Narrative High School Writing Contest

We are currently gearing up for our Ninth Annual High School Contest, which will open for submissions January 3, 2024. Be sure to subscribe to Narrative so that you receive contest updates—including this year’s writing prompt—straight to your inbox!

The judges for our Eighth Annual Contest were New York Times–bestselling author and Narrative cofounder/editor Carol Edgarian, poetry editor Michael Wiegers, and guest judge Naomi Shihab Nye, former Young People’s Poet Laureate.

Our sincere thanks to all the students who sent in their poems and to all the teachers who submitted on their students’ behalf!

Our submissions covered the globe: indeed, we heard from young poets from thirty-six countries, from Canada to Malaysia, Serbia to Israel, South Korea to South Africa, and Pakistan to Palestine. Within the United States, we heard from young poets in forty-nine states—an amazing outpouring of poetry.

Congratulations to all the students and teachers who participated in this year’s contest. Your work and passion inspired and amazed us.

Here’s a short video featuring last year’s winners, along with guest judge Jericho Brown and Narrative editor Carol Edgarian, as they share their thoughts on inspiration and writing.