The Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards 2026 are now accepting applications. Interested candidates are urged to click here to learn more about this opportunity and to apply.
About Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards
Opportunity Details
Penguin Random House is passionate about encouraging the next generation of readers and authors and promoting diverse voices and stories. For over 30 years, Penguin Random House has supported this mission through the Creative Writing Awards, which in 2019 entered into an innovative new partnership with national advocacy nonprofit We Need Diverse Books. Through this program, Penguin Random House will award college scholarships of up to $10,000 each to six public U.S. high school seniors, nationwide.
Benefits of Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards
Awards will be distributed as follows:
- $10,000 Maya Angelou Award for Spoken Word
- $10,000 Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry
- $10,000 James Baldwin Award for Fiction
- $10,000 Michelle Obama Award for Memoir
- $10,000 Chinua Achebe Award for Freedom of Expression
- Up to one hundred (100) Honorable Mention recipients will receive a “Creativity Kit” gift from Penguin Random House.
- In recognition of the Creative Writing Awards previously being centered in New York City and as an extension of our longtime work with local schools there, we will also offer an additional first-place prize of $10,000 to the top entrant from the NYC area.
- Penguin Random House hosts a virtual development week each summer for the Creative Writing Awards winners. This immersive experience includes one-on-one virtual meetings with PRH editors, networking workshops, a panel on career opportunities in publishing, and fireside chats with PRH authors. PRH and WNDB will also amplify and celebrate winners via social media and local media outreach. The six scholarship winners are encouraged to actively participate in the professional development week and engage in media outreach.
Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards Requirements
Applicants to the Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards Program in Partnership with We Need Diverse Books must:
- Be current high school seniors at a public high school in the United States graduating Spring of 2026
- Be 21 years of age and under
- Plan to enroll in an accredited two-year or four-year college, university, or approved vocational-technical school Fall 2026
- Submit one original literary composition in English in one of the following genres of poetry, spoken word, fiction, personal essay/memoir, or book bans prompt.
- All submissions must be typed, double-spaced with a minimum 12 point font size and no longer than 10 pages.
- Freedom of Expression entries must write about the provided topic.
- Only one entry per student may be submitted and considered.
- Spoken word entries must upload a typed entry along with an emailed audio format file.
- A four-page minimum is recommended for the fiction genre.
- All submissions with multiple pages must be numbered with a page number and total number of pages (Ex. 1/3, 2/3, 3/3).
Application Date and Process
- Click on the link to the application website to apply.
Application Deadline
15 January, 2026
Scholarship Application Portal
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Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards
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