How are the NYC Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards connected?
There are more than 100 regional Affiliate Partners serving their communities across the country. The NYC Scholastic Art & Writing Awards serves Kings, Queens, Manhattan, Bronx, and Richmond counties. The top works in a region receive Gold Keys, Silver Keys, or Honorable Mention. Works awarded with a Gold Key are automatically judged at the national level. National judging is run by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. National Medals are given to students receiving awards at the national level. Gold Medal, Direct Scholarship and Tuition Scholarship recipients are invited to New York City to take part in National Events, which include exhibitions and the National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall on June 4.
Who can participate in the Awards?
Participation in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is open to students:
- in grades 7-12 (ages 13 and up)
- enrolled in public, private, or parochial schools, or students who are home schooled or participating in other educational programs
- in the United States, U.S. territories, military bases, and Canada
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards DO NOT have academic and disciplinary standing requirements. Work created in the spring semester is eligible for submission, as long as the student hasn’t already graduated. Students should submit in their current grade level. Seniors who will graduate mid-term in December may participate.
When do submissions open?
Submissions for the 2026 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards season open on October 1.
How do I submit my work?
Visit to create an account. Next, upload your submission and submit payment. Finally, obtain parent/guardian approval. Teens are required to submit their entries digitally.
Can I submit multiple pieces in one category? Can I submit both art and writing?
Yes! And Yes! You are welcome and encouraged to submit as many pieces you would like in as many categories as you would like. Just remember:
- Do NOT submit the same work to multiple categories. Seniors may submit a work as an individual piece as well as part of a portfolio.
- We do NOT encourage resubmitting works from previous years unless the work has undergone extensive changes.
- Seniors, however, may submit pieces that received awards from previous years as part of their portfolios.
I am still creating my submission. Should I wait to register until I have finished?
We highly recommend that you create an account as soon as possible when submissions open. This will allow the NYC Scholastic Awards team to notify you with updates about the program as well as provide deadline reminders.
After you have created your account, you can log back into the system at artandwriting.org/Login.
When do submissions close?
The deadline for submissions for NYC students is Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST.
Fees and Payment:
Individual submissions: $10 per submission
Portfolio Submissions (for Seniors only): $30 per portfolio
Payment: Teens (or their educators) are required to submit payment online directly in our Portal (through Stripe) when submitting artwork or wiring work. Teens may submit payment via Stripel as a guest; it is NOT necessary to have a Stripe account.
Note for educators paying for multiple students’ submissions: Please pay by Stripe or request a bulk invoice in your educator dashboard. As we are working remotely, we are experiencing mail delays and payment by check is not preferred. If you cannot pay by Stripe we will accept payment by check. Request more information by emailing nyc@artandwriting.org.
Fee Waiver: Any teen for whom the fee would prove prohibitive may submit a Fee Waiver which can be accessed from within a teen’s profile.
When are the awards announced?
Regional Award winners for the 2026 NYC Scholastic Awards will be announced on January 29, 2026. Students will be able to log into their dashboard to discover if they received recognition at the Honorable Mention, Silver Key or Gold Key level.
Will I be notified if I do not receive an award?
Yes, teen dashboards indicate if they did not receive an award for their entered work.
How do I photograph my artwork for submission?
Great question! Take a look at our blog post HERE for instructions and tips.
If you have any further questions regarding submissions, please review the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards’ FAQ. You may send an inquiry to our contact form if an answer to your inquiry cannot be found on the FAQ page.
Please share the following information in your correspondence:
- Whether you are submitting art, writing or both
- Identify if you are student, guardian, educator or other educational program
- Provide email address associated with the account
A Note About the Website: Thank you for your patience At times of high traffic, we may experience technical issues with our web servers, causing slow-downs or occasional errors. We’re very sorry for any frustration or delay that this may cause We constantly working to correct any server problems, and we will be monitoring the website very closely. If you have trouble accessing the website, please wait five minutes and then try again, and you should be able to proceed through the process.