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The Contests
A full year of writing contests.
From a hundred-word memoir in the fall to three one-week summer reading windows, The New York Times Learning Network opens one free contest after another. Here is the announced 2026–27 season — what each asks for, when it runs, and who can enter.
01 · The season
One contest after another.
Windows below are the announced 2026–27 season: seven opportunities, two of them brand new. The Learning Network rotates its line-up every year — three of last season’s seven contests did not return — so read this as this year’s list rather than a permanent one. Recent rules pages close entries at 11:59 p.m. U.S. Pacific time, which is the following afternoon in Beijing; our 2026-27 contest calendar converts every window. The dates come from two independent republications of the announcement that agree on every window — each contest’s official page is the final word.
My Tiny Memoir
A 100-word personal narrative about one true, meaningful moment.
Visual Art: What It’s Like to Grow Up in 2026
An original artwork about being a teenager right now, submitted with an artist’s statement.
The STEM Interview: Informational Video
A video of up to two minutes that answers a science, technology, engineering, maths or health question through an interview with an expert.
Open Letters
An open letter, in 500 words or fewer, to someone who could change an issue you care about.
Audio Stories
A short original podcast — up to five minutes of audio storytelling.
Voice & Choice: Summer Reading
Respond to anything in The Times that caught your attention — about 250 words or a video of up to 90 seconds — in three one-week windows.
Conversation Challenge for Weekly Current Events
A running weekly prompt to respond to the news — the easiest way to keep writing between contest windows.
02 · In detail
Every contest, up close.
My Tiny Memoir — the 100-word narrative
Tell a true story from your own life in exactly one hundred words. The constraint is the whole point: the strongest entries find a single moment, choose one or two precise details, and trust the reader. It is the friendliest contest to start with — small enough to finish, hard enough to teach you how much every word matters — and it is the first window of the 2026–27 season.
Submit: 100-word narrative · Window: 16 Sep – 28 Oct 2026 · Ages 13–19
What It’s Like to Grow Up in 2026 — the visual art contest
New for 2026–27, and not an essay at all. Make an original piece of visual art about what it is like to be a teenager right now — the pressures your generation faces and the openings it has — and submit it with an artist’s statement that explains how the work answers that question. The writing is short but load-bearing. Because the contest is new there are no past winners to study yet, and the finer details, such as the length of the statement, arrive with the full rules when the window opens.
Submit: original artwork + artist’s statement · Window: 28 Oct – 9 Dec 2026 · Ages 13–19
The STEM Interview — the informational video contest
The season’s other new contest. Choose an intriguing question from science, technology, engineering, maths or health, find an expert who can answer it, and build an informational video of up to two minutes around that interview. The hard part is rarely the camera: it is booking a willing expert early and cutting a long conversation down to the two minutes that explain one idea clearly. A local engineer, a hospital researcher or a university lab makes a perfectly good subject, wherever you live.
Submit: interview video, up to 2 minutes · Window: 6 Jan – 17 Feb 2027 · Ages 13–19
Open Letters — opinion writing
Write an open letter, in 500 words or fewer, to a person or group who could actually change an issue you care about — addressed to them, but written to be read by the public too. The Learning Network’s argument contest rewards a sharp claim, real evidence, and a voice that sounds like a person rather than an essay-bot. Recent seasons have asked entrants to cite at least one New York Times article and one source from outside The Times; check this year’s rules page when the window opens.
Submit: open letter, up to 500 words · Window: 17 Feb – 31 Mar 2027 · Ages 13–19
Audio Stories — the podcast contest
Produce a short original podcast — up to five minutes of audio — that tells a story or explores an idea in sound. You can interview someone, narrate an essay, or build a scene with ambient audio. It is one of the most competitive contests, and one of the most rewarding to make.
Submit: audio up to 5 min · Window: 31 Mar – 12 May 2027 · Ages 13–19
Voice & Choice — the summer reading contest
Read or watch anything in The Times and answer one question: what caught your attention, and why? Entries are short — about 250 words, or a video of up to 90 seconds. The big change for 2027 is the shape: instead of a new round every week of summer, the contest is announced as three one-week windows, so missing one costs you a third of your chances. Put all three in your calendar now. It still rewards curiosity rather than length, and it is a wonderful way to keep writing through the break.
Submit: ~250 words or video up to 90 sec · Windows: 4–11 Jun · 2–9 Jul · 30 Jul – 6 Aug 2027 · Ages 13–19
Year-round, too
Beyond the headline contests, the Learning Network runs ongoing features all year. The 2026–27 calendar counts its Conversation Challenge for Weekly Current Events among the seven opportunities — a running prompt that invites students to respond to the news each week, rather than a single judged window — and What’s Going On in This Picture? posts an intriguing Times photograph with the caption removed for students to discuss. Both are low-stakes ways to build the habit of writing in public.
03 · Eligibility
At a glance.
| Question | In short |
|---|---|
| Who can enter | Middle and high school students, roughly ages 13–19, worldwide. A few contests set their own age notes — check each one. |
| Cost | Free. No entry fee for any contest. |
| Language | English, written by you. For 2026–27, using A.I. tools or Google Translate to put an entry into English is not allowed. |
| Original work | Required. Entries must be your own, created for the contest, and not published elsewhere first. The 2026–27 rules also bar A.I. drafting, A.I. editing and A.I.-generated content. |
| How many entries | Usually one entry per student per contest (group entries are allowed for some). Always confirm the specific rules. |
| Where to submit | On the official Learning Network contest page during its open window. |
04 · Where to start
Not sure which one is for you?
If this is your first time, start with My Tiny Memoir. A hundred words is small enough to finish in an afternoon, and the discipline of cutting to exactly one hundred teaches the lesson every other contest rewards — that every word has to earn its place. It is the gentlest on-ramp to writing for a real audience, and a confidence-builder before the longer contests.
From there, follow your instinct. Natural arguers tend to thrive in Open Letters; artists and image-makers in the Visual Art contest; anyone curious about how things work in The STEM Interview; storytellers and talkers in Audio Stories; and readers who like to react to what they find in Voice & Choice. If you are still undecided, the year-round Conversation Challenge for Weekly Current Events and What’s Going On in This Picture? are low-pressure ways to practise responding in public before a deadline is on the line.
A good plan for an ambitious year is two entries: one in your strongest form, to give yourself a real chance, and one just outside your comfort zone, because that is where you grow the most. A confident essayist might pair Open Letters with the podcast; an artist might pair the Visual Art contest with the memoir. Few students win on the first try — but the ones who keep entering get visibly sharper, deadline after deadline, and that improvement is the real prize.
05 · For international students
Open to students outside the U.S., too.
You do not need to live in the United States to enter. The contests are open to eligible students worldwide, entries are written and judged in English, and international students compete on exactly the same terms as everyone else. There is no separate application beyond the contest entry itself, and no fee — the only requirements are that you fall within the age range and submit original work during the open window.
A few practical notes if you are entering from outside the U.S. Deadlines close late in the evening U.S. Pacific time, so convert the deadline to your own time zone carefully and submit a day early to be safe. The rules on originality and A.I. apply to everyone, everywhere, and for 2026–27 they are stricter: no chatbot drafting, no A.I. editing or polishing, and no A.I. tools or Google Translate to turn your work into English. Drafting in Chinese and machine-translating is now explicitly out — write in English from the first line, keep your document’s version history on, and credit any sources. Keep the confirmation you receive after submitting, in case you need to reference it later.
For students applying to universities abroad, a published, runner-up or honourable-mention entry in a New York Times Learning Network contest is a genuine, verifiable credential: the work appears on a globally recognised platform, judged against thousands of peers, and you can link to it directly. That is much of why this guide exists — to make a world-class opportunity straightforward to navigate from anywhere, including from China and the rest of the Asia-Pacific.
06 · Questions
Contest FAQ.
Can I enter more than one contest?
Yes — the contests run at different times of year, so you can enter as many as you like. Many students do several across a season.
Do I need to use a Times article in my entry?
It depends on the contest. Some (like the summer reading contest) ask you to respond to Times content; others (like the memoir) are about your own life. Each contest page spells this out, and we summarize it in the detail section above.
Can I work with a partner or group?
Some contests allow group entries and some require individual work. Check the specific rules before you start — it affects how you plan and credit the work.
What are my chances of winning?
The most popular contests receive thousands of entries, so winning is genuinely competitive. But many contests also name runners-up and honorable mentions, and the real value is the practice of writing for a real audience and deadline.
When are the exact dates announced?
The Learning Network publishes its contest calendar each year, typically in late summer. The windows above are the announced 2026–27 dates; each contest’s full rules page appears when its window opens, and that page is the final word.
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