  • Genre Winners (poetry, short story, personal essay): Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals.
    • Gold medalists are eligible for the Governor’s Awards in Arts Education (GAAE).
    • Gold, silver, and bronze poets read at the Dodge Poetry Festival in 2014 and 2016.
  • School/District Winners:
    • Honorable Mention: Top scoring students
      • From schools with qualifying entries from at least 10 different students sponsored by at least three different teachers
    • Certificates of Merit – Top scoring students
      • From schools which submit qualifying entries from at least three different students.

DEADLINE: December 16, 2016. Questions: njctewritingcontest@outlook.com.

Poetry Society of America Student Award

Student Poetry AwardLouise Louis / Emily F. Bourne Student Poetry Award, $250

Endowed under the wills of Louise Louis Whitbread and Ruth M. Bourne, this prize is awarded for the best unpublished poem by a student in grades 9 through 12 from the United States. Teachers or administrators may submit an unlimited number of their students’ poems, one submission per student.

 Submission Details & Instructions

•  You can only  submit one entry per student.
•  A poem that has previously won a PSA Award cannot be re-submitted.
•  No previously published work can be submitted.
•  Translations are ineligible.
•  Poems by more than one author will not be accepted.
•  Entry should have one cover page and two collated copies of your poem.

The Cover Page must include:

Name
Address
Email (if available)
Phone
Name of the Award
Title and First Line of first poem in submission
Your name should not appear anywhere else besides this cover sheet.

Cover Sheet Template: It’s not a requirement, but you might find it helpful to use our cover sheet template.

Entry Fee

High school students may send single entries to the Louise Louis/Emily F. Bourne Student Poetry Award for the fee of $5.

High school teachers or administrators may submit an unlimited number of their students’ poems (one submission per student) for a $20 entry fee.

You do not need to be a member of the Poetry Society of America to submit to this award.

Checks should be made payable to the Poetry Society of America.

Mailing Address

Poetry Society of America
Annual Award Submission
15 Gramercy Park
New York, NY 10003

DEADLINE: December 22, 2016

Rider University High School Writing Contest

Rider University HIgh School Writing Contest37th Annual High School Writing Contest

Prizes in Each Category

  • 1st-$100
  • 2nd-$50
  • 3rd-$25

All Finalists of this high school writing contest will receive a Certificate of Honorable Mention. All Winners will be considered for publication in Venture, Rider’s literary magazine.

Categories

  • ESSAY: Write a personal essay, labeled ESSAY, on a topic of your choice of no more than five double-spaced, typed pages.
  • FICTION: Write a short story, labeled FICTION, of no more than five double-spaced, typed pages.
  • POETRY: Write a poem of no more than 50 lines.

Rules

  1. Type on the entry:
    Your Name and address
    Grade
    Teacher’s Name
    School Name and address
  2. Include a letter from a teacher stating that the work is original and by you.
  3. Entries must be typed.  Handwritten entries will not be read.  Stories and essays must be double-spaced.  Single-spaced prose will not be read.  Please give your story, essay and or poem a title.
  4. Only one entry per category will be considered.  Choose your best writing and send only one.
  5. Mail your entry postmarked no later than December 11, 2016 to:
    Dr. Roberta Clipper
    English Department
    Rider University
    2083 Lawrenceville Road
    Lawrenceville, NJ  08648

Entries cannot be returned.  Winners will be announced by May 2017. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you wish to receive a list of winners.

GOOD LUCK!