Submissions are now being accepted for the Young Writers Awards!
Submit your poetry, fiction, or nonfiction.
About the Contest
Bennington College has a unique literary legacy, including nine Pulitzer Prize winners, three U.S. poet laureates, four MacArthur Geniuses, countless New York Times bestsellers, and one 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.
Each year, students in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades are invited to enter in one of the following categories with the following submission:
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Poetry: A group of three poems
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Fiction: A short story or one-act play (1,500 words or fewer)
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Nonfiction: A personal or academic essay (1,500 words or fewer)
A first, second, and third place winner is selected in each category.
Awards & Rules
First-place winners in each category are awarded a prize of $500; second-place winners receive $250; third-place winners receive $125.
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All entries must be original work and sponsored by a high school teacher.
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Judges include Bennington College faculty and students.
The competition runs annually from September 1 to November 1. Winning entries are posted by April 15.
Past Winners
Each year, over 2,000 students submitted poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to the Young Writers Awards competition. We congratulate all entrants on their extraordinary submissions, and are pleased to share past winning entries.
2017-2018 Winners
Poetry
- First Place: "Manhandling / i. lying ghazal / ii. lying ghazal," Julia Bohm, Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen, MI
- Second Place: "Sext to Absalom / Bildungsroman with Distant Nation / Field Notes on Rough Trade," Aidan Forster, SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville, SC
- Third Place: "Art Tatum: Harmonium / Art Plays a Myth / The Panther Room," Darius Atefat-Peckham, Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen, MI
Fiction
- First Place: "The Seventh Secret," Lilly Hunt, Northpoint Christian School, Southaven, MS
- Second Place: "The Cat You Named Remy," Zane Austill, SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville, SC
Nonfiction
- First Place: "PEEL," Kelley Liu, Troy High School, Troy, MI
- Second Place: "Ruth," Sophie Paquette, Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen, MI
- Third Place: "Bingo," Katherine Chou, Hamilton High School, Chandler, AZ
2016–2017 Winners
Poetry
- First Place: "Necessary Roughness / Public Enemy No. 1 / Seoul is singing now," Christina Im, Sunset High School, Portland, OR
- Second Place: "Anaerobic / Kintsugi / Lake-Effect Snow," Steven Chung, Monta Vista High School, Cupertino, CA
Fiction
- First Place: "Souvenirs," Catherine Wang, Chinese International School, Hong Kong
- Second Place: "House of God," Jacqueline He, The Harker School, San Jose, CA
Nonfiction
- First Place: "Watermelon Seeds," Chaeyeon (Annika) Kim, Dwight Engelewood School, NJ
- Second Place: "A Trip to Home Depot," Carlos Orozco, Sage Hill School, Newport Coast, CA
2015–2016 Winners
Poetry
- First Place: "What Made Me / Night Fishing / Dilutions," Letitia Chan, Milton Academy, Milton, MA
- Second Place: "Nanjing Road / Autumn / Glass Familia," Helli Fang, Walnut Hill School, Natick, MA
Fiction
- First Place: "Reddi-Wip," Walker Caplan, The Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
- Second Place: "Momma Drove Like a Man," Ella Zalon, Oakland School for the Arts, Oakland, CA
Nonfiction
- First Place: "Of Perfumes," Addie Glickstein, East High School, Denver, CO
- Second Place: "Hair," Luisa Healey, Hunter College High School, New York, NY
2014–2015 Winners
Poetry
- First Place: "Ebola in Dallas / At Thurgood Marshall / When My Parents Go Out I Eat Breakfast For Dinner and Pee With the Door Open," Rachel Calnek-Sugin, Hunter College High School, New York, NY
- Second Place: "Ling hoards fake eyelashes / Ling traces X's on her collarbone / Ling takes off her left hand wedding ring before she sleeps," Carissa Chen, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH
Fiction
- Second Place: "Mansions," Sophia Gyarmathy, Northside College Preparatory High School, Chicago, IL
Nonfiction
- First place: "Motherland," Jessica Li, Livingston High School, Livingston, NJ
- Second Place: "Driving Lessons From My Brother," Maryam Ahmad, Emma Willard School, Troy, NY
More About Literature Studies at Bennington
Academics
Literature studies at Bennington are grounded in the idea that good writers are good readers. Each year, an exceptional group of Bennington undergraduates is chosen to participate in an MFA summer residency through the Undergraduate Writing Fellowship. At the graduate level, the MFA offered by the Bennington Writing Seminars is one of the best low-residency programs in the United States.
Off the Page & Outside the Classroom
Bennington College believes that a writer’s influence extends beyond the printed page. As the steward of the Robert Frost Stone House Museum, Bennington is committed to maintaining and growing Robert Frost’s literary legacy in Southern Vermont and beyond.
Throughout the year, Bennington College welcomes prominent writers and alumni to campus for readings during its Literature Evenings, Poetry at Bennington, and Writers Reading series.
Students at Bennington are invited to contribute to SILO, the student literary and arts magazine, and the student-run journalistic outlet The Bennington Free Press. Bennington Review, a national biannual literary journal based at the College, provides students an opportunity to help edit and produce a professional print literary magazine.
Bennington College Literature students go on to become novelists, poets, journalists, biographers, and more. Explore notable alumni.
