About the Contest

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.

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

1. Poetry: A group of three poems

2. Fiction: A short story (1,500 words or fewer) or one-act play (run no more than 30 minutes of playing time)

3. Nonfiction: A personal or academic essay (1,500 words or fewer)

A first, second, and third place winner is selected in each category.

We welcome submissions from both US and international students. 

Have questions about the contest? Email ywa@bennington.edu

Awards & Rules

First-place winners in each category are awarded a prize of $1,000; second-place winners receive $500; third-place winners receive $250.

• There is no entry fee

• All entries must be original work reviewed, approved and sponsored by a high school teacher. We will use your sponsoring teacher as a contact for the competition should we have any questions. For homeschooled students, please contact a mentor to sponsor your writing.

Young Writers Award finalists and winners are also eligible for undergraduate scholarships at Bennington. YWA finalists who apply, are admitted, and enroll 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.

The competition runs annually from September 1 to November 1.

Congratulations to our 2020-2021 winners!

2020-2021 Winners

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.

Bennington Programs for High School Students 
The Bennington Early College Program is a new suite of offerings for high school, gap year, and college students, extending the College’s student-directed, interdisciplinary, and experiential approach to education to remote learners anywhere in the world. These one-credit courses, led by Bennington’s distinguished faculty, are designed for students who want to get a head start on their college experience, or for students already in college elsewhere who want to sample coursework available at Bennington. 

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.

Join Us At Bennington

Interested in exploring what a Bennington education can offer? Here are some next steps: 

Past Winners

Each year, over 5,000 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.

2019-2020 Winners

read media release

2018-2019 Winners

2017-2018 Winners

2016–2017 Winners

2015–2016 Winners

2014–2015 Winners