Current WHS Contests AND OPPORTUNITIES

Filament, Weston High School's Art and Literary magazine, is accepting art and writing submissions that can be published anonymously or not. Send your best writing and art to amyholmes@westonps.org and ioanna.opidee@westonps.org.   

Filament is also hosting a cover contest open until November 21. Submit your cover design (featuring photography, drawing, or art of any kind) to amyholmes@westonps.org and ioannaopidee@westonps.org!

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Poetry Out Loud information can be found here on our WHS Poetry Out Loud page, and here, on the CT Poetry Out Loud site!

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CURRENT Public Opportunities

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards 

Deadline December 8, 2025

Run by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, this annual contest has awarded such writers as Stephen King (1965), Joyce Carol Oates (1956), and Amanda Gorman (2015-2016).

There are MANY categories to choose from - check them out!

Hudson-to-Housatonic Region Submission Information Can Be Found Here!

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LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE 

Deadline: January 26, 2026

CALL FOR STUDENT ENTRIES! 

The Neag School of Education, the Connecticut Writing Project, and UConn's Department of English invites students in grades 4 through 12 to enter the 33rd annual Letters About Literature writing contest. Polish up your reflective writing skills and write a letter to an author—living or dead— explaining how his or her work changed your view of yourself or your world. 

Entries accepted online starting November 1, 2025 Deadline: January 26, 2026 

State winners in each competition level will receive a $250 award. Check s.uconn.edu/LAL for details on state awards and ceremonies 

For more extensive submission information, click here. 

Connecticut Bar Foundation 26th Annual

Quintin Johnstone

Statewide High School

Essay Contest

Presented by the James W. Cooper Fellows 

Deadline February 20

2025-2026 Topic:

“After the Gavel Falls: Navigating Education Policy in the Wake of Mahmoud v. Taylor”

The contest is open to all Connecticut students under the age of 21 who are enrolled in grades 9-12, or their equivalent, at an accredited high school, vocational-technical school, or adult high school credit diploma program located within the State of Connecticut. The contest is also open to all Connecticut homeschooled students in grades equivalent to 9-12. 

• Grand Prize - $2,000

• Two Runner-Up Prizes - $1,000 each

Essays will be judged by federal and state court judges, law professors, and other attorneys. An awards ceremony will be held at the Connecticut Supreme Court in Spring 2026.

Deadline for submission: February 20, 2026

Entries must be submitted through the auspices of the Connecticut school the student attends, with the exception of homeschooled students. Each teacher shall select no more than three entries per class. Teachers of any subject may submit entries. There is no limit on the number of teachers who may submit entries from a single school. School counselors may submit no more than three entries per semester. There is no limit on the number of school counselors who may submit entries from a single school.

For more information, and to access contest materials and submit an entry, click here.

Please contact us at ctbf@ctbarfdn.org with any questions.

PREvious Opportunities

Hispanic Heritage Essay Contest

Deadline October 10th

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, U.S. Representative Jim Himes invites students to participate in the Hispanic Heritage Essay Contest! Students within Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District are invited to participate in honoring Hispanic/Latinx icons and their legacy. The essay should reflect how the icon has inspired the student and their own aspirations, the importance of the icon’s legacy in the last 100 years and recognize their contributions and vital presence as a Hispanic/Latinx person within the United States.

All submissions must be emailed to  Christine.Cornielle@mail.house.gov by Friday, October 10th end of day. The winners will be chosen by October 15th, the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Essays should be no more than 600 words for high school students (grades 9-12), 300 words for middle school students (grades 6-8), and up to 150 words for elementary school students (K-5). Essays may be in English or Spanish. Pictures are optional with submissions. Submissions must include parent/guardian name, address and contact information, student’s name, grade and school name.

The prompt and submission information can be found here. 

Halloween Story Contest - 2025!
Deadline: November 2

Directions and Guidelines: 

• Write a story, poem, essay, play, or comic using one of the "Creature Feature" themed prompts below.

• Maximum 1500 words per story.

• Work should be original, of the writer’s own creation. 

• Pieces should be revised and edited before submitting.

• Multiple submissions per writer are accepted.

• Collaborations are accepted. 

• Submissions are rolling and due by the end of day on November 2nd.

Prompts: 

• Write from the perspective of a mythological creature. 

• Write about a creature in an unlikely location. (Ie: A Werewolf at the Beach)

• Choose an object in your house or room. A shapeshifting creature has turned into this object in order to hide from someone or something. 

• Write a poem that includes these five words: shadow, doorbell, help, night, scream

• Write a story about a spooky event in the form of a blog post, email thread, etc.

• Create an urban legend about a creature in your local community in the form of a news article.

• Which monster is the most misunderstood? Write a piece that presents your argument. 

• Write a play in which two ghosts are fighting over the same space to haunt. 

Submit Here!

Kenyon Review Poetry Contest!

Deadline - November 30

Do you love to write poetry? Then here's a great opportunity for you! Submit to the annual Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers, presented by The Kenyon Review, one of the country's most respected literary magazines, and judged by acclaimed poet Krysten Hill.

Poems by the winner and two runners-up will appear in the print magazine and on our website. In addition, the winner receives a full scholarship to the 2026 Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop next summer in Gambier, OH, on the Kenyon College campus.

Click here to learn more and submit.

• Submissions will remain live November 1–30, 2025.

• Only high school sophomores and juniors may submit.

• Submitters may submit only one entry, with one unpublished poem.

• Submission is free.