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The Contests
A full year of writing contests.
From a hundred-word memoir in the fall to a summer of weekly reading responses, The New York Times Learning Network opens one free contest after another. Here is the complete season — what each asks for, when it runs, and who can enter.
01 · The season
One contest after another.
The calendar repeats each school year. Windows below are typical for the 2025–2026 season; the Learning Network confirms exact dates each year, and we update them here.
Growing Up With A.I.
A multimedia contest on how artificial intelligence is shaping teenage life — enter with writing, art, audio or video.
My Tiny Memoir
A 100-word personal narrative about one true, meaningful moment.
Local Lens: Photo Essays
A short photo essay documenting the community you know best.
My List: Student Review
Choose 3–5 works of art or culture and make the case for (or against) them.
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
Each week, respond to anything in The Times that caught your attention.
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.
Submit: 100-word narrative · Window: late Oct – early Dec · Ages 13–19
Local Lens — photo essays
Document the place you know best in a short series of original photographs, each with a caption, that together tell one story. This is a contest about seeing — ordinary streets, family kitchens, a team practice — and about sequencing images so they add up to more than the sum of their frames.
Submit: original photo essay + captions · Window: Dec – mid Jan · Ages 13–19
My List — the student review contest
Choose three to five works of art or culture — books, films, music, games, restaurants, theatre, anything The Times covers — group them in a way that means something, and argue in up to 600 words why people should (or shouldn’t) seek them out. You can enter on your own or as a team.
Submit: a list of 3–5 works, up to 600 words · Window: mid Jan – late Feb · 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, citing at least one New York Times article and one source from outside The Times. The Learning Network’s flagship argument contest rewards a sharp claim, real evidence, and a voice that sounds like a person rather than an essay-bot.
Submit: open letter, up to 500 words · Window: late Feb – early Apr · Ages 13–19
Audio Stories — the podcast contest
Produce a short original podcast — up to about 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: Apr – mid May · Ages 13–19
Voice & Choice — the summer reading contest
Every week of summer, read or watch anything in The Times and write a short response about why it caught your attention. There is no single deadline — you can enter any or every week. It is the contest that rewards curiosity and consistency rather than length, and a wonderful way to keep writing through the break.
Submit: weekly written or video response · Window: June – Aug · Ages 13–19
Growing Up With A.I. — multimedia
The season’s newest contest invites teenagers to share how artificial intelligence is changing their lives — in school, friendship, creativity or work. Enter through whatever medium fits your idea: an essay, a piece of art, an audio clip or a short video.
Submit: writing / art / audio / video · Window: fall · Ages 13–19
Year-round, too
Beyond the headline contests, the Learning Network runs two ongoing features all year: the Current Events Conversation, a weekly prompt inviting students to respond to a news story, and What’s Going On in This Picture?, which 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. |
| Original work | Required. Entries must be your own, created for the contest, and not published elsewhere first. |
| 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; observers and photographers in Local Lens; readers and culture fans in My List; storytellers and talkers in Audio Stories; and anyone curious about technology in Growing Up With A.I. If you are still undecided, the year-round Current Events Conversation 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; a photographer might pair Local Lens 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 the use of A.I. apply to everyone, everywhere: the work and the thinking must be your own, and any sources must be credited. 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. Until the new dates are posted, the windows above (from the 2025–26 season) are your best guide.
Not sure which contest fits you?
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