
competitions
Bennington College Young Writers Competition
Write a winning short story, poem, or nonfiction piece
What is Bennington College Young Writers Competition about?
Bennington College graduated an impressive group of excellent writers, including 12 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.
It goes without saying that doing well and receiving a prize in the Bennington College Young Writers Competition would be a fantastic boost to your student profile if you are aiming for a humanities major. It would certainly put you way ahead of most other applicants!
What work is involved?
You will submit your work from one of the three categories:
Poetry: A group of three poems.
Fiction: A short story (1,500 words or fewer) or one-act play (run no more than 30 minutes of playing time).
Nonfiction: A personal or academic essay (1,500 words or fewer).
It can be helpful to read some of the past winners' work available at the Bennington College Young Writers competition website.
Am I eligible?
Students in grades 9-12 are eligible to enter, regardless of where you are based.
When can I apply?
The competition runs annually from September 1 to November 1.
How will

help
Ideation: you will brainstorm and discuss your ideas with your Ariton mentor. They will help you also select the form that is most suitable given your preference, but also your style and writing experience.
Mentorship: an experienced Ariton consultant with years of academic and creative writing experience will be working with you on a weekly basis. Our mentors previously led teams to successfully compete in various essay competitions.
Expert technique training: Ariton mentors have writing experience both in academic and creative contexts. We will work with you closely on developing your skillset and level up your writing before you make the final submission.
Coaching sessions: from ideation to extensive draft reviews, your Ariton mentor will be with you every step of the way.
Project management: there is a lot of work involved in completing the Bennington Young Writers essay, and it will be your Ariton mentor's priority to ensure you are on track.
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