Bennington Young Writers Award 2024/ How to Apply ($1750 + Scholarships)

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 Award to promote excellence in writing at the high school level. The goal of this competition is to recognize outstanding writing achievement by high school students.

Eligibility for Bennington Young Writers Award

• The contest is free to enter
• Also, all entries must be original work reviewed, approved and sponsored by a high school teacher.
• Young Writers Award finalists and winners are also eligible for undergraduate scholarships at Bennington.
• Applications can be from both students of the United States and International students.

Submission Guidelines

Each year, students in the 9th-12th grades are invited to enter in one of the following categories with the following submission:

• Poetry: A group of three poems
• Fiction: A short story (1,500 words or fewer) or one-act play (run no more than 30 minutes of playing time)
• Nonfiction: A personal or academic essay (1,500 words or fewer)
• A first, second, and third place winner is selected in each category.
• All entries must be original work reviewed, approved and sponsored by a high school teacher. The organizers will use your sponsoring teacher as a contact for the competition should any question arise.
• Further more, for homeschooled students, please contact a mentor to sponsor your writing.
• Send submissions and questions to ywa@bennington.edu

Award for the Bennington Young Writers Award Winners

• First-place winners in each category are awarded a prize of $1,000;
• second-place winners receive $500;
• While third-place winners receive $250.
• YWA finalists who apply, are admitted, and enrolled 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.
• More so, the competition runs annually from September 1 to November 1.