River of Words
Deadline: Friday, February 15, 2008
River of Words® (ROW) conducts an environmental poetry and art contest for youth aged 5 to 19 in grades K-12 every year. The contest is designed to help youth explore the natural and cultural history of their own watershed, and to express what they discover through poetry and art.. Click here for more information.

Online Resources for Teen Writers

BBC Get Writing: www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting
"gives you top tips and advice on getting your stories, scripts and poems out there." Includes mini-courses (children's fiction, first person narrative, preparing for publications, etc.), articles on the craft of writing, tools to inspire your imagination, and more. "Most of the content on BBC Get Writing is created by BBC Get Writing Members, who are members of the public."

ByLine Magazine: www.bylingmag.com
ByLine sponsors monthly contests designed to motivate writers by providing deadlines, competition and cash prizes. These contests are open to anyone. For details about our contests, click the Contest Info button.

Creative Writing for Teens at About.com: teenwriting.about.com
Includes everything from grammar help to creative word plays.

CyberTeens Creativity: www.cyberteens.com/cr
Part of a larger site devoted to teens, CyberTeens Creativity is a forum for writing and art. You can read other teens' writing and view their artwork, or submit your own.

Funds for Writers: www.fundsforwriters.com
Information on contest , grant and newsletters for writers, including WritingKid, a free biweekly newsletter delivered by RSS feed.

Merlyn's Pen: www.merlynspen.com
Merlyn's Pen allows teens in grades 6 through 12 to submit their work for critique. They promise, "Our editors respond to every piece, every time, and you should hear from us within 6 weeks." Some pieces are selected for publication online.

Poetree Magazine: www.poetreemagazine.org
Billed as a forum for all poets, site owner Jennifer McIntosh puts up quarterly issues as well as single author chapbooks.

Seven Hills Review: www.cincinnatilibrary.org/sevenhillsreview/
A creative publication produced by the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, by teens, for teens, grades 7 through 12.

The Slam: www.cricketmag.com/activity_display.asp?id=207
The Slam is from Cricket Magazine, a magazine of writing from teens. Submit your poetry or microfiction (less than 500 words) to the Slam, and check back to see people's critiques.

Teen Ink: www.teenink.com
Teen Ink magazine and books have an online counterpart that includes poetry, fiction, interviews, college reviews and much more.

Teenlit.com: www.teenlit.com
Here's a website that offers free online publishing of student writing.  The site also includes discussion groups, a mailing list, and a message board full of helpful writing tips.

TimBookTu: www.timbooktu.com
The TimBookTu Web Page is a non-paying web site that publishes stories, poetry and essay with an African-American flavor. All works should be by or of interest to African-Americans. While the work featured on the site is geared towards African-American writing and culture, TimBookTu will accept work from other cultures as long as the work has an Afrocentric nature to it.

WordSmiths: teenlink.nypl.org/WordSmiths-Current.cfm
Hosted by Teen Voices @ Teen Link, located in New York.
WordSmiths puts out an electronic anthology of writing by teens from everywhere, not just in New York. Anything accepted will be posted on the web for a month.

Writer's Digest: www.writersdigest.com/contests/
Writer's Digest offers a monthly writing contest for students aged thirteen and under.

Writer of the Future: www.writersofthefuture.com
The Writers of the Future contest is international in scope and short stories from the yearly winners selected from around the world are published in the annual Writers of the Future anthology.