Writing Contests For High School Students With Cash Prizes

Children's Writing Competitions

By and last updated on November 9, 2021

Writing competitions for children in the UK

Young writer's competitions for children and teens aged 5-18

Please read our list of writing competitions for children. The contests are checked and updated each month. We are happy to feature writing challenges open to primary-age children, secondary-age pupils, and young adults in the UK. If you would like your competition featured here, please contact us. We are happy to feature competitions with at least one month remaining before the closing date. We have also compiled a list of recommended creative writing manuals and writing workshop activity guides suitable for use with KS1, KS2, KS3, and KS4 at the bottom of this page. New competitions are listed at the top of the page, past and annual competitions are listed on the second half of the page below the horizontal line.

New writing competitions for children and teens

Chris Evans 500 words short story competition for children – opening in 2021, hopefully.

Annual and past writing competitions for children and teens

Please note – many previously annual competitions have been affected by lockdown/COVID during 2021.

Ideal for discount class sets of books for schools.

Closing date in November

The Solstice Prize For Young Writers, organised by Writing East Midlands, invites children and teens aged 11-17 to write 'imaginative short stories (up to 500 words) and provocative poems (up to 40 lines)'. The competition offers cash prizes and an anthology of the best entries. There are two age categories: 11-13 and 14-17 and the closing date is 26th November.
The Tadpole Press 100 Word Writing Contest is a worldwide competition open to writers of all ages. There's an entry fee for this one, with cash prizes and writing development packages on offer for the winners. The deadline is November 30th.
Water Stories – run by the National Literacy Trust and the University of Birmingham, children aged 9-14 can write stories between 500-750 words long on the subject of water. There's a raft of video, PowerPoint and worksheet impetus to inspire classes and available to download. The deadline is Friday 5th November.
Wenlock Olympian Society Short Story Competition – open to students aged 16+ who are invited to write a story on any theme of up to 2500 words. Full entry details are on the Wenlock website. The closing date is Monday 15th November.
The William Soutar Writing Prize is organised by Culture Perth and Kinross and offers children and teens the opportunity to enter recorded spoken word experiences up to 90 seconds long, reflecting on the lockdown period. There are two age categories – under 17 and over 17 and the closing date is Friday 13th November.
One Teen Story – story submission site for teenagers.

Closing date in December

The Royal Mint Museum short story competition – this year's topic is the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Children aged 8-11 can enter stories of up to 500 words and the winner will see their entry illustrated by a professional, be awarded a Royal Mint silver coin and win equipment and books for their school's library. Stories must be submitted before 3rd December.
Into Film awards – these awards showcase talent by filmmakers aged 5-19. Multiple categories based on themes and age groups. The deadline is 6th December.
Victoria Park's annual Park and Write story competition is open to all ages from five upwards. There are two age categories for children: 5-10 and 11-18. Stories can be up to 750 words, and there's a different theme each year. The closing date is 23rd December.

Closing date in January

New College of the Humanities is running an essay competition for students in year 12. Pupils can submit up to 1,500 words, choosing from a range of set essay titles that span a broad range of topics including humanities, philosophy, social issues, the law and creative writing. There are cash prizes for the top three entries and the closing date is 1st January.
The Korean Spirit & Culture Promotion Project Essay Contest is an international competition open to children in two age group categories: years 6-9 and years 10-13. There are cash prizes for the top three entries and honourable mentions in each category. Full entry details are available on this information poster. All submissions must be submitted by 2nd January.
HC3S Schools' writing competition – 'Food to Flourish: How can you impact our planet by what you eat? ' – open to primary-aged children at schools where the catering is provided by HC3S.
Rotary Club International Young Writer competition.
The Read Foundation has organised a 'Write for Read' competition for children aged 5-11 (5-7 and 7-11) and 11-16 (11-15 and 15-16) Entrants can create a short story, poem, or news article of up to 1500 words. The closing date is 11th January.
The East Riding Festival of Words runs an annual poetry competition. This year's theme is 'my companion. my best friend'. Entries of up to 45 lines are open to children aged 4-10 and 11-16 and there are cash prizes for the winners. The closing date is 6th January.

Closing date in February

The Ideas Foundation is running a unique competition that could result in your cinquain being placed on the sea bed 7 miles below the ocean surface! Go to the Venture to the Deep page for more details. The closing date is 19th February.
Writing Wizardry Competition – open to children in years 3&4, and years 5&6. Magical prizes, including an author visit from Maz Evans. The closing date is 26th February.
Voices – a writing competition, run by the charity Coram Voice, which is open to children and young people who are in or have experience of the care system. The theme for 2020 is 'dreams' and the closing date is 12th February.
The Henry Williamson Society Schools Writing Competition.
The Canterbury Tales Writing Competition – annual – open to all school pupils and home-educated children. There are three age categories: 5-10; 11-14 and 15-18. The 2021 theme is "Be Careful What You Wish For!" The closing date was in January but has been extended to February 28th.
New College of Humanities essay competition for students in Year 12. Open to teens worldwide in the penultimate year of their secondary education, there are 10 topics to choose from, including creative writing, history, philosophy, science, economics, law, politics and psychology. Pupils can submit up to 1500 words and the closing date is midday, 1st February.
Wales Young Poets Award – open to children and teens in the UK aged 10-17. Entries can be in Welsh or English, and this year's theme is 'empathy'. The closing date is 15th February 2021.

Closing date in March

Green Stories Writing Competitions – open to 11-18-year-olds, who can write a story that presents a 'positive vision of what a sustainable society might look like' or includes 'green solutions/policies/characters'. Note, there is an entry fee for this competition. The deadline is 3rd March.
The Elmbridge Literary Competition – open to children (free) in four age group categories: 5-7; 8-11; 11-13 and 14-18. The theme for 2022 is "enigma". Short stories or poems can be entered.
The Deep / Mighty Pens Young Writer Award is open to children and teens in five categories: SEN 4-11-year-olds, SEN 12-18-year-olds; 5-7-year-olds, 8-11-year-olds, and 12-18-year-olds. Judges include the comedian Paul Chuckle. Full details are available on the website and the closing date is 15th March.
Chiltern Bookshops is running a children's writing competition open to reception, year 1 and year 2 children; years 3-6; and 11-16-year-olds in secondary schools. Full details of word limits and story titles are on the website. The competition will be judged by Cressida Cowell. The closing date is 12th March.
The BBC Young Writer's Award – open to 14-18-year-olds who can submit a piece of original fiction of up to 1000 words. Highly recommended. The closing date is 22nd March.
Never Such Innocence – The 2022 theme is "Life after Conflict" and to enter, children and teens can 'share thoughts on how people, communities and countries build a life after conflict using poetry, art, speech and song'. Full details are on the competition website and the closing date is 18th March.
The Royal Society of Literature is running a competition for teens aged 14-18. 'Tall Tales, Short Stories' celebrates 20 years of the V.S Pritchett Prize. To enter, download a copy of the anthology on the competition page, and finish a story in 500 words. Entrants should be residents of the UK. The closing date is Friday 27th March.
Cricket Writing Competition – organised by Hastings Priory and open to children aged 6-18. Entries can be poems, stories or news articles about cricket. The closing date is 31st March.
Artlyst Art to Poetry youth competition – entries should be a poem that responds to a work of art. Open to 11-17-year-olds.
Radio Two 500 words short story competition for children aged 13 and under.
The Portico Sadie Massey Awards feature two competitions open to children. There's the KS2, KS3, KS4, and KS5 Young Readers Competition (write a book – any genre – on any subject) and the Young Writers competition, open to pupils in KS3,4&5 (write a story based in the North of England.)
The Girton College Humanities Writing Competition – open to Year 12 students in the UK, the writing task is based on five objects in the college's antiquities museum.
Wicked Young Writers Award.
Cambridge University and SATIPS handwriting competition.
Christopher Tower Poetry Prize – open to young adults aged 16-18.

Closing date in April

The Writing Bee organised by Boom Writer offers children an exciting opportunity for children attending at schools or those who are learning at home. The competition runs from January to April as an in-school contest, and from April to May as an online competition.
Author of Tomorrow – run by the Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation, the Author of Tomorrow prize aims to find adventure writers of the future. Young people under 21 can submit entries between 1500 and 5000 words (under 500 words for primary-aged pupils). The prizes are £1000 for the 16-21 age group, £100 and £150 in book tokens for the 12-15 age group, and £100 and £150 in book tokens for the 11 and under age group. The closing date is 29th April.
Bright Light Education Creative Writing Competition for children aged 7-13. Open to children in West London, with three age categories – 7-9, 9-11 and 11-13. Entries need to be fiction and start with the line "There was no doubt about it, I would have to go back." Closes on April 30th.
Wimbledon BookFest Writing Competitions. Closing date 30th April.
The charitable trust Stick Up is running two competitions for children and teens. The Green Jelly Bean Short Story Award is for 9-11-year-olds who can submit stories of between 500 and 750 words on a theme of friendship. The Stuck-In Award for Creative Writing is open to 12-14-year-olds who are invited to write up to 1000 words on 'Using Creativity for Change'. Please see the website for full details and prompts. The closing date is 1st April for both contests.

Closing date in May

Magical Story Jars is running a children's short story competition in association with 'What's Your Story, Chorley?' Children aged 5-10 and 11-13 can enter stories of up to 500 words using the prompts provided. Full details are on the website, and the closing date is 16th May.
First News Education School Newspaper of the Year Competition. Open to primary schools, secondary schools, and special schools. Will this become the long-term successor to the legendary Daily Telegraph competition from the 90s and 00s?
SATIPS poetry writing competition.
C.A.B.B publishing is running a short story competition for children where the entry must feature a 500 word 'summer time' story. 8-12-year-olds have until 31st May to submit entries online.
The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition is open to young people under the age of 19. The competition features a starter paragraph and invites entrants to write under 1000 words continuing the story. The closing date is 23rd May.

Closing date in June

Wells Festival of Literature Young Poets competition – open to secondary and post-secondary students aged 16-22. Poems must be no longer than 35 lines and the closing date is 30th June.
The Poetry of Science Competition – open to children who go to school in Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire. The task is to write a 'terrific scientific poem'. Entries in three age group categories: Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Key Stages 3&4. The closing date is 11th June. There's a downloadable poster for classrooms here.
The Solstice Prize for Young Writers – open theme for either poetry – up to 40 lines, or short stories – up to 1000 words, aimed at secondary pupils. Categories for 10-13 and 14-17. The closing date is Saturday 20th June.
The Orwell Youth Prize – for secondary students aged 12-18, entries can be in any form, up to 1000 words. This year's task is to respond to this title: "The Future We Want". The closing date is 11th June.

Closing date in July

The Silver Robin summer competition invites young writers in the UK aged 8-14 to submit imaginative stories of up to 500 words involving "escape". There are prizes for the top three entries and the closing date is 31st July.
Foyle Young Poets competition – for 11-17-year-olds, the competition welcomes "poems on any theme and any length". Closing date 31st July.
Stephen Spender Trust poetry in translation prize – the challenge is to translate a poem from any language into English. There are three categories for young people: U18, U16, and U14. The top prize is £1000. The closing date is 17th July.
Ledbury Under 18's poetry competition. Two categories – 11 and under and 12-17 requesting poems of no more than 40 lines in length. There are cash prizes or book tokens for the winners. Deadline 15th July.
HG Wells short story competition.
The Lewis Carroll society is running a competition that includes categories for up to 16 and 16-20-year-olds who invite young writers to create a missing chapter of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking-Glass. Full details are on the website link and the competition closes on 3rd July.

Closing date in August

The Man Up! Creative Writing Competition is open to young people aged 15-25. Inspired by the Man Up! exhibition that highlighted 'stories of women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who stepped into male roles', entrants are invited to submit short stories and poems inspired by the women and stories in Man Up!There are categories for 15-17-year-olds and 18-25-year-olds, and full details are on the competition's website. The closing date is 15th August.
Goldsmiths University of London is running a series of competitions for 16-18-year-olds who are invited to a short story, a piece of journalism with a historical angle, or a piece about identity and culture. The Young Writer, Young Columnist, and Young Anthropologist competitions close on 2nd August.
Cinemagic Young Filmmaker – open to films on any subject from young filmmakers aged under 25. The prizes include winning films being screened in cinemas.
Young Muslim Writers Award – open to UK children and teens in KS1, KS2, KS3 and KS4 who can submit a short story or poetry – and in KS3 and KS4, this is extended to also include journalism, screenplays, and play scripts. Full details are on the website. The closing date is 13th August.

Closing date in September

The Style of Wight Children's Writing Competition – children who live on the Isle of Wight aged 7-11 and 12-16 can submit stories of up to 500 words on any subject. The deadline is 2nd September.
The Betty Haigh Shakespeare Prize – open to "any sixth form student of English Literature". There are two options, both with detailed entry criteria which can be viewed on the competition website. The closing date is 1st September.

Closing date in October

The BBC Young Reporter Competition is open to children and teens aged 11-18 who "want to report on a story or issue which is important to their life or the world around them".
Explore Learning's Writers' Awards invite children aged 4-14 to enter a 500-word short story on the theme "hidden talents". The competition will be judged by Greg James. The deadline is 28th October.
The Young Walter Scott Prize – dedicated to historical fiction, defined as "in a time before you were born", this competition has two age categories: 11-15 and 16-19. Entries can be prose, poetry, drama, fictional letters, or reportage. The closing date is the end of October and prizes include a £500 travel grant and a weekend at the Borders Book Festival.
The Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize for writers aged 18-25.
Saugus Halloween story writing contest.

Scholastic books for children and teachers. Discounts available.

Undated or open

Kids' Poetry Club runs a variety of competitions for primary and secondary-aged children, with a new theme announced every few months.
The Young Poets Network runs regular writing challenges and competitions, which can be viewed on their website.
BBC Today Student Journalism Awards – annual. this competition features a variety of journalism categories, including journalism (any medium), broadcasting, visual and photojournalism, critic, publication, and programme. Entrants must be over 18 and in full-time UK higher education. The prizes include places on highly coveted BBC Journalism Trainee Schemes (paid positions).
BBC Writers Room is inviting speculative screenplay submissions of at least 30 pages from young scriptwriters aged 16+ in the UK or Republic of Ireland.
Blue Things Zine invites young writers aged 13+ to write articles and stories under 1500 words for consideration for publication.
Scholastic We Are Writers – not a competition per-se, but lots of ideas for literacy and writing projects with the aim of getting your pupils published. Ideal for fundraisers or whole school writing initiatives.
Inkhead short story competition and writing clubs.
Amnesty International has a series on online resources – 'Words That Burn' – to inspire teenagers to write about human rights, equality and discrimination.
National Literacy Trust competitions page.
Readers' Digest Competitions.
The Guild of Food Writers Write It – Young Food Writer of the Year – is open to children up to 18 in three age categories.
Live Canon: Children's Poetry Competition – for young people aged 5-18.
For a non-competitive option, the John Muir Award offers schools an opportunity to "encourage people of all backgrounds to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places." Through an award scheme, pupils can create a dossier of experiences, challenges and presentations to demonstrate how they have discovered a wild place, explored it, done something to conserve it and shared their experience. A good option for larger groups, classes and year groups, this award requires teacher input and planning. Suitable for year 4 through to secondary aged pupils.
The First Story Young Writers Festival offers pupils a day-long online festival with workshops, resources, interviews with writers, showcases for young writers, resources and CPD for teachers. This is a fantastic resource to inspire children to write for publication and would make a great starting point for pupils considering entering writing competitions. (Note the festival is not running a competition of its own).

Resources for creative writing in schools and at home

Below is a collection of books recommended to inspire children to write – whether it be creative writing, nonfiction, or poetry.

Write Like a Ninja: An essential toolkit for every young writer by Andrew Jennings

This cracking guide to using vocabulary and grammar effectively in KS2 is designed to be used independently by children. Ideal for homework, home learning and SATs revision, this is a useful and worthwhile resource to help build confidence and inspire children to write with greater ambition and accuracy.

Write Like a Ninja: An essential toolkit for every young writer by Andrew Jennings

500 Words: A collection of short stories that reflect on the Black Lives Matter movement

An inspiring collection of stories by 5-13-year-olds submitted to the 500 words competition in 2020. This anthology includes writing tips from Malorie Blackman, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Charlie Higson, and Francesca Simon. A great resource for school creative writing clubs and children interested in entering competitions.

500 Words: A collection of short stories that reflect on the Black Lives Matter movement

Descriptosaurus by Alison Wilcox

A fantastic resource for children and pupils aged 8-14 which helps the writer build up descriptions using increasingly sophisticated prompts. Great as a starting point for original ideas.

How to Write your Best Story Ever! by Christopher Edge

Ideal for children in primary and early secondary schools aged 9-12, this book uses humour and illustrations to help the writer to focus ideas clearly and structure stories. This writing guide is very thorough, but also very accessible and great fun.

How to Write Poems by Joseph Coelho

A plethora of fun activities which cover a huge range of poetry forms and styles. There are lots of funny and child-friendly starting points and short, sharp writing challenges. Great for primary aged children at home or in school.

Just Imagine by James Carter

A must-have book for every classroom and creative writing teacher of children aged 8-14. This is a stunning resource, complete with soundscape CD and images, which will transform your pupils' experience of writing. Great for English lessons, extracurricular clubs, and reluctant writers.

Spilling Ink – A Young Writer's Handbook by Ellen Potter & Anne Mazer

A useful and practical guide for developing ideas, building plots and redrafting and improving. Some thought-provoking writing prompts are included. Best suited to children aged 11+.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

One of the most accessible adult writing guides ever written. Some great advice on creating atmosphere, using dialect, and building a plot. King references many key texts in English and American literature – and for this reason, this book would make an interesting – and very readable – addition to GCSE and A level courses.

For more competition ideas, have a look at our public speaking and debating contests.

Browse our list of Children's Book Publishers in the UK

Peruse our list of magazines for children and teens

Why not have a look at our suggested reading lists for children aged 3-16?

Books for EYFS & Reception Books for Year 1 Books for Year 2 Books for Year 3 Books for Year 4 Books for Year 5 Books for Year 6 Books for Year 7 Books for Year 8 Books for Year 9 Books for Year 10 Books for Year 11

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