So, you call yourself a writer. Your desk is riddled with pages of poems, half-remembered, half-forgotten manuscripts, and annotations of conversations eavesdropped on the walk home. You feel a hunger to create when you haven’t written in a while. Around you, the world exists to inspire you.
Now, you want to enter your work into a writing competition for teenagers. Enter Write the World: we’re a community where young writers can publish their work, give each other feedback, and access prompts and other resources to refine their craft.
Our signature program? Monthly writing competitions for teenagers.
What are Write the World’s monthly writing competitions?
Every month, Write the World hosts a free writing competition for teenagers (ages 13-19) in a different genre: poetry, sci-fi & fantasy, flash fiction, journalism, screenwriting, fairytales & myths, op-ed, memoir writing, and much more. Genres vary by month to accommodate the diverse styles, interests, and skills of our community. Young writers of all levels are welcome to join our vibrant community and share their work with peers from around the globe who are eager to read their words.
Find our current competition schedule here!
When are Write the World’s writing competitions?
Our competitions begin on the first Monday of each month. From there, you have three weeks to enter. All dates are listed here.
Who can enter our writing competitions?
All writers around the world aged 13-19 are eligible to enter.
How can I get feedback on my work before entering?
There are two ways in which you can receive feedback on your writing before entering our competitions:
- Expert Review: The first 50 people to submit a draft can receive an in-depth review from one of our Expert Reviewers—authors, writing teachers, and educational professionals—that you can use to revise your final entry.
- Peer Review: Other teen writers on Write the World can offer constructive criticism by filling out a peer review on your piece.
How do I enter?
1. If you haven’t yet, sign up for a free account for Write the World as a young writer here.
2. Hit the “Enter Competition” button on the left. You can find the current competition under “Featured Competitions” halfway through the page. Click “View Competition” to learn more.
3. When you’re ready to write, click “Join Competition” and start writing. Your draft will automatically save. You can also click “Save as Draft” and name that version for later if you want to return to it.
4. Click “Continue to Enter.” In the box that pops up, you can check off one or more of the following options:
- Would you like to request an Expert Review?
- Would you like to ask for Peer Reviews?
5. Once you’ve made your selections, click “Enter.” At that point, you will automatically be entered into the competition. All entries will be published on Write the World’s website. You can return to the piece and edit it as many times as you want until the competition closes and judging begins. We will judge the most recently updated version of your entry.
How are winning entries determined?
We are honored to collaborate with a prestigious lineup of internationally recognized writers and editors who serve as judges for our monthly competitions. Our esteemed judges include award-winning journalists and novelists, poets laureate, and professors. They offer our young writers unparalleled insights and firsthand experiences from the professional world of writing, inspiring and guiding teens on their creative journeys.
Why should I enter Write the World’s writing competitions?
Our writing competitions offer a platform for teenage writers across the globe to speak their minds through fiction, nonfiction, or poetry genres.
- All pieces are published on the website upon entry, allowing other teen writers to view and comment on your work; this way, you’re able to connect with like-minded readers and writers, plus gain valuable feedback on your pieces.
- Our competitions enable you to practice the genres you love as well as other genres that may be unfamiliar to you, all in a time constraint of three weeks that challenges you to make the time to write.
- According to our surveys, nearly 70% of teenagers enter to gain confidence in their writing, and almost 50% enter to build their resumé and/or college application.
- There are cash prizes for winners–who wouldn’t want to get paid for their creativity?!
Entering our competitions is a completely free opportunity to get your work out to the world, practice your craft, and connect with other writers.
Are there prizes for winners?
Yes! Winners receive cash prizes as well as promotion on our blog and Instagram. For most competitions, our guest judge selects a:
- Winner (receives $100)
- Runner-Up (receives $50)
- Best Peer Reviewer (receives $50)
Furthermore, during select competitions throughout 2026, winners will be gifted a set of premium pencils and stationery, courtesy of Blackwing.
What are the writing guidelines?
The power of our writing goes hand in hand with responsibility. Make sure that you’re supporting other people through your writing rather than pulling them down. The types of content that will be removed from the site include, but are not limited to:
- Anything that may be deemed hurtful, defamatory, or discriminatory in nature.
- Anything deemed explicit or gratuitously violent.
- Anything referencing self-harm.
- Any commercial posts and/or spam.
- Plagiarism (see more on our Writing Guidelines page).
- Personal contact information—including usernames on social media or other platforms. This is to protect the privacy of our members.
- Links to any external websites, with the exception of links to citations as part of an essay, or including links to illustrations or audio as part of a Write the World competition or prompt.
- Writing in a non-English language that is not accompanied by an English translation. Write the World welcomes writers from around the world, but we require translations in order to ensure site safety and readability. This helps keep our platform accessible to all.
If a writer posts content that violates our terms or goes against our guidelines, we will remove the post and contact the writer when necessary. Please refer to our Writing Guidelines and the site’s terms for further information.
Is there a word limit?
Although this depends on the genre, most competitions require you to enter pieces between 400-1000 words (although there are exceptions, including our Flash Fiction Competition, in which the limit is 100 words).
What resources are available for writing competitions?
For each monthly competition, we curate specialized resources to support writers of all experience levels. These include Guest Judge Q&As, general tips, example pieces, formatting advice, glossaries, and inspiration. Check out all of our writing tips!
Can I use AI to help me write my competition entry?
The use of AI-generated content is NOT permitted in competition entries. In fact, we review entries with AI writing detectors and human readers; any entry that includes AI-generated text will be disqualified. You may use AI as a brainstorming tool, as explained by our Guest Judge Jennifer Lewy – but every word of your draft should be entirely your own.
Where can I find past competition winners?
The winners of our monthly writing competitions are announced on our blog and social media channels! You can also view the Winner, Runner-Up, Best Peer Review, and Finalists of recent competitions by clicking on the competition image of your choice here and scrolling down to the "Competition Entries" section.
What’s the catch?
Our competitions are free, they change every month to accommodate different writers, and they come with cash prizes for winners. So what’s the catch? Well, there is none! We’re a non-profit dedicated to supporting teen writers around the world, and we do so by bringing creators together for our monthly writing competitions. If you can’t think of a reason not to enter, then just do it!
About the Author
Tula Jiménez Singer is the Marketing and Administrative Coordinator at Write the World. She graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science in Linguistics in 2025, where she focused on Cuban Spanish discourse and dialectology. Before Write the World, she worked in marketing and journalism at various organizations, including The Boston Globe and The Climate Justice and Sustainability Hub. She also served as President of Artistry Magazine, a university publication exploring global arts and culture. Writing is her greatest passion: she joined Write the World as a young writer in 2019 while living in Havana, Cuba, and continues to write stories about magical realism, Cubanism, culture, and identity.
