Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Writing Categories
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL WRITING CATEGORIES
• Submissions must be primarily in English.
• Use a clear, standard font that is not excessively large or small.
• The title should appear at the top of the first page; do not include a separate title page. Poems should be titled individually.
• No identifying information, including the student’s name, should appear anywhere on the manuscript.
• No illustrations, photographs, graphics or hyperlinks are permitted.
• Sources must be cited. Footnotes/works cited are not considered part of the word count.
• Collaborative works are not allowed in any writing categories.
Critical Essay – All AP Students Will Be Required To Enter in this Category
Writing intended to inform or convince a reader about a specific idea or topic, such as art or media reviews, persuasive essays, opinion essays, etc.
Sources must be cited. Footnotes/works cited are not considered part of the word count.
500–3,000 words.
Dramatic Script
Work that uses dialogue, action and stage direction to tell a story, including scripts for television, film, or stage.
Excerpts can be submitted, but should be clearly labeled as excerpts.
Dramatic Script entries may be up to 25 pages long.
Flash Fiction Shorter than the Short Story Category
Highly-focused stories characterized by brevity.
Please note word length for Flash Fiction compared to Short Story. Stories in which humor or science fiction/fantasy are key elements should be submitted in those respective categories.
Maximum 1,000 words
Humor
Writing that uses comedic forms such as jokes, satire, farce, irony, parody, absurdity, comedic anecdote, etc.
All work in which humor is the key element should be submitted in this category.
500 – 3,000 words
Journalism
Writing that informs and educates about newsworthy topics or current events, characterized by a presentation of facts or description of events.
Writing intended for publication in newspapers, magazines or online media and characterized by a presentation of facts or description of events.
Works cited are not considered part of the word count.
500–3,000 words.
Personal Essay / Memoir
A non-fiction work based on opinion, experience, and/or emotion that explores a topic or event of importance to the author.
Essays in which humor is the key element should be submitted to the humor category.
500–3,000 words.
Poetry
Writing in verse. May include but is not limited to prose poetry, free verse, formal poetry, song lyrics, and spoken word.
Each submission may consist of 1–5 poems, which will be judged as a collection. Students may submit more than one collection, but must register each separately.
20–200 lines (total for the entire collection).
Science Fiction / Fantasy
Writing that uses supernatural, magical, futuristic, scientific and technological themes as a key element of the narrative.
All work in which science fiction/fantasy is the key element should be submitted in this category, even if it would be applicable in another category. Do not base characters or plots on already published works (books, movies, comics, etc.).
500–3,000 words.
Short Story
A fictional narrative written in prose.
All stories that are 1,000 words or less should be submitted to the Flash Fiction category. Short Stories in which humor or science fiction/fantasy are key elements should be submitted in those respective categories.
1,000–3,000 words.
Special Categories and Sponsored Awards
Special Categories and Sponsored Awards are additional opportunities provided to creative teenagers participating in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Sponsored Awards provide additional prizes and awards to students dealing with specific themes and mediums. Novel Writing and Video Games are special categories that are submitted to the National Scholastic Awards office in New York City; students are still eligible to earn Gold Keys and Silver Keys for these categories, but they should follow the special submission instructions below.
Best-In-Grade
Each year two writers and two artists in each grade (7 -12) are chosen as the Best-in-Grade. These Awards are chosen by a special panel of national jurors from among all Gold Medal-winning artwork and writing. Students and educators do not apply for the Best-in-Grade Award. Best-in-Grade recipients earn a $500 prize, and their educators receive a $250 prize.
Creativity and Citizenship
Each year, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and the National Constitution Center choose a topical and important theme and invite students to create works of art and writing to address that theme. Three (3) awards of $1,000 each are granted to artists and writers presenting work that addresses the following prompt for the 2014 Awards:
Past themes for the Award have included Immigration and Identity (2014), Voting (2013), Bullying (2012), Social Change (2011), and Freedom of Expression (2010).
The Creativity and Citizenship Award is produced in partnership with the National Constitution Center and sponsored by the Maurice R. Robinson Fund.
Gedenk Award for Tolerance
The Gedenk Award for Tolerance, sponsored by the Gedenk Movement, asks students to create works of art or writing, reflecting upon the following prompt::
The Jewish Holocaust began with commonplace acts – simple turns of intolerance, prejudice, and bigotry between neighbors – that many of us are used to seeing and ignoring every day. Over time, however, these unchecked actions became something larger, and immensely more destructive, eventually resulting in the systematic murder of 6 million Jews and decimation across Europe.The Gedenk Award for Tolerance, sponsored by the Gedenk Movement, asks us to consider what we can all do to learn from humanity’s mistakes. Through this special award, Gedenk asks students to create original works of art or writing and consider their own role in cultivating tolerance. The work should reflect upon the lessons learned from the Holocaust and other genocides, and attempt to raise awareness of the importance of increasing tolerance to safeguard a peaceful society.
Five works will be chosen to receive a national Gedenk Award for Tolerance medal and a $1,000 prize. Submissions for the award may be in any art or writing category.
Novel Writing
A long form prose narrative. Please submit an excerpt no longer than 50 pages, and follow the instructions below.
1. Submissions must be uploaded to your student account at www.artandwriting.org/studen/login AND printed and mailed to the address below with the submission form.
2. Printed work must be double-spaced in 12-point font with one-inch margins
3. The title of the work should appear at the top of the first page only. Do not use a separate title page.
4. The student’s name and school must NOT appear on the manuscript.
5. Adaptations of or sequels to existing published series are not accepted.
6. Due to the large volume of submissions, we’re unable to give feedback on manuscripts.
Novel submissions must include an outline of 500 words or less (up to two pages) of the entire novel. The outline is meant to provide readers with an understanding of the full scope and plot of your novel. It does not count toward the maximum page limit.
One submission will be selected to receive professional feedback from with an Editor at PUSH, an imprint of Scholastic.
Submission forms for Novel Writing MUST be postmarked by December 17, 2014 and sent to: Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Attn: Novel Writing Submission, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 The submission fee for novel entries is $5. Please make checks payable to Alliance for Young Artists & Writer
An excerpt up to 50 pages (do not include the outline in the page count).