An independent guide to the contests.

What is the NYT Learning Network?

The Learning Network is The New York Times’s free educational arm. For well over a decade it has published teaching resources built around Times journalism — writing prompts, lesson plans, and a year-round calendar of student contests in narrative, opinion, photography, audio and more. Tens of thousands of students take part each year, and the contests have become one of the most recognized ways for young writers to reach a real audience.

What this guide is

This site gathers everything a student needs in one place: what each contest asks for, when it opens and closes, who is eligible, what judges reward, and how to submit. We read the official announcements so you don’t miss a window, summarize the rules in plain language, and point you to the official winners worth studying. For students who want it, we also offer optional one-to-one coaching — entirely separate from the free contests.

Our editorial standards

We try to be the most accurate and up-to-date guide to these contests anywhere. To do that we hold ourselves to a few rules:

Source from the original

Contest rules, dates and eligibility are taken from the official Learning Network. When something changes, we update it here.

No invented facts

We don’t publish made-up statistics, fake winners or unconfirmed dates. Where a date for the coming year hasn’t been announced, we say so and show the previous season’s window as a guide.

Respect others’ work

We describe and link to official winning entries rather than republishing them; they belong to their authors and The Times.

Clear about what we are

Every page makes clear that this is an independent guide, and our coaching is always presented separately from the free contests.

Who writes this

This guide is maintained by an editorial team of writing educators and editors who follow the Learning Network closely. We’re happy to answer questions — reach us any time on WhatsApp.