Purpose: To encourage high school juniors to write and to publicly recognize the best student writers.
- Schools in the United States, Canada, Virgin Islands, and American Schools Abroad are eligible to nominate juniors. Nominating schools must be U.S. accredited.
- Scroll down the page to learn about how schools can choose and enter students in the contest.
- Participating students submit two types of writing: themed writing and best writing.
- Electronic submissions only. Deadline February 14, 2020
2020 AAW Prompt: Why Do I Write? (#whydoiwrite)
“Why am I compelled to write? . . . Because the world I create in the writing compensates for what the real world does not give me. By writing I put order in the world, give it a handle so I can grasp it. I write because life does not appease my appetites and hunger . . . I write . . . To become more intimate with myself and you. To discover myself, to preserve myself, to make myself, to achieve self-autonomy. To dispel the myths that I am a mad prophet or a poor suffering soul. To convince myself that I am worthy . . . Finally I write because I’m scared of writing but I’m more scared of not writing.”
― Gloria E. Anzaldúa, “Speaking in tongues: A letter to third world women writers”
Consider what writing means to Anzaldúa and what writing means to you. Create a piece of writing that responds to the question “why do I write?”
Express yourself in a form of writing that best suits your personal ideas and explorations, including (but not limited to) short story, personal essay, expository essay, poetry, or drama.
Additional information can be found here. Deadline: February 14, 2020.
New Jersey Council of Teachers of English 