For Students
Awards and Grants
Bellin Memorial Grant
For: 6th - 12th graders (including homeschooled students)
Entry deadline: early January annually
Application: see the Colorado Teen Literature Conference website after mid-November
The Colorado Language Arts Society honors the memory of Dr. Kathy Bellin, a past president of CLAS and long-time member of the Young Adult Literature Conference (now Teen Literature Conference) planning committee, with a grant that covers student conference registration fees and lunch at the Colorado Teen Literature Conference, scheduled annually in April at the Tivoli Student Union in Denver.
Other Colorado Teen Literature Conference grant opportunities available include REFORMA Colorado and UCD Teen Connection Panel. Each student may only apply for one grant; duplicate applications will result in removal from consideration. Students who have received grants in the past are also not eligible. Please visit the conference's website for questions and more information.
CLAS Student Writing Awards
For: K through 12th grade students in Colorado
Entry deadline: [MONTH] {DD}
Application: CLAS Student Writing Awards
Current Colorado Language Arts Society members may submit up to three total student entries in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry and the grade level groups of elementary school (K-5), middle school (6-8), and high school (9-12) for consideration of publication. Winners will be recognized at the Regional Conference. For more information, contact [NAME] at [EMAIL].
Printable flyer
NCTE Promising Young Writers
For: 8th graders
Entry deadline: entry window is mid-December to mid-February
Application: NCTE Promising Young Writers
Requires two pieces of student writing. The first is monitored by the teacher on a topic assigned by NCTE; the second is chosen as best writing by the student.
NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing
For: 11th graders
Entry deadline: entry window is mid-December to mid-February
Application: NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing
Requires student submissions in 2 categories: an impromptu theme on an NCTE-provided topic, written under teacher supervision; and a sample of the student's best writing.
NCTE Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines
For: all senior high, junior high, and middle schools.
Entry deadline: entry window is mid-May to early July
Application: NCTE Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines
Students submit copies of their school literary magazines. For additional information contact Michael Kilduff at 720-972-4851 or michael.kilduff@adams12.org.
Summer Programs
Colorado Writing Project offers a two-week summer camp for young writers in grades 3-6. The camp location varies by year.
Denver Writes offers five-day summer camps on writing for various genres, for the stage, and storytelling for writers ages 8-11 and 12-15. The camps meet at Back Space at Metropolis Coffee and Bookbar in Denver.
Denver Writing Project offers five-day summer camps for writers in grades 4-12 at the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver and writers in grades 3-8 at The Wildlife Experience in Parker.
Explorati Teens offers four-day camp tracks for middle school fiction, high school fiction, and screenwriting. The camps meet at the Arapahoe Library District administration building in Englewood.
Lighthouse Writers Workshop offers four-day morning camps for writers in grades 3-8 at Lit Fest and five-day camps for writers in grades 3-12 at Lighthouse.