Young Southern Student Writers

Thank you for your interest in Young Southern Student Writers!

The YSSW contest was founded in 1999 by Dr. Verbie Prevost, George Connor Professor Emerita of American English at UTC, to promote and honor writing by K-12 students in Hamilton County, Tennessee’s public, private, and homeschool programs. UTC partners with the Southern Lit Alliance to engage approximately 5,000 young people each year.

We accept K-12 entries in poetry and prose (fiction or nonfiction) until January 31st.

Questions? If you have questions regarding YSSW, please email Dr. Andrew McCarthy, UTC English Department Head.

Eligibility Criteria

Students must be currently enrolled in a Hamilton County, Tennessee public, private, or homeschool program to be eligible for an award.
All submissions must be original, student writing.
Student work must not have been previously submitted to YSSW or any other contest, competition, or publication opportunity.
Entries must be written in English.

Submission Requirements

Only teachers and homeschool supervisors may submit entries. Students may not submit their own work.
Teachers from public and private schools must submit at least 5 student entries in a single category.
Supervising adults must submit homeschool students' entries. We'll group homeschool entries by grade level and genre category to determine winners.
Teachers and homeschool supervisors may submit work in multiple grade levels and genre categories, but individual students may only submit one work per genre category.
Maximum length for prose submissions is 1,000 words; maximum length for poetry submissions is 50 lines.
All entries must follow the formatting instructions detailed below. We receive approximately 5,000 entries each year and can’t consider entries that don’t follow these guidelines. We appreciate your help!

When you're sure you meet all contest eligibility and submission requirements, please review the File Formatting Instructions details and Submission Links below.

Getting Started

Download our Short Guide to Imaginative Thinking prepared by UTC Creative Writing Professor Sybil Baker and former professor Richard Jackson for writing exercises to inspire creativity in your students.

Judging Process

UTC English Department faculty members read and enjoy every submission. We select one winner per every 15 students in each genre category and grade level based on creativity, content, and style.

Our poetry judges tend to look for an interesting image, rhythm that's more complex than standard end rhyme, or a surprising or unexpected topic, idea, or meaning. Our prose judges often look for fiction and creative nonfiction that's complete with a beginning, middle, and end, has an interesting character or setting, or engages with an unexpected central conflict or topic.

We love reading works that showcase the student's unique approach to the writing task and topic.

Awards Ceremony

We award medals and recognize YSSW contest winners at an awards ceremony held each April. We notify teachers and homeschool supervisors of winning entries and feature the winning work in an online publication.

Winners Booklets

We create annual booklets of winning entries. Please view, download, print and share the work of these talented young writers!

File Formatting Instructions

Combine student work to create separate files based on grade level and genre category. Remember: Students may only submit one work per genre category. Maximum length for prose submissions is 1,000 words; maximum length for poetry submissions is 50 lines.
Include at least 5 student entries in each document (unless you’re a homeschool supervisor).
Present the entries using single spaced text in a standard, 12-point font such as Times or Times New Roman. We don’t accept submissions in cursive or decorative fonts, or with illustrations or drawings.
Type the following information at the beginning of the document:
- Teacher or Homeschool Supervisor’s Name:
- School or Homeschool Program:
- Grade:
- Genre Category (Poetry or Prose):
- Total Number of Submissions:
Include the following information after each student entry:
- Student's Name:
- Grade:
- School or Home School Program:
- Teacher or Homeschool Supervisor:
- Parent’s Email:
Save the file as a Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format documents (.doc, .docx, or .rtf). We don’t accept PDFs or Pages documents.
When you're sure you've met all eligibility, submission, and formatting guidelines, click the appropriate category and grade range below. Add your Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format document—and your submission is complete!