Links to teen writer conferences, websites, craft books and other content.
All resources included below are not being personally recommended, and have not been vetted. Links are offered as a clearinghouse of information only – you are strongly encouraged to do your own research before you sign up for any event, contest, program, or workshop.
Do you know of an event or program not listed here? Email us at tipsforteenauthors@gmail.com so we can include it.
If you are over 13, you can join the T4TA (Tips4TeenAuthors) Writing Community group on Facebook. A forum for teen authors and book industry professionals to share experiences, free advice, or book recommendations. Members can ask craft questions, seek out resources, find writing help. Support, uplift, and inspire one another in the T4TA Writing Community Group!
Articles
This article from ZenBusiness is a great starting place to get you thinking about what your path to publication may look like. Many thanks to T4TA site user Anna from Colorado for bringing it to our attention!
Books
We Need Diverse Books is a tremendous resource for anyone wondering what to read next. In addition to reading lists, you can find resources such as WNDB panels, booktalking kits, and where to find diverse books. The organization is dedicated to the goal of increasing the number of books that feature diverse characters.
YALSA – the Young Adult Library Services Association has a whole host of great resources, from book finder databases to summer learning programs.
Conferences
The Cape Cod Teen Writer’s Conference will be August 5 – 8. If you are attending, share your experiences in the T4TA Writing Community Facebook group!
Champlain College hosts a residential Young Writers’ Conference every year.
Fresno State holds an annual Young Writers’ Conference.
Check out the annual Teen Writers Conference website.
The New England Young Writers’ Conference.
University of the South hosts the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference.
Contests
The Bennington College Young Writers Awards
Critical Pass Review’s Junior Poet’s Award
Columbia College Chicago’s Young Authors Writing Competition
Hollins University Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest
Kenyon Review’s Poetry Prize for Young Writers
National Young Arts Foundation
Find a list of writing contests at the New Pages Young Writers Guide.
The Princeton University Leonard L. Milberg High School Poetry Prize
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
University of Iowa Hemingway Festival High School Writing Contest
Conventions
Teen Book Con is an annual convention in the greater Houston area.
Teen Lit Con is a celebration of teen literature put on by the Minnesota metro public libraries.
Festivals
The Actor’s Theater New Voices Young Playwrights Festival.
The Austin International Poetry Festival
The Blank Theater’s Young Playwrights’ Festival
The New York City Teen Author Festival.
Pasadena Loves YA Book Fest
The New York Public Library has hosted teen author festivals in the past, and offers TeenLIVE events.
Young Chicago Author’s Louder Than a Bomb youth poetry festival.
Teen Book Fest includes a panel of teen authors.
Online, Remote & Virtual Offerings & Events
The Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship Program
Juniper Institute for Young Writers (UMass Amherst)
Publication & Magazines
The New Pages Young Writers Guide is a comprehensive listing of online literary magazines, places for teen authors to publish work, and writing contests.
Polyphony H.S. is a student-run literary magazine for high school writers.
Websites
Workshops & Summer Programs
Bard College at Simon’s Rock offers a Young Writer’s Workshop on site during the summer.
Between the Lines International Writing Workshop at the University of Iowa seeks to bring together students from around the world to study world literature and the arts.
Boston University’s AIM: Creative Writing summer course is open to rising seniors.
Bronx Loaf is a creative writing program for New Your City teens featuring a faculty of professional authors. They also publish an anthology.
California State Summer School for the Arts offers Creative Writing as one of its programs.
Denison University’s Reynolds Young Writer’s Workshop.
Florida Writers Association’s Youth Writers Program.
Hugo House offers middle and high school students writing classes through its Scribes Summer Writing Camps.
Idyllwild Arts Boarding School offers summer teen writing intensives.
Interlochen Center for the Arts Creative Writing Summer Program.
Iowa Young Writer’s Studio offers a variety of summer writing classes for high school students.
Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop.
The Nashua Community College Honors Program and the New Hampshire Writers’ Project hosts a Teen Summer Writers’ Workshop.
NC State’s Department of English offers a variety of Young and Teen Writers’ Workshops.
Sarah Lawrence traditionally offers precollege students summer classes as part of their Creative Writing Workshops.
Stanford University’s summer courses for high school students typically includes a fiction writing or creative writing offering.
Telluride Association usually offers summer programs that include a creative writing workshop.
University of Minnesota Center for Writing and the Minnesota Writing Project offers a summer Youth Writing Camp.
UPenn offers summer writing camps for teens through the Kelly Writers House Summer program.
The Young Writers Workshop at the University of Virginia offers workshops in nearly every aspect of writing, including fiction, poetry, songwriting, and playwriting.
WIFYR offers a variety of workshops, some for teen writers.
Writopia Lab offers a variety of programs taught by published authors and/or playwrights.
Young Chicago Authors offers a variety of workshops, summer programs, and their acclaimed youth poetry festival Louder than a Bomb.