15 Essay Competitions for Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- Oct 11
- 9 min read
Are you a middle school student eager to challenge yourself, explore your creativity, or sharpen your skills? Writing contests are a fun and rewarding way to do just that. They not only help you grow as a writer but also strengthen your ability to think critically, organize your ideas, and express them clearly, which are valuable skills in every subject.
From short stories and poetry to essays on real-world issues such as climate change or technology, these competitions open doors to both creative and academic growth. They can boost your confidence, give you the thrill of competing with peers nationwide, and even lead to prizes, recognition, and chances to be published on respected platforms.
We’ve compiled a list of the 15 most reputable writing contests designed especially for middle school students.
15 Essay Competitions for Middle School Students
Prize: N/A
Dates: March 12 – April 16
Deadline: April 16
Eligibility: Open to students aged 13–19 who are currently enrolled in middle or high school anywhere in the world
The New York Times’ Open Letters Opinion-Writing Contest is for students aged 13 to 19 from anywhere in the world. You will have to write an open letter on an issue you care about, addressing a specific person, group, or institution while also reaching a wider public. Your letter should be no more than 500 words and include evidence from at least one New York Times article and one other reliable source. The contest encourages you to use a clear and powerful voice to share your ideas and opinions. The best entries are published on The Learning Network, giving you a chance to be heard and to inspire others.
Prize: US $5,000 scholarship for the first-place winner (to be used toward a John Locke Institute Summer School or Gap Year program)
Dates: Submission deadline – June 30
Deadline: Registration deadline – May 31
Eligibility: Students aged 18 years or younger
The John Locke Institute Global Essay Prize is an international writing competition for school students that encourages independent thinking and strong academic writing. You can choose from a range of subjects such as philosophy, politics, economics, history, psychology, theology, and law. There is also a junior category for younger students. The competition offers you the chance to explore challenging ideas, improve your reasoning and writing skills, and have your work critiqued by world-class academics. If you win, you’ll receive a scholarship to attend John Locke Institute programs, along with recognition, a certificate, and opportunities to connect with scholars at events in London.
Prize: $1,000
Dates: May 23 – Intent to Participate Form closes
Deadline: June 6 – Submission deadline
Eligibility: Open to all K–12 students, including homeschool and international participants (submissions must be made via a teacher)
The John Estey Student Writing Competition, hosted annually by the American Writers Museum, celebrates the creativity of students in grades 3 through 12. Schools can participate by submitting entries through an educator, with each school allowed up to three submissions per category.
The contest encourages you to express your voice through fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or other creative forms, guided by a thought-provoking annual prompt. You can explore this idea in your own way, weaving the prompt into your work as inspiration or a central theme. Submissions must be original works of up to 1,000 words, which gives you ample space to showcase both your imagination and skill.
Prize: $100 and a trophy
Deadline: September 12 – Submission deadline
Eligibility: Open to U.S. students aged 4–18 (grades Pre-K through 12)
The Young Writers Annual Showcase is a nationwide creative writing contest open to U.S. students aged 4 to 18. You can submit your best piece of original writing from the school year, whether it’s a story, poem, blog, article, or any other creative format. Entries can be up to 1,000 words and may be submitted online, by mail, or through a school.
The program gives you the chance to see your work published in the Annual Showcase anthology, which features selected entries from across the country. It also offers cash prizes and trophies for top winners in different age groups, while every participant receives a bookmark. The entries chosen for publication get a certificate of merit.
Prize: £200, a selection of books, and a special souvenir
Deadline: June 6 – Submission deadline
Eligibility: Open to UK students aged 11–14
The essay writing contest is designed for creative middle schoolers who love writing. You can write a story, a diary entry, or any kind of creative writing you like, up to 500 words, on the year’s theme.
If you win, you will get £200, a set of books, and a special souvenir. Your work will also be published in a pamphlet and celebrated at an award ceremony at the London Review Bookshop in London.
The contest is judged by authors and writing experts, giving you a chance to show your ideas, be recognized, and improve your writing skills.
Prize: $6,000
Deadline: April 21 – Submission deadline
Cost: Free
Eligibility: Open to students in grades 6–12
The ARTEFFECT Competition invites you to showcase your creativity through visual art, paired with a written impact statement of 500 to 1,000 words. You can enter in a variety of categories, including painting, drawing, photography, digital art, and sculpture, which means you can submit the type of artwork you enjoy making most. The 2025 competition offered over $25,000 in cash prizes, including a $6,000 grand prize, along with separate awards for middle and high school divisions. The contest is free to enter and attracts students from around the world, giving you a platform to share your vision and have your work seen globally.
Prize: Up to $1,000
Deadline: Opens December 1 – Closes February 1
Cost: Free
Eligibility: Open to students in grades 6–12
The Bluefire $1000 for 1000 Words fiction writing contest, organized by the Leyla Beban Young Authors Foundation, is open to middle and high school students worldwide. You are invited to submit an original, unpublished fiction piece that is exactly 1,000 words long. The contest is free to enter and allows stories on any topic, as long as the content is appropriate and has not been previously published.
In the past, students from 46 countries have participated. The competition awards two grand prizes of $1,000 each, one for the best submission from grades 6–8 and one for grades 9–12. Additionally, $100 cash prizes are given to outstanding entries at each grade level. Winners are typically announced in April, and if you are selected for publication, you would be invited to an award ceremony in May that celebrates and showcases young writing talent.
Prize: Up to $500
Deadline: June 1
Cost: $40 for members; $50 for non-members
Eligibility: Open to students in grades 6–12
The Arizona Authors Association Literary Contest is an annual writing competition open to all ages from around the world. The contest accepts submissions on a wide range of categories, including poetry, short fiction, short nonfiction, novels, novellas, plays, and youth-focused categories for children and teen literature. Both unpublished and recently published works are eligible, allowing you to showcase your creativity and talent.
Winners receive cash prizes ranging from $25 to $500 and are recognized in the Arizona Literary Magazine, with an opportunity to attend the Desert Nights Writers Conference award ceremony.
Prize: Winners will be published on The New York Times Learning Network
Deadline: TBA (Contest runs from November 1 – December 6)
Cost: Free
Eligibility: Middle or high school students aged 13–19, with parent or guardian permission
The New York Times Student Review Contest invites students aged 13 to 19 to submit a review of a recent experience—be it a book, movie, TV show, video game, restaurant, or other cultural work. You are required to write a review of 450 words or fewer that reflects your personal engagement and critical perspective.
If you win, you will have the opportunity to have your review published on The New York Times Learning Network, providing you with a platform to showcase your writing to a broad audience. Additionally, the contest offers you a chance to develop your writing skills and engage critically with cultural works.
Prize: Certificates awarded based on level of distinction
Deadline:
Mid-November: Submissions open
February 15: Contest closes
Mid-May: Results announced
Cost: $5
Eligibility: Current 8th-grade students nominated by their school
The Promising Young Writers Program is a writing contest for eighth-grade students run by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). To enter, your school can nominate you, and a few students from each grade are chosen.
You can write a themed piece up to 10 pages using the yearly prompt from NCTE. Teachers and writing experts will read your work and look at your ideas, creativity, and how clearly you express them. You will get a certificate, and the top winner will have their name and school shown on the NCTE website.
Deadline: October 31
Prize:
National winners: Up to $5,000
State-level winners: Starting at $500
Additional local and regional prizes available
Cost: Free
Eligibility: U.S. students in grades 6–8
Entries must be original essays submitted through a local VFW Post.
The VFW Patriots’ Pen contest is a writing competition for middle school students that gives you the chance to explore ideas about patriotism, democracy, and civic responsibility. You would have to write a 300–400-word essay expressing your thoughts on the annual theme.
This program helps you develop your writing skills, think critically, and understand civic values, while giving you opportunities for recognition and scholarships at local, state, and national levels. You will have to submit your entry through a local VFW Post, connecting you with your community and giving your voice a meaningful platform.
Deadline: March 21
Prize:
First place: $2,500
Second place: $1,000
Third place: $500
Finalists: $200
Semi-finalists: $100
Honorable mentions: $50
Cost: Free
Eligibility: Students in grades 5–12 (ages 10–18) living in North America, Hawaii, or at a U.S. military address
The Stossel in the Classroom Essay Contest is a chance for you to think about important issues and share your ideas clearly. The contest, open to middle and high school students, asks you to pick a topic from prompts such as free speech, minimum wage, or immigration and write an essay between 500 and 1,000 words.
This contest is more than just writing, it helps you learn to reason, use evidence, and explain your ideas about real-world problems. Essays are judged on clarity, creativity, organization, and the strength of your arguments, so you can improve both your writing and thinking skills.
Along with developing your communication skills, the contest gives you the chance to win prizes, earn national recognition, and share your voice on an educational platform that values what you have to say.
Deadline: February 1
Prize: Up to $1,000
Cost: Free
Eligibility: Students in grades 3–12, divided into three categories:
Elementary: grades 3–5
Middle: grades 6–8
High: grades 9–12
The EngineerGirl Writing Contest lets you explore the world of engineering through creativity and writing. Each year, you are given a new prompt that challenges you to combine your curiosity about how things work with your ability to communicate ideas clearly.
The word limit depends on your grade level, with separate guidelines for elementary, middle, and high school students, so the contest feels fair and engaging for everyone. Entries are judged not only on creativity and presentation, but also on accuracy, problem-solving, reflection on risks, and the overall quality of your writing, giving you a chance to showcase both your technical thinking and storytelling skills.
Deadline: May 26
Prize: Up to $100
Cost: Free
Eligibility: Students aged 13–19 worldwide
The Environmental Writing Competition by Write the World, sponsored by Patagonia, is a free contest for young writers aged 13 to 19. It asks you to think about your connection with nature and how climate change affects your life and community.
You can write 400 to 1,000 words of creative nonfiction, using facts and personal stories to explore topics like environmental loss, resilience, and activism. Judges read all entries, and the top essays are featured on the Write the World platform and published in the Starfish Canada Youth Journal, giving you a chance to share your ideas and inspire others.
Deadline: July 15
Prize: Up to $15,000
Cost: $30 (one-year subscription to Rattle)
Eligibility: Students aged 13–19 worldwide
The Rattle Poetry Prize is a big annual contest run by Rattle magazine and is open to anyone around the world, including middle school students. You can submit up to four poems on any topic and in any style, so you can write about whatever inspires you. There is a $30 entry fee, which also gives you a one-year subscription to the magazine. One poem will win the grand prize of $15,000.
Ten other poems are chosen as finalists, each winning $500, and one of these can also win the $5,000 Readers’ Choice Award, voted on by readers. All winning poems are published in Rattle’s winter issue, and you get to keep your magazine subscription irrespective of whether you win or not.
One more option—The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program
The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is a program for middle school students to work one-on-one with a mentor to explore their academic interests and build a project they are passionate about. Our mentors are scholars from top research universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale, Duke, and LSE.
The program was founded by a Harvard & Oxford PhD who met as undergraduates at Harvard. The program is rigorous and fully virtual. We offer need-based financial aid for students who qualify. You can find the application in the brochure! To learn more, you can reach out to our Director, Dhruva, at dhruva.bhat@lumiere.education, or go to our website.
Multiple rolling deadlines for JEP cohorts across the year, you can apply using this application link! If you'd like to take a look at the upcoming cohorts + deadlines, you can refer to this page!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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