Young Authors Writing CompetitionColumbia College Chicago

Honestly, we cannot confirm that it is. As of September 2026 the official site carries no call for entries for the current cycle, its submission guidelines page is undated, the news section's most recent posts are years old, and the last verifiable winners announcement dates from 2023. Irvine students considering it should email youngauthors@colum.edu first to ask whether this cycle is open, and treat the department's reply and the official site as the only authority.

No, and the similar names cause constant confusion. It is run by the English and Creative Writing Department at Columbia College Chicago, a private arts and media college, which has no affiliation or partnership with Columbia University in New York. If you list the award anywhere, write the full name 'Columbia College Chicago' so no reader thinks the claim is being inflated.

The published guidelines list Fiction, Creative Nonfiction and Poetry, with up to two entries per category - each poetry entry holding one to five poems - for a maximum of six files. Each entry is capped at ten pages and must be a .doc, .docx or .pdf, double-spaced in 12-point type, with Times New Roman or Courier New preferred. Ten pages is generous by high-school contest standards and suits students working at novella or sequence length.

In past cycles submissions opened in November and closed in January, with a Top Ten Finalists list published by category in the spring, followed by first, second and third prizes, and winning work posted on the contest site. That window overlaps fall ED/EA essay season, so Irvine students planning around it should build in extra margin. Treat the schedule as historical pattern rather than a commitment for this year: nothing on the official site confirms the same dates for the current cycle, so email first.

Under the published rules entries must be previously unpublished, and simultaneous submissions are permitted provided you withdraw promptly if the piece is accepted elsewhere. That matters for Irvine students also entering Scholastic and Bennington: map out the deadlines and decision dates in advance so you are not forced into an awkward last-minute withdrawal.

Past cycles awarded first, second and third prizes with cash in each of the three categories, published a Top Ten Finalists list, and posted winning work on the site. The official site currently lists neither prize amounts nor an entry fee, so we will not quote figures that might be out of date. Ask about both in the same email you use to confirm whether the competition is running.

Two creative writing contests are confirmed to be running. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards include Short Story, Novel excerpts up to 3,000 words and Poetry, with the 2027 season opening 1 October 2026. The Bennington Young Writers Awards take fiction and nonfiction up to 1,500 words and one to three poems, free to enter between 1 September and 1 November each year. These two are also the ones EDUBUS's Irvine writing coaching covers year-round - see the competition prep course. For longer work, look at the teen sections of literary magazines.

Worth writing the piece, not worth planning around the contest. A ten-page story or poetry sequence is portable: it can go to Scholastic, to Bennington, to a literary magazine, or serve as a writing sample and material for a UC Activities List entry. Build your calendar around Scholastic and Bennington, and treat the YAWC as an extra outlet you use only if the department confirms the cycle is open.