Updated on April 15th, 2021
If your student dreams of pursuing a career that allows them to focus on the written word, scholarships for writers can make their college journey more affordable. As with all scholarships, the money doesn’t have to be paid back, giving your student a chance to avoid burdensome student loan debt.
Scholarships for writers are pretty plentiful. If your student is looking for scholarships for aspiring writers or opportunities that allow them to earn scholarship money for their writing abilities (that can be applied to other majors), here’s what you need to know.
If you and your student want to learn more about where to find scholarships for writers or other opportunities as well as how to land scholarships, sign up for our free college scholarship webinar! Head to https://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar to reserve your spot today.
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What Are Writing Scholarships?
Writing scholarships come in two primary forms. The first kind targets students who intend to pursue writing-related majors or careers. The second option allows anyone with writing skills to earn scholarship awards but doesn’t necessarily limit eligibility based on the student’s major or future career plans.
Scholarships for young writers can help your student pursue their dream while giving them a chance to avoid student loan debt. Since many writing careers don’t start with large salaries, this can make pursuing a career in that arena more affordable.
In most cases, scholarships for writers require applicants to submit some form of writing sample. This can be in addition to other essays or the only written component requirement.
It’s important to note your student needs to read the fine print on all of the scholarships for writers they consider. In some cases, the written pieces they turn in become the property of the awarding organization, regardless of whether your student receives a scholarship. As a result, some only allow unique writing per the rules, so your student might not be able to submit the same piece repeatedly.
The Ultimate List of Scholarships for Writers
There is a slew of writing scholarships available. Some accept a wide variety of writing content during the application phase, while others focus on specific forms of writing, like poetry writing scholarships that only consider submissions that include a poem.
To ensure your student can find the right opportunities, this list of scholarships for writers is broken down into the most common categories, as well as a general section for writer scholarships that are more flexible about the submissions.
General Writing Scholarships
Some scholarships for writers have a range of categories, allowing students to choose one that best aligns with their preferred writing style. As a result, these can be a great starting point for nearly any student.
- ACES Scholarships
- Alliance for Young Artists & Writers’ Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
- Barbara Deming Memorial Fund Scholarship
- Family Travel Forum Teen Travel Writing Scholarship
- Go On Girl Book Club’s Aspiring Writer Scholarship
- KidGuard for Education Scholarship
- Marco Island Foundation for the Arts Scholarships
- Willa Cather Foundation Scholarship
Poetry Scholarships
If your student loves spending time creating poems, poetry writing scholarships may be an ideal option. Not only can they flex their creative muscles, but they also have a chance to earn money to help pay for school.
- Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship
- Dorothy Rosenberg Memorial Prize in Lyric Poetry
- Horror Writers Association Dark Poetry Scholarship
- Lycoming Creative Writing Scholarship
- Patricia Cornwell Creative Writing Scholarship
- Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships
- Power of Poetry Scholarships
- William Morgan Poetry Award
Creative Writing Scholarships
This category includes scholarships for creative writing majors as well as awards for those with creative writing talent who are going to focus on other subjects. These opportunities include short story scholarships, fiction writing scholarships, scholarships for creative writing majors, and more.
- Bobette Bibo Gugliotta Memorial Scholarship for Creative Writing
- Bodie McDowell Scholarship
- CFNEM Carl and Christine Huebner Scholarship
- CW Scholarship
- Go on Girl Book Club’s Unpublished Writer Scholarship
- GRFC Ladies Literary Club Scholarship
- Gwaltney Scholarship
- Horror Writers Association Scholarship
- Lycoming Creative Writing Scholarship
- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship
- Patricia Cornwell Creative Writing Scholarship
- TalNexus Scholarship
- Unico National’s Ella T. Grasso Literary Scholarship
Journalism Scholarships
Journalism is still a popular major for students who enjoy writing and want to focus on recent happenings, current events, or investigative writing. There are a ton of journalism scholarships out there, helping students enter into this engaging field.
- Against the Grain Scholarship
- Bob and Marion Breeden Journalism Student Aid Fund Scholarship
- Chips Quinn Scholars Program for Diversity in Journalism (paid internship opportunity)
- GardenComm Scholarships
- Journalism Education Association’s Journalist of the Year Award
- Leroy F. Aarons Scholarship Award
- Lester G. Benz Memorial Scholarship for College Journalism Study
- Mike Reynolds Journalism Scholarship
- NABJ Scholarships
- New York Financial Writers’ Association Scholarships
- New York Women in Communications Scholarships
- Ohio News Media Association Scholarships
- Richard G. Zimmerman Scholarship
Play and Song Writing Scholarships
While there aren’t as many in this category, it is possible to find scholarships for writing plays and songs. Here are a couple of examples.
Ultimately, aspiring writers and those who just happen to have a talent for the written word can find scholarships to help them pay for school. Plus, there are tons of other scholarships out there, including opportunities for:
- Students with learning disabilities
- Military members, veterans, and their families
- Women and girls
- Native Americans
- And more
The Scholarship System also runs an annual scholarship. Find out more here: The Scholarship System Annual Scholarship Opportunity
If you and your student want to learn more about where to find scholarships for writers or other opportunities as well as how to land scholarships, sign up for our free college scholarship webinar! Head to https://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar to reserve your spot today.
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