Spencertown Academy Arts Center

Spencertown Academy Young Writers’ Contest

Spencertown Academy Arts Center announces its eighth annual Young Writers’ Contest. Held in conjunction with the Academy’s Festival of Books, the contest is open to students in grades 9 through 12 (including homeschoolers) in Columbia County, NY, and Berkshire County, MA. This also includes high school students residing in these counties during the 22-23 school year who studied online elsewhere.

Works will be judged in an anonymous process by published authors and publishing professionals volunteering their services for this contest. The top three fiction and nonfiction winners will receive cash prizes ($250, $150, and $100, respectively).

“The Academy wants to support and encourage creative writing in our local youth,” says Carol Essert, contest coordinator. “We have been delighted with the entries in recent years and we look forward to reading another round of interesting and creative submissions.”

The deadline for submissions is Monday, May 1, 2023. Full details, as well as samples of prior winning entries, can be seen at www.spencertownacademy.org.

Prizes will be awarded before the end of the 2023 school year. All winners will be invited to read from their work at the Festival of Books in the autumn.

Spencertown Academy Arts Center’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Founded in 1972, Spencertown Academy Arts Center is a cultural center and community resource serving Columbia County, the Berkshires, and the Capital region. Housed in a landmark 1847 Greek Revival schoolhouse, the Academy is located at 790 State Route 203 in Spencertown, New York.