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The Bennington College Young Writers Award is now accepting applications. Bennington established the Young Writers Awards to encourage literary excellence at the high school level in honor of this tradition. This competition aims to honor high school students with exceptional writing ability. It's open to students all around the world.
Opportunity Details
Bennington College has given many of our nation’s foremost writers their start. They include twelve Pulitzer Prize winners, three U.S. poet laureates, four MacArthur Geniuses, and authors of countless New York Times bestsellers. In celebration of this legacy, Bennington launched the Young Writers Awards to promote outstanding writing achievement at the high school level. High school students worldwide are invited to enter.
Submission Categories
Please choose to enter one of the following:
A first, second, and third place winner is selected in each category.
They ask that participants submit in only one category and submit only one time per year. Word counts are strict and include all the text submitted, including headers, footers, footnotes, titles, and bibliographies. We are unable to return submissions.
Cash: First-place winners in each category are awarded a prize of $1,000; second-place winners receive $500; and third-place winners receive $250.
Scholarships: Young Writers Award (YWA) finalists and winners are also eligible for undergraduate scholarships at Bennington.
Prestige: In addition, winning entries will be published on the Bennington College website in the spring, and may be published as a result of media requests from local newspapers or magazines. Authors retain all other copyrights.
This contest is for all writers in grades 9–12, including those outside the United States. Entrants can submit three poems, a short story, or a personal or academic nonfiction essay. There is no entry fee.
Guidelines
Apply for Bennington College Young Writers Award