U.S. Creative Writing Awards
Young writers are our future, and we believe in investing in the next generation of readers and authors. In partnership with We Need Diverse Books, we host our annual Creative Writing Awards, looking for writing with a strong, clear voice by high school seniors who are daring and original.
Applications are now closed.

We are passionate about encouraging the next generation of readers and authors and promoting diverse voices and stories. For more than 26 years, we have supported this mission through the Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards, which in 2019 entered into an innovative new partnership with We Need Diverse Books. Through this program, we award college scholarships of up to $10,000 each to five U.S. high school seniors nationwide. In addition, honorable mentions receive “creativity kits,” which include a selection of Penguin Random House titles and writing resources. Creative Writing Award winners have gone on to become professional and award-winning authors.
Since 1993, this program has awarded more than $2.8 million to public high school students for original poetry, memoir/personal essay, fiction/drama, and spoken-word compositions. This signature program continues to empower and celebrate hundreds of young writers each year and underscores our unwavering commitment to identifying and nurturing new literary talent.
Click here to read the winning entries from our 2019 competition.
Contact us at creativewriting@penguinrandomhouse.com
Applications are now closed. Please check back in November 2021.
Our U.S. College Scholarship Award Winners



Jeffrey Liao
Poetry
Livingston High School
Livingston, New Jersey
Museum of My Own History, Age Sixteen


Kiora Brooks
Spoken Word Poetry
Topeka West High School
Topeka, Kansas
The Misinterpretation of Dark Skin
Nora Carrier
Top NYC Entrant
Edward R Murrow High School
Brooklyn, New York
Stories My Mother Tells Me

