Competition
Bennington Young Writers Awards 2026 (poetry, fiction, nonfiction)
Bennington College
At a glance
- Deadline
- Closes 1 November 2026, 10 days leftThe posting gives a date, not a time. Days left are counted in Lagos time.
- Fee
- No fee to apply
- Who may apply
- A high school student in grades 9 to 12, in any country; students who have already graduated cannot enter
- A sponsoring teacher or mentor reviews and approves your entry
- Entry typed, in English, original work, no AI use; grade 12 students also file a free Common App or Coalition application to Bennington first
- Where
- Remote. Online, from anywhere
A writing prize for high school students in grades 9 to 12 anywhere in the world: send one short story, essay or up to three poems (1,500 words at most). Each category pays USD 2,000, 1,000 and 500 to the top three, and winners who later enrol at Bennington get tuition scholarships for four years.
The facts
- What you get
- Per category: USD 2,000 first, USD 1,000 second, USD 500 third, USD 250 for distinguished entries; tuition scholarships if you enrol at Bennington
- Where
- Online, from anywhere
- How long
- Entries open 1 September to 1 November 2026, 11:59 PM ET
Where you stand
This one is free. There is no fee to apply, and nobody should ask you for money at any point.
What they ask for
- A high school student in grades 9 to 12, in any country; students who have already graduated cannot enter
- A sponsoring teacher or mentor reviews and approves your entry
- Entry typed, in English, original work, no AI use; grade 12 students also file a free Common App or Coalition application to Bennington first
Get ready to apply
Built only from what this listing states.
A short application, by our reading.
1. What to get ready
The listing does not say what it needs. When you open their page, write down everything it asks for before you start.
2. Dates
- Closes 1 November 2026, in 10 days.
- Aim to send it by 29 October 2026. Websites slow down near a deadline, and data runs out. Our advice
Download checklist (.txt) Send to WhatsApp
The download is a small text file. You can read it later without data. It also lists each condition they set, so you can tick yourself against them. WhatsApp sends the same list to you, or to somebody helping you.
No CV yet? Make a plain one from your answers. Nothing you type is kept.
Tips for applying for a competition
General advice from us, the same for every competition. It is not what this organisation says; that is above.
- Read the rules and the judging criteria first, and write to them.
- Check who owns your work after you enter. The rules usually say.
- Submit a day early. Upload pages are often slow near a deadline.
If there is an interview or a test
- If there is a final or a pitch, practise out loud and time yourself.
All our tips and messages to copy. Practise answering, with nothing kept. Received an offer? Check whether it is real, then read before you say yes.
How to apply
You apply on Bennington College's own website, not here. We never send an application for anybody and we never ask you for anything to pass on. Check their page for anything not shown here.
More like this, open now
How we checked this
This was opened and verified at Bennington College's own website on 3 October 2026: it was real, still open, and open to people from African countries. If anything here is wrong, tell us.