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We are thrilled to announce a new Freedom of Expression Award.

Book bans are on the rise in America, driven by new laws and regulations limiting the kinds of books young people can access—and books by and/or about LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities are disproportionately targeted. Penguin Random House and We Need Diverse Books believe books change lives, and that everyone deserves to see themselves in a book.

We are passionate about encouraging the next generation of readers and authors and promoting diverse voices and stories. For 30 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 six 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.

This year, we are thrilled to announce that we are adding the Freedom of Expression Award to our program. This award is one of six creative writing awards given by Penguin Random House. Other categories include  the Michelle Obama Award for Memoir, the Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry, the Maya Angelou Award for Spoken Word, and the Fiction/Drama Award. In recognition of the Creative Writing Awards previously being centered in New York City, the competition will award an additional first-place prize to the top entrant from the NYC area. Please find the full press release here.

The 2023-24 competition launches on October 16, 2023. If you are a current high school senior who attends public school in the United States, including the District of Columbia and all U.S. territories, and are planning to attend college – either a two-year or four-year institution –you are eligible to apply in the fall of 2023.

Since 1993, this program has awarded more than $2.9 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.

In addition to scholarships, Penguin Random House hosts a virtual development week for the Creative Writing Awards winners each summer that includes one-on-one virtual meetings with Penguin Random House editors, networking workshops, a panel about career opportunities in publishing, and fireside chats with Penguin Random House authors. The week concludes with a virtual awards ceremony.

VIEW THE 2023 WINNERS HERE

To read a selection of the 2023 Winning entries, including a sampling of entries published in our 30 Years Anniversary Book, click here. To read a selection of previous year’s winning entries, click on the year: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019

For more information please visit Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards (scholarsapply.org).


Applications are now closed due to 1,000 applications received on 1/2/2024. The application program will be available again in October 2024.


Our U.S. College Scholarship Award Winners

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Isabella Rayner

Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry

Marvin Ridge High School
Waxhaw, NC
Cafecito para dos, sin leche
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Melissa Vera

Maya Angelou Award for Spoken Word

Edgewood High School
West Covina, CA
America
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Madison Corzine

Michelle Obama Award for Memoir

Timber Creek High School
Fort Worth, TX
What I Wish I Knew: A Suburban Black Girl's Guide
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Gloria Blumenkrantz

Poetry (NYC Entrant Award)

Frank McCourt High School
New York, NY
Global History 2: 10/26/2020
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Karen Yang

Fiction & Drama

West Windsor Plainsboro High School South
Princeton Junction, NJ
Chicken Feet
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Sagar Gupta

Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry

Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology
Alexandria, VA
Conversation Starter: How is your English so Good?
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Ife Martin

Maya Angelou Award for Spoken Word

West Bloomfield High School
West Bloomfield, MI
A Letter to Dr. King
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Eva Martinez

Personal Essay/Memoir

Valley Stream North High School
Franklin Square, NY
Proud
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Arianna Steadman

Poetry (NYC Entrant Award)

Hunter College High School
New York, NY
Food for Thought
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Kayla Xu

Fiction & Drama

Scripps Ranch High School
San Diego, CA
Chasing Memories
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Chloe Cramutola

Maya Angelou Award for Spoken Word

Absegami High School
Stamford, NJ
Why
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Ally Guo

Fiction & Drama

William Mason High School
Mason, OH
Superstition
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Evelyn Lee

Poetry

Sam Houston High School
Moss Bluff, LA
My Mother Rejected God When She Was 19 But I Don’t Think God Ever Really Got Over It
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Tandika Somwaru

Midwood High School
Brooklyn, NY

Poetry (NYC Entrant Award)

How to Write the Great Guyanese Novel
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Ajok Thon

High Tech High Media Arts
San Diego, CA

Personal Essay/Memoir

(Un)erasable Shade
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Ivana Cortez

Personal Memoir

Galena Park High School
Galena Park, Texas
Planet: Elkhart, Indiana
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Orlane Devesin

Maya Angelou Award for Spoken Word

Hiram High School
Hiram, Georgia
Evolution of the Black Woman
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Jeffrey Liao

Poetry

Livingston High School
Livingston, New Jersey
Museum of My Own History, Age Sixteen
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Erika Whisnant

Fiction & Drama

Burke Middle College
Morganton, North Carolina
Loophole Abuse
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Maya Williams

Top NYC Entrant

Edward R. Murrow High School
Brooklyn, New York
To My Catcaller
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Kiora Brooks

Maya Angelou Award for Spoken Word

Topeka West High School
Topeka, Kansas
The Misinterpretation of Dark Skin
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Nora Carrier

Top NYC Entrant

Edward R Murrow High School
Brooklyn, New York
Stories My Mother Tells Me
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Siobhan Cohen

Personal Essay

Hunter College High School
New York, New York
American Jew
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Samantha Kirschman

Fiction

Kenston High School
Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Blood Moon
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Katherine Sanchez

Poetry

Stuyvesant High School
New York, New York
Red-White-and-Brown Skin

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