Short Fiction & Poetry Writing Contest

Calling all storytellers & poets! Our annual short fiction and poetry writing contest is back, and we want to read your boldest, most creative stories and poems. If you’re between 9-14 years old and live in Clark County, this is your chance to shine!

Prizes for the Winner

  • ✺

    $100 Cash

  • ✺

    Special feature in our literary magazine The Inkling

  • ✺

    Customized award trophy

How to Enter: You or your parent can email your submission to contest@theinkspotstudio.com anytime between now and April 14th. Writers can submit to both our poetry contest and our short story contest, but please submit each entry as a separate email.

We’ll email the winner directly and announce it on our YouTube Channel on April 28th. Subscribe to The Ink Spot Writing Studio for the big news!

Submission Guidelines:

  1. Attach your short story or poem as a PDF. The document should only include the story or poem’s title and content; do not include your name on the document please.

  2. In the body of the email, include: Which contest you are entering (poetry or short story) Your name & age, your story’s or poem’s title, why you love to write, your parent’s name

  3. Word count: Stories must be between 500 and 5000 words. Poems must be under 300 words. Beyond that, the topic, themes, and concept are entirely up to you!

Originality matters! We are looking for unique & meaningful stories and poems. Feel free to break writing rules or submit something untraditional.

Impartial Judging: One TIS staff member will compile submissions to ensure anonymity, while other staff members will read and judge entries.

Judging Criteria - Short Stories:

  • Originality of Ideas

  • Personal Voice and Style

  • Pacing

  • Sentence Fluency & Syntax

Judging Criteria - Poems:

  • Rhythm, Structure, & Flow

  • Expressive Language that Connects with the Reader

  • Evokes a Theme or Deeper Message

Current Ink Spot students are welcome and encouraged to enter, however all judging will be “blind”, meaning judges will not know the name of the student who submitted the piece they are reading.

Thanks for sharing your work with us! We’re really excited to read it. 

PS, a note to parents: You’re welcome to support your young writer with brainstorming, a final read-through, or light edits. But please leave the majority of the drafting and revising to them. We’re not looking for perfection; we’re looking for authentic, original work that reflects the writer’s unique voice.