Bennington College Young Writers Awards 2023-2024 ($1,000 prize)

About

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. Their goal with this competition is to recognize outstanding writing achievements by high school students.

Eligibility

• Students currently enrolled in the 9th-12th grades or secondary school (for international students) during the academic year are invited to submit in one writing category:
  • Poetry: three poems of any length and in any form. Poems must be typed. Each page must clearly show the author’s name.
  • Fiction: a short story or one-act play. Short stories must be typed, double-spaced, and fewer than 1500 words. Scripts must be typed, double-spaced, and run no more than 30 minutes (playing time). Each page must clearly show the author’s name.
  • Nonfiction: a personal or academic essay. Stories and nonfiction must be typed, double-spaced, and fewer than 1500 words. Each page must clearly show the author’s name.
• All entries must be original work. All entries must be reviewed, approved, and sponsored by a high school teacher. Bennington will use your sponsoring teacher as a contact for the competition should they have any questions. For homeschooled students, please contact a mentor to sponsor your writing.
• Both US and international students are eligible to submit. All entries must be submitted in English.

Award

• First-place winners in each category are awarded a prize of $1,000;
• Second-place winners receive $500;
• Third-place winners receive $250.

Young Writers Award finalists and winners are also eligible for undergraduate scholarships at Bennington. YWA finalists who apply, are admitted, and enroll at Bennington will receive a $10,000 scholarship every year for four years, for a total of $40,000. YWA winners who apply, are admitted, and enroll at Bennington will receive a $15,000 scholarship every year for four years, for a total of $60,000.

Deadline: November 1, 2023

Click HERE to Apply