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Submissions for the Randall Albers
Young Writers Awards are EXTENDED!

We know some young writers need just a bit more time. To accomodate more writers, we've extended submissions for the Fourth Annual Randall Albers Young Writers Awards one week, until Monday, February 24, 2026 at 5PM CT. The contest is open to all Chicago area high school writers. We'll taking entries in either poetry or prose. We've increased, by nearly a third, the prize award amounts, a tradition we hope to continue as the years go on.  

This awards, named after one of Chicago’s most dedicated writing teachers—Columbia College’s Professor and Chair Emeritus of Fiction Writing, Randall Albers—aim to support and encourage our city’s next great generation of writers. As Albers said when commenting on a past competition: “People beyond Chicago need to understand that this city is a hotbed of writing talent and that plenty of young people are focused on creativity. That represents a great hope for the future, one that we hope is contagious. All of this expansion would be another terrific movement toward building a powerhouse city of writers, as the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame always seeks to do.”

The contest is open to all Chicago area students currently enrolled in grades 9-12. This year's final judges will be Timothy David Rey (poetry) and Megan Stielstra (prose). 

Winners in each of our two categories—prose and poetry—will receive awards in the following amounts:

  • 1st place: $300
  • 2nd place: $200
  • 3rd place: $150
  • 4th place: $100

Each winner will also receive publication in a commemorative program produced in conjunction with the awards ceremony. Winners will be listed on our website and will have the opportunity to read from their entries during the awards ceremony on April 18, 2026 at the Harold Washington Library's Reception Hall.

Learn How to Enter

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s mission is to honor and preserve Chicago’s great literary heritage.
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