Participate in the 2025 Storytellers of Tomorrow Writing Contest by Ringling College of Art+Design. Submit by Jan 15!
About the Contest
High-school-age students are invited to submit unpublished, original English-language stories of up to 2,000 words or a micro-roleplaying game (micro-rpg) of 600 words for the 9th Annual “Storytellers of Tomorrow” Contest. The sole criterion for earning prizes in this contest is simply overall quality, meaning that well-edited, engaging, and evocative entries have the best chance of winning over the judges.
Contest entries will be accepted from October 15, 2024-January 15, 2025. Click the button below to enter using the Contest Google form to submit.
Eligibility
High School Students
Submission Categories
- Submission Category 1: Literary Stories Fiction, usually set in the real world, that emphasizes style, character, and theme over plot. Examples of writers who work in this vein? Henry, Flannery O’Connor, Toni Morrison, Lorrie Moore, Jhumpa Lahiri, John Green, Colson Whitehead.
- Submission Category 2: Genre Stories: Horror stories, fantasy stories, mystery stories, science fiction, thriller stories. Examples of writers who work in this vein? Edgar Allen Poe, Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip K. Dick, George R.R. Martin, N.K. Jemisin, Gillian Flynn, Eric LaRocca.
- Submission Category 3: Nonfiction Stories: Autobiographical essays, personal essays, creative nonfiction (including very well-written, story-based travel writing, nature writing, science writing, and/or biography). Examples of writers who work in this vein? Barbara Ehrenreich, Lauren Hillenbrand, Jeannette Walls, Bill Bryson, Michael Pollan, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Andrés Reséndez.
- Submission Category 4: Micro-Roleplaying Games: “One-shot” collaborative storytelling games where participants create and control fictional characters, navigating a shared narrative guided by rules. Examples in this genre? “The Witch Is Dead,” “Trashkin,” “Sad Vampire Boyfriend,” “Crash Pandas,” “Pride and Extreme Prejudice.”
Prizes
1st Place Prize
- $500
- 1:1 consultation about your writing with a literary agent or editor
- iPad for each winner’s high school writing teacher
- Ringling College Creative Writing T-shirt
2nd Place Prize
- $100
- Ringling College Creative Writing T-shirt
3rd Place Prize
- $50
- Ringling College Creative Writing T-shirt
Honorable Mentions
- Ringling College Creative Writing T-shirt
Judges’ Award
- One full-tuition scholarship to Ringling College’s 2024 summer PreCollege program ($6,950 value)
How to Register?
Interested participants can register through this link.
Deadline
The deadline for submission is January 15, 2025.
