Narrative magazine’s annual high school writing contest invites students in grades 9-12 to submit a poem, essay, or story in response to a prompt. The winning author will be presented with a $500 award. The second-place winner will receive $250, and the third-place winner will receive $100. Each finalist will receive $50. The schools of winners will also receive special recognition and prizes. The winning works will be published in Narrative, alongside many of today’s great writers.
The 2025 prompt is “What I Cannot Say, I’ll Say Here.” We invite you to go to the places that are vulnerable, messy, authentic. To write about what confuses or shocks or angers you, to speak truth to power, to ask who you are and what you’re capable of, to talk of things you might not think you have the agency to change or fix. Are there stories or events you’ve been reluctant to address in order to protect others? Do you see something amiss in the greater world—something maybe a bit new or raw or unguarded that needs saying? Weave it into a poem, a story, an essay that speaks volumes. Create the space, conjure the world, use your authentic voice to shine a lamp into the darkness.
Location(s)
- Remote
Schedule
- Winter
Cost/Compensation
- Free to enter
Eligibility Requirements
- High school students in grades 9-12 living anywhere in the world
Deadline
- February 5, 2025
Application or Entry Requirements
- Writers will submit work through their teacher, who will upload the work through the High School Contest submission portal
- Essays and stories should be in 12-point type, double-spaced, and no longer than 600 words.
- Poem submissions should be in 12-point type, single-spaced, and 10 to 50 lines long, excluding line breaks.
- All submissions must be in English.
Notifications of Decisions
- Mid April
Financial Aid Details
Other Dates to Keep in Mind
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Narrative is a nonprofit digital literary magazine dedicated to advancing literary art in the digital age. Founded in 2003, it publishes original works of fiction, poetry, essays, and art by both established and emerging writers. The magazine aims to make great literature accessible to a broad audience and supports writers through its free submissions platform, contests, and Narrative Prize awards.
