<p>Anyone here submitting?
I'm writing a personal essay/memoir..just have a question...do you have to be represented by a teacher or other adult in your school/surrounding area? I honestly don't think anyone working at my public high school knows anything about it, but I'd really like to enter. How can I do it?</p>
<p>There should be information on the website. It just involves an application fee and you dropping off to some office. Good luck!
I want to submit some poetry, that I’ll write over the summer, but I don’t know. I’m not that great at poetry. Worth the shot. But I already have two Gold Keys, from Photography, from middle school.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for reminding me about this!!! I am going to enter this year again and hopefully do much better. And hopefully we can get a nice thread going for next year’s competition like we did last year’s</p>
<p>I think I’ll enter~</p>
<p>I’m going to try to get my works published in magazines and such first, but I’ll create some stories and poems for A&W!</p>
<p>Without a doubt I’m doing this.</p>
<p>:) Thanks. I was just worried that if my school wasn’t affiliated with it in some way it’d be impossible to enter.</p>
<p>I entered four pieces that I was really proud of last year, and because I was in a stupid region at large, only 10 people from my state even got keys. 
f*** that.</p>
<p>Aw I’m sorry :(. Well it is very competitive…but good luck to you all!</p>
<p>does anyone know the website?</p>
<p>Apparently a lot of people on this site are involved in the Scholastic contests, which is cool, so I’m wondering if anyone can answer some questions I have about it. I’ve taken a look through the winning selections from the past few years (from their website, the "Best Teen Writing pdfs), and overall I’ve been pretty unimpressed by the supposed creme de la creme of adolescent fiction. It’s not just me, either. My whole family reads, and all of them have had similar opinions on what Scholastic’s chosen to be the “best”. A lot of it’s mediocre (which is understandable, I guess, for teen writing), and some of it’s even kinda bad, but I was just expecting a bit more from what I thought was one of the most renown writing contests in the country, and I have a hard time believing this is our country’s best. Is there a certain style they go for? Like, do they reward experimental writing for being experimental, even if it isn’t very good? Their judging criteria basically says that they only reward talent, but based on what they’ve put up that doesn’t always seem to be the case. I’m not trying to be an ******* to diminish these kid’s accomplishments, but I’m trying to get a better understanding of what I’m up against, because I’m going to be going for a portfolio this year, and I want to understand the people who are going to be determining who wins and who looses. Is it just based on the whims and biases of the people picked to Judge? I’d imagine they would try and cut down on that by picking reputable, fair people who know what they’re doing, but again, I don’t know.</p>
<p>I was thinking about entering a personal essay/memoir, also. I read on the website that you must have your teacher (along with your parents) sign off on some information before you submit it, but nothing about having to be sponsored.</p>
<p>@Withnail I was thinking the same thing…</p>
<p>anyone have a website to this thing?</p>
<p>[Alliance</a> for Young Artists & Writers](<a href=“http://www.artandwriting.org/]Alliance”>http://www.artandwriting.org/)</p>
<p>Where can I find the best writing PDF?</p>
<p>thanks10char</p>
<p>It’s under publications.</p>
<p>So does anyone who has more experience with the contest know? Is it really just a crap shoot based off what the judges like?</p>
<p>Also (and this is probably more important), how do they handle content, that’s, uh, edgy? Drugs and what have you, if it’s an important part of what you’re writing about. I’m guessing most of the people behind this are going to be fairly left leaning, but everyone has their limits. How do they handle submissions that cross them?</p>
<p>okay, withnail, i’m by no means an expert (submitting as well this year!) BUT…
-i think that “edgy” material is fine, as long as it’s not offensive to certain groups. one my pieces deals with prostitution, but i have no scruples in submitting it. you’re welcome to make a social or political statement in your work, but i’d be wary of the pornographic and the discrimination. i couldn’t say exactly how they would handle a case in which the material is inappropriate (relative to what i’ve just detailed), but i’d expect that no matter what you write (or draw or whatever), they’d give your submission a fair chance.
-i disagree with you as to the quality of the work found in previous pdfs. i’ll admit i didn’t read all 350+ pages, but what i read seemed to be very mature and creative (though occasionally not beautifully written, which may be what you were making reference to)
-it’s a crapshoot. there’s no guarantee.
good luck, and hope my humble guesstimates are useful!</p>