Bennington College is accepting submissions from high school students around the world for its 2022–2023 Young Writers Awards.
This annual competition, which accepts entries in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, is free to enter and open to all high school students in grades 9 through 12. A first-, second-, and third-place winner will be selected in each of the categories, with cash prizes up to $1,000 awarded.
Young Writers Award finalists and winners are also eligible for undergraduate scholarships at Bennington. YWA finalists who enroll at Bennington will receive a $10,000 scholarship every year for four years, for a total of $40,000. YWA winners who enroll at Bennington will receive a $15,000 scholarship every year for four years, for a total of $60,000.
Submissions for the 2022–2023 Young Writers Awards will be accepted through Nov. 1, 2022, with winners announced in spring 2023.
Bennington College has a unique literary legacy, including 12 Pulitzer Prize winners, three U.S. poet laureates, four MacArthur Genius Grantees, countless New York Times bestsellers, and two of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People.
Notable literary alumni from both the undergraduate and MFA in Writing program at Bennington College include Donna Tartt, Bret Easton Ellis, Kiran Desai, Jonathan Lethem, Michael Pollan, Ann Goldstein, Safiya Sinclair, Anaïs Duplan, Anne Waldman, Mary Ruefle, Cynthia Sweeney, Jamie Quatro, Amy Gerstler, Morgan Jerkins, and Charles Bock.
In celebration of this legacy, Bennington launched the Young Writers Awards to promote and recognize excellence in writing by high school students. Each year, over 5,000 students submit poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to the Young Writers Awards competition. More information about the competition can be found at bit.ly/680-benn.