Bennington College has a unique literary legacy, including twelve Pulitzer Prize winners, three U.S. poet laureates, four MacArthur Geniuses, countless New York Times bestsellers, and two of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.

In celebration of this legacy, Bennington launched the Young Writers Awards to promote excellence in writing at the high school level. Our goal with this competition is to recognize outstanding writing achievement by high school students.

Each year, students in the 9th-12th grades are invited to enter in one of the following categories with the following submission:

1. Poetry: A group of three poems

2. Fiction: A short story (1,500 words or fewer) or one-act play (run no more than 30 minutes of playing time)

3. Nonfiction: A personal or academic essay (1,500 words or fewer)

A first, second, and third place winner is selected in each category.

All entries must be original work reviewed, approved and sponsored by a high school teacher. We will use your sponsoring teacher as a contact for the competition should we have any questions. For homeschooled students, please contact a mentor to sponsor your writing.

Website: http://www.bennington.edu/events/young-writers-awards

Managing Organization: Bennington College

Contact:

ywa@bennington.edu

Eligibility:
Students in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades during the academic year are invited to submit one entry. We welcome submissions from both US and international students.

Registration Opens: September 1, 2022

Registration Closes: January 1, 1970

Bennington College has a unique literary legacy, including twelve Pulitzer Prize winners, three U.S. poet laureates, four MacArthur Geniuses, countless New York Times bestsellers, and two of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.

In celebration of this legacy, Bennington launched the Young Writers Awards to promote excellence in writing at the high school level. Our goal with this competition is to recognize outstanding writing achievement by high school students.

Each year, students in the 9th-12th grades are invited to enter in one of the following categories with the following submission:

1. Poetry: A group of three poems

2. Fiction: A short story (1,500 words or fewer) or one-act play (run no more than 30 minutes of playing time)

3. Nonfiction: A personal or academic essay (1,500 words or fewer)

A first, second, and third place winner is selected in each category.

All entries must be original work reviewed, approved and sponsored by a high school teacher. We will use your sponsoring teacher as a contact for the competition should we have any questions. For homeschooled students, please contact a mentor to sponsor your writing.

Website: http://www.bennington.edu/events/young-writers-awards

Managing Organization: Bennington College

Contact:

ywa@bennington.edu

Entry Fee:

Eligibility:
Students in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades during the academic year are invited to submit one entry. We welcome submissions from both US and international students.

Registration Opens: September 1, 2022

Registration Closes: January 1, 1970