Writing scholarships are unique since they ask you to use your words to win one. If you are an aspiring novelist, journalist or enjoy writing poems as a hobby, you may qualify.
Creative writing scholarships are about how you craft a story and develop characters. Essay contest scholarships often ask you to answer a question in a very original and clear way.
As such, each scholarship will have its own set of guidelines to follow. You may need to write a story for a specific topic and meet the word count limit. To apply for a writing scholarship, you’re going to have to write something original.
In some scholarships for writers, applicants must be literature or creative writing majors. Judges of these programs may want to see your transcripts and know about your academic goals along with a completed form.
For other essay scholarships, you might not have to be an English major at all. These can be sweepstakes where there is no essay required. Most of the time, anyone is eligible to enter these sweepstakes.
10 Writing Scholarships You Can Apply For Now
Amy Lowell Travelling Poetry Scholarship
Ayn Rand – Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest
Profile in Courage Essay Contest
Ayn Rand Fountainhead Essay Contest
Optimist International Essay Contest
Visionary Scholarship
L. Rn Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest
Ayn Rand Anthem Essay Contest
Morton Marr Poetry Prize
National Society of High School Scholars Foundation Scholarships
What Writing Scholarships Can Students Apply for?
There are writing scholarships for eligible students at all levels of education. As long as you meet the terms the provider sets, you may apply.
Writing Scholarships for High School Students
The Profile in Courage Essay Contest is open to eligible students in grades 9 to 12. This year’s topic is about political courage. To apply, you will write an essay of up to 1,000 words that has at least 5 sources. You can submit your essay online or by mail. Just make sure to follow the guidelines.
There are 15 awards in all. One first place winner receives $10,000 and one second place winner receives $3,000. Five finalists each receive $1,000 and eight semi finalists each receive $100.
It is available from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation
(SVCF). It was named to honor the author who created the idea for Mickey Mouse.
There are up to two winners. Each winner receives a sum of up to $1,000.
DACA students, US citizens and legal permanent residents may be eligible. Applicants must live in Santa Clara or San Mateo County. To apply, you must send two writing samples. The other required documents are transcripts and grades, personal essay, letters of reference and proof of financial need.
What Creative Writing Scholarships Are Available to Students?
Creative writing scholarships are for eligible English majors and students who like to write a poem, script, fiction or play. You need to be very creative, imaginative and think outside of the box with the provider’s essay question.
Scholarships for Fiction Writers
Writer’s Digest offers Popular Fiction Awards. It is one of their oldest and most popular competitions. One grand prize winner receives $5,000 in cash. 10 other winners receive awards ranging from $25 to $1,000.
To apply, you need to be a US citizen or legal permanent resident and submit an entry fee. You also have to select a creative category. You can choose between spiritual, memoir, rhyming poetry, TV script, children’s fiction and more.
Scholarships for Creative Writing Majors
The Mystery Writers of America (MWA) offers the Helen McCloy Scholarship. It aims to nurture talent in mystery writing of all kinds. Writing topics may include fiction, nonfiction, play writing, and screenwriting.
Although you don’t need to be an MWA member, you do need to
be a serious aspiring mystery writer. Applicants must also be a US citizen or
legal permanent resident.
MWA will award $500 each to two winning writers. You may use the money to offset tuition and fees for writing workshops, seminars or college level writing programs.
How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay?
To write a scholarship essay, you want to be creative and follow the essay instructions. Here are five helpful tips to write your next winning scholarship essay.
1. Understand the essay question
You can only write a solid essay answer if you understand the question. When the question is direct, be direct when you answer it. If not, judges will spot the confusion no matter how good your writing is. Here’s an example: What are you planning to study in college and why? “In college, I plan to major in writing because…”
2. Reel the audience in
Open your essay with a hook or clear beginning. This captivates the reader’s attention. It may help judges who have to read many essays remember yours better. Of course, once you have reeled your reader in, keep up the good work.
Don’t stray off topic. Use the rest of your essay for more in depth details and examples. Then, conclude your essay to tie up all of your points. This shows the judges you used an outline and organized your thoughts well.
3. Follow the scholarship guidelines
Judges often have hundreds of essays to score. So, most essay scholarships have guidelines to help them reach a decision. Word count is the most common guideline to meet. So, even very creative essays may get points deducted if they are too wordy.
4. Spell check and proofread your essay
Make sure to proofread a few times and spell check your entire essay before submitting it. Also, proofread for any grammatical errors. If it helps, you may print out your essay and read it off screen. Spell check software does not pick up mistakes related to context. For instance, you may spell “their” correctly but intended to write “there”. Try to avoid these mistakes along with slang.
5. Don’t copy anyone
Many scholarship providers do not tolerate plagiarism which is unethical. You should tell a story that resonates with your personal goals and experiences. Be original and write from the heart so that your essay stands out.
Why You Should Apply for a Scholarship?
Writing scholarships may be useful if you want to pay for college. The money can offset tuition, fees, books and other expenses. You may be able to use a scholarship along with federal grant money too. And, unlike loans, you don’t repay these funds.
According to the NCES, cost varies by type of school. Also, a four year degree in creative writing is on the rise. If you choose an in state public college, tuition is about $7,368. If you study at a private college for out of state students, tution costs $35,878.
Many writing and essay scholarships are easy to apply for. They may also be less competitive than ones that assess your grades. A final point, if you win, you get to add it to your resume and list of accomplishments.
List of Writing Scholarships
Check out our list of writing scholarships below. We have awards worth .
This modern classic is the story of intransigent young architect Howard Roark, whose integrity was as unyielding as granite…of Dominique Francon, the exquisitely beautiful woman who loved Roark passionately, but married his worst enemy…and of the fanatic denunciation unleashed by an enraged society against a great creator.
As fresh today as it was then, Rand’s provocative novel presents one of the most challenging ideas in all of fiction—that man’s ego is the fountainhead of human progress.
No fee to enter. Judge: Jendi Reiter, assisted by Lauren Singer. One poem only, please. Length limit: 250 lines maximum. No restriction on age of author. Authors from all countries eligible except Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Crimea (due to US government restrictions
The John Sexton Scholars Program for International Conflict & Peace Studies is an educational nonprofit working primarily with High School students in NJ, NY, & CT and College students across the US.Our Mission is two-fold: to promote awareness of current international crises involving conflict and displaced peoples, especially those with little media attention, and to provide substantive professional and academic opportunities to the next generation of change makers.
Since our founding, Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc. has worked to empower women by providing a supportive network dedicated to their personal and professional advancement. We’ve maintained this legacy through our annual Proyecto H.A.C.E.R. (Hermanas Advancing Career and Educational Resources) College Book Scholarship. The College Book Scholarship assists outstanding graduating high school seniors who are pursuing degrees in higher education. This award recognizes young women and non-binary individuals who exemplify not only academic excellence but also leadership potential and community service in alignment with our Organization’s vision, mission, and goals.
Applicants to the Castagra Roofing Scholarship Program must be pursuing a post-secondary education in college or vocational programs in roofing or a similar field. Similar field must be applicable to the building industry (construction, waterproofing, etc.) Must be passionate about innovation and/or sustainability and be an American or Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Castagra Products, Inc. employees and their family members are ineligible
We are honored to announce the Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards’ Michelle Obama Award for Memoir.
In recognition of Michelle Obama’s long-standing commitment to mentorship and education, as well as her inspiring leadership in encouraging young people to discover the power of telling their own stories, this award grants a college scholarship of $10,000 to one young, promising writer.
This year, we are thrilled to announce that we are adding the Michelle Obama Award for Memoir to our program. This award is one of five creative writing awards given by Penguin Random House. Other categories include fiction/drama; the Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry; and the Maya Angelou Award for Spoken Word. 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.
The attorneys of the Amy G Injury Firm believe everyone is entitled to an equal opportunity to create a better future for themselves, their families, and society as a whole.
It is a difficult reality that many individuals face circumstances that put them at a disadvantage in obtaining their goals. Our firm is devoted to working hard to give the voiceless a voice and to equal the playing field.
Consistent with this philosophy, the Amy G Injury Firm has proudly established the Access to Education Scholarship. An award of $1,000 will be presented each year to the applicant who offers the most innovative and thought-provoking ideas for expanding access to higher education and a strong articulation as to why they believe that objective is so critically important to the future of our nation and the world.
J. Ryan Brown Law, LLC’s Fight for Freedom Scholarship is intended to award one student with $1,000 who shares a piece of legislation or regulation that has been a recent controversial topic, and best explains why this law should be abolished or kept in place. We ask students to please share how this law has personally impacted them.
Gya Labs’ Research Paper contest encourages students (under graduates, graduates, PhDs), professionals, housewives, soap makers, aromatherapists, and doctors to deliberate and put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Participants are required to research and present historical, scientific, experiential and/or informational write-ups on essential oils. The intent of organizing this contest is to harness creativity and to disseminate the benefits of essential oils and introduce it as a therapeutic choice for those who are unaware of this plant oil.
At Busald Funk Zevely PSC, we have dedicated our lives to representing the underdogs. We are inspired by those who accomplish their goals despite having the odds stacked against them. . Whether it be David versus Goliath, the “Miracle on Ice”, or simply passing a math test you studied tirelessly for – no underdog story is worth going untold. In order to reward and recognize those who have battled their way through adversity to achieve their dreams, we are excited to officially introduce our 2024 Underdog Scholarship!
The 2024 Underdog Scholarship was created to reward a student who has gone above and beyond to achieve their goals. To apply for the 2024 Underdog Scholarship, students are encouraged to answer the following prompt: In 750-1,000 words, tell us about a time when you were an underdog. What made you an underdog, and how did you persevere against the odds to accomplish your goal? The winner of the 2021 Underdog Scholarship will receive a $1,000 scholarship from Busald Funk Zevely towards their education.
