The Penguin Random House has established a scholarship program for high school seniors with outstanding creative writing skills who plan to continue their education in college.
Donor Name: Penguin Random House
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Awards and Prizes
Deadline: 01/15/2026
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
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 They Need Diverse Books.
Creative Writing Awards winners have gone on to become professional and award-winning authors. Since 1993, this program has awarded more than $2.9 million dollars to public high school students for original poetry, memoir/personal essay, fiction/drama, freedom of expression prompts, and spoken-word compositions. This signature program continues to empower and celebrate hundreds of young writers each year.
Funding Information
Awards up to $10,000.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants to the Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards Program in Partnership with They 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.
- All submissions with multiple pages must be numbered with a page number and total number of pages (Ex. 1/3, 2/3, 3/3).
- A four-page minimum is recommended for the fiction genre.
- Spoken word entries must upload a typed entry along with an emailed audio format file.
- Only one entry per student may be submitted and considered.
- Freedom of Expression entries must write about the provided topic.
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 They Need Diverse Books believe books change lives, and that everyone deserves to see themselves in a book.
For more information, visit Penguin Random House.
