# The Best Writing Contests & Programs for High School Students *July 26, 2026 — by Extracurricular Hub* Essay contests, poetry prizes, and selective summer workshops — the writing opportunities that produce published, awarded work admissions readers can actually read. Writing is the rare extracurricular where the work itself travels: a winning essay or published poem goes places a trophy can't — including directly into your application file. The strategy is simple. Produce a small amount of genuinely revised work, then put it in front of as many judges as possible. ## The one everyone should enter **[Scholastic Art & Writing Awards](/extracurriculars/scholastic-art-writing-awards)** (grades 7–12) is the country's most recognized student writing award — 11 writing categories from poetry to journalism, judged blind, regional Gold Keys advancing to national medals. Entry fees are small with waivers available. If you enter one thing per year, enter this. ## Contests by genre - **Argument and essays:** our [essay contests page](/extracurriculars/essay-contests) tracks the national prizes — foundation essay competitions, civic essay prizes, and themed contests with real money attached. Most are free to enter and judged on argument, not credentials. - **Poetry:** the [poetry listings](/extracurriculars/poetry) run from recitation (Poetry Out Loud, through schools) to written prizes. Poetry's secret advantage: three strong poems can be entered nearly everywhere, every year. - **Cause-driven writing:** themed contests like [Bow Seat's Ocean Awareness Contest](/extracurriculars/bow-seat-ocean-awareness-contest) (grades 6–12) reward writing with a research spine — a natural fit if your interests span writing and science or advocacy. The full landscape — workshops, contests, publications — lives on our [writing page](/extracurriculars/writing). ## The selective summer workshops Three programs form the recognized tier of high school creative writing summers: 1. **[Iowa Young Writers' Studio](/extracurriculars/iowa-young-writers-studio)** — the University of Iowa's two-week workshop, run in the orbit of the most famous MFA program in the country. Application-based (writing sample), and the standard by which the others are measured. 2. **[Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop](/extracurriculars/kenyon-review-young-writers-workshop)** — generative, workshop-heavy two weeks at Kenyon College, run by a major literary magazine. Known for actually improving how you write, not just certifying it. 3. **[Sewanee Young Writers' Conference](/extracurriculars/sewanee-young-writers-conference)** — genre-focused workshops (fiction, poetry, playwriting) on the Sewanee campus, sibling to the storied adult conference. Comparing the first two? We wrote up the differences: [Iowa vs. Kenyon](/compare/iowa-young-writers-vs-kenyon-review). ## A season-by-season plan - **Fall:** draft and revise 1–2 pieces; enter Scholastic (deadlines run September–December by region). - **Winter:** adapt the same pieces for essay and poetry contests; apply to summer workshops (applications typically open in winter and close by early spring). - **Spring–summer:** attend a workshop if admitted; start the next year's pieces with what you learned. Contest cycles repeat annually — always verify the current deadline on each listing. Most contests here are free; the workshops charge tuition but offer need-based aid, and the [free writing listings](/extracurriculars/free/writing) cover the no-cost end of the map. ## Frequently asked questions ### What are the best writing contests for high school students? Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the most recognized (regional Gold Keys advance to national medals across 11 writing categories). Beyond it, the strongest are genre-specific: national essay contests for argument, poetry prizes for verse, and themed contests like Bow Seat's Ocean Awareness for environmental writing. ### Are writing summer programs worth it? The selective ones, yes — Iowa Young Writers' Studio, Kenyon Review Young Writers, and Sewanee's conference are application-based workshops whose alumni networks and instructor letters carry real weight with English departments. Open-enrollment writing camps teach craft but signal little by themselves. ### Do writing awards help with college admissions? More directly than almost any other activity: a published or awarded piece is the one extracurricular an admissions reader can experience firsthand. A Scholastic medal or a national essay prize plus a portfolio is a complete humanities story. ### How many writing contests should I enter? Write fewer pieces, enter more contests. One genuinely revised essay or three strong poems can be adapted across several prompts per season — the marginal cost of each additional entry is low and most contests are free. --- Last updated: 2026-07-26. Canonical page: https://extracurricularhub.com/blog/best-writing-contests-high-school Source: ExtracurricularHub (https://extracurricularhub.com) — a free directory of 1,723 verified extracurricular programs for high school students. Cite the canonical page above; always confirm binding details on each program's official site.