The Best Children's Writing Contests of 2023
Writing competitions curated by Reedsy
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Showing 25 contests
The Atom Learning Young Author Award
Atom Learning
The theme for 2023 is 'If I were in charge for a day…'. Entrants must submit a creative response to this theme no more than 500 words. All entrants must be aged between 7–11 on the day the competition closes (10th September 2023). Submissions must be written by the child and must not be supported by an adult. We’re looking for aspiring writers, not perfect wordsmiths!
Top prize
A trip to Disneyland Paris for a family of 4
Additional prizes
Chromebook worth ÂŁ250 | More prizes for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: September 10, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Fiction, Children's
View contestNational Youth Foundation "I Matter" Contest
National Youth Foundation
Founded by Black women with a vision for change, the mission of the National Youth Foundation is to promote diversity, inclusion and gender equality through innovative literary programs. The “I Matter” poetry contest was launched by a 14-year old student who took action to educate the world about why Black Lives Matter. The contest calls upon students across the country to submit poems on this important topic.
Top prize
$500
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: July 23, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Poetry
View contest100 Word Writing Contest
Tadpole Press
100 words per entry. Submit as many entries as you’d like. All ages. All genders. All nationalities. All writers welcome. The theme is using humor as healing.
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
2nd: writing coach package 3rd: developmental or diversity editing package.
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $10
Deadline: April 30, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Children's, Poetry, Romance, Short Story, Suspense, Travel
View contestThe Betty Award
The Betty Award
As one of the few competitions for elementary and middle school students, The Betty Award grants cash prizes for written pieces below 1,000 words. The Betty Award has both a Spring & Fall contest.
Top prize
$300
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $20
Deadline: May 13, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Children's
View contestNorth Street Book Prize
Winning Writers
Submit a self-published or hybrid-published book, up to 200,000 words in length. One grand prize winner will receive $10,000, a marketing analysis and one-hour phone consultation with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a $300 credit at BookBaby, three months of Plus service (a $207 value) and a $500 account credit from Book Award Pro, and 3 free ads in the Winning Writers newsletter (a $525 value)
Top prize
$10,000
Additional prizes
$1,000 for top winner in each category | $300 for honorable mentions
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $75
Deadline: June 30, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Children's, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult
View contest"It's All Write!" Teen Writing Contest
Ann Arbor District Library
The Ann Arbor District Library is excited to host its 30th annual “It’s All Write!” Teen Writing Contest in Winter 2022! Young Adult authors take part as judges each year, who then read and select the winning stories. Stories are judged in three different categories: Grades 6-8, Grades 9 & 10, and Grades 11 & 12. The top three writers in each age group receive fabulous prizes. This is an ever-growing, state-wide contest.
Top prize
$250
Additional prizes
2nd: $150 | 3rd: $75
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: March 05, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Children's
View contestPromising Young Writers Contest
National Council of Teachers of English
Through collaboration and community, shared stories and shared experiences, NCTE supports teachers and their students in classrooms, on college campuses, and in online learning environments. The Promising Young Writers Program stimulates and recognizes the writing talents of eighth-grade students and to emphasize the importance of writing skills among eighth-grade students.
Top prize
The NCTE Certificate of Recognition
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $25
Deadline: February 15, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Children's
View contest$1000 for 1000 Words Contest
The Layla Beban Young Authors
The $1000 for 1000 Words fiction writing contest is open to all students enrolled in grades 6-12. Each entrant may submit a fiction piece consisting of exactly 1,000 words (not including title or author’s name). The fiction piece can be on any topic, as long as it is not vulgar or offensive, does not use inappropriate profanity, and is the original work of the entrant not previously published.
Top prize
$1,000
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: February 01, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Short Story
View contestEngineerGirl Writing Contest
EngineerGirl
Every year, the EngineerGirl website sponsors a contest dealing with engineering and its impact on our world. The topic and detailed instructions for the contest are posted in September with a deadline for submissions on February 1st of the following year. Winners are announced in the spring.
Top prize
$500
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: February 01, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Children's
View contestBennington Young Writers Awards
Bennington College
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.
Top prize
$1,000
Additional prizes
2nd: $500 | 3rd: $250
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: November 01, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's
View contestWorld Historian Student Essay Competition
World History Association
The World Historian Student Essay Competition is an international competition open to students enrolled in grades K–12 in public, private, and parochial schools, and those in home-study programs. Membership in the World History Association is not a requirement for submission. Past winners may not compete in the same category again.
Top prize
$500
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: May 01, 2023 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Essay
View contestSeven Hills Literary Contest and Penumbra Poetry and Haiku Contest
Tallahassee Writers Association
The Seven Hills Literary Contest and Penumbra Poetry and Haiku Contest (collectively, “the Contest”) is sponsored annually by the Tallahassee Writers Association. The contest is open to English-language entries from around the world. For the first time, we are open to published entries as well as unpublished entries.
Top prize
$300
Additional prizes
Published in the Seven Hills Review
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $15
Deadline: September 30, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, Young Adult
View contestRattle Young Poets
Rattle Foundation
Rattle is a publication of the Rattle Foundation, an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the practice of poetry, and is not affiliated with any other organization. The author of the poem must have been age 15 or younger when the poem was written, and 18 or younger when submitted.
Top prize
Publication in Rattle Magazine
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: November 15, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Poetry
View contestCelebration Day Writing Contest
The Day
The Celebration Day Competition gets children to connect with the oldest person they know and interview them about the person who inspired them most growing up. They will retell the story in a creative way to win their work being read out on camera by a star-studded collection of celebrity guests, an iPad, and a ÂŁ100 Amazon voucher. You must be aged between five and 18 to enter the competition, or be a teacher, and can live anywhere in the world.
Top prize
ÂŁ100 Amazon Voucher
Additional prizes
Celebrities reading out winning entries, publication on website.
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: June 21, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's
View contest"Write On!" Short Story Contest
Ann Arbor District Library
The annual "Write On!" Short Story Contest for Grades 3-5 accepts story entries each winter. All writers, their friends, and families are invited to a Story Celebration and awards ceremony on Saturday, April 23, 2022, featuring a published children's author and the top three writers in each grade will receive an award.
Top prize
Publication on website
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: March 06, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Short Story
View contestCricket Magazine Contest
Cricket Magazine
’Tis winter, and the cold wind doth blow. But it can be fun to frolic in the ice and snow. So, bundle up! For our January contest, everybuggy would love to read your best wintry tale. Welcome to an opportunity to get published in Cricket Magazine! Your contest entry must be your very own original work. Ideas and words should not be copied. Your entry must be signed by your parent or guardian, stating that it is your own work, that no help was given, and that Cricket has permission to publish it in the magazine and on our website.
Top prize
Publication in Cricket Magazine
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: $0
Deadline: January 25, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Short Story
View contestPFD Children's Queer Fiction Prize
Peter Fraser + Dunlop
Judged by E. Latimer and agents Silvia Molteni and Lucy Irvine. Accepting middle grade (aimed at readers aged 8-12) and chapter books (aimed at readers aged 6-8) fiction samples across all genres. Applicants are asked to submit a three-chapter sample and synopsis. Works may be finished or in-progress.
Top prize
Publishing contract with PFD
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: March 01, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Fiction, LGBTQ
View contestLee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award
Society of Children's Book Writers
The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award recognizes and encourages the publication of an excellent book of poetry or anthology for children and/or young adults. The award will be given to a book of poetry originally published in English. It can be a book by an individual poet or poets or an anthology.
Top prize
$1,000
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: March 15, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Poetry
View contestFunny Festival Fables
C.A.A.B Publishin
Write us a short story about the festive period. We want tales about silly snowmen, naughty elves, and hilarious stories that would make Santa go HO! HO! HO! Entries should be around 1,000 words or less and must be sent as a Word Document with no pictures.
Top prize
$40
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: August 31, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Flash Fiction
View contestIEW Writing Contest
Institute for Excellent Writing
We are delighted to present our annual writing contest for all aspiring and accomplished writers, ages eight to eighteen. Whether or not they have experience with IEW's Structure and Style® Writing Method, your students are invited to participate.
Top prize
$100
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: April 30, 2021 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Short Story
View contestStone Soup Flash Fiction Contest
Stone Soup
Stone Soup holds a Flash Contest during the first week of every month. The month’s first Weekly Creativity prompt provides the contest challenge. Submissions are due by midnight on Sunday of the same week. Up to five winners are chosen for publication on our blog. The winners, along with up to five honorable mentions, are announced in the following Saturday Newsletter.
Top prize
Publication on Stone Soup's blog
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: December 01, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Flash Fiction
View contestVFW Voice of Democracy
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The VFW is dedicated to promoting patriotism and investing in our future generation. If you are a democracy-loving high school student interested in a $30,000 college scholarship or a patriotic middle school student interested in winning $5,000, these scholarships may be for you.
Top prize
$30,000 college scholarship
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: October 31, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's
View contestAmazing Women’s Edition Contest
National Youth Foundation
Founded by Black women with a vision for change, the mission of the National Youth Foundation is to promote diversity, inclusion and gender equality through innovative literary programs. To honor the vast accomplishments of women in the United States, the National Youth Foundation is pleased to announce the Amazing Women’s Edition (AWE) competition. This writing contest is open to students in grades K to 8 residing in the United States.
Top prize
$500
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: January 07, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's
View contestJane Austen Society of North America Essay Contest
Jane Austen Society of North America
JASNA conducts an annual student Essay Contest to foster the study and appreciation of Jane Austen's works in new generations of readers. Students world-wide are invited to compete for scholarship awards in three divisions: high school, college, and graduate school.
Top prize
$1,000 scholarship
Additional prizes
Two nights’ lodging for JASNA’s Annual General Meeting
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: June 02, 2022 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Essay
View contestWe the Students Essay Contest
Bill of Rights Institute
The Bill of Rights Institute engages, educates, and empowers individuals with a passion for the freedom and opportunity that exist in a free society. Students in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Armed Forces schools abroad, and students in United States territories are eligible to participate in its contest.
Top prize
$7,500
Entry requirements
đź’° Fee: FREE
Deadline: April 15, 2021 (Expired)
Genres
Children's, Essay
View contest
