Enter the Randall Albers Young Writers Award for a Chance to Win up to $250!

If you’re a Chicago area high school student with a talent for prose or poetry, we’d love to read your work! Polish up your best poetry, fiction, or nonfiction and submit to the Randall Albers Young Writers Award for a chance to win some amazing prizes. The contest is open to all students currently enrolled in grades 9–12 who reside in Chicago or one of its surrounding counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry or Will). Submissions will close at 5 p.m. CST on March 3, 2025 so be sure to read our Rules & Guidelines and submit your entry soon.

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

• 1^st place: $250
• 2^nd place: $150
• 3^rd place: $100
• 4^th place: $50

Each winner will also receive publication in the commemorative program we produce for the award ceremony, which is scheduled for May 17, 2025 at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago. Winners will also be listed on our website and will be invited to read from their entries during the awards ceremony.

Please direct any questions to dgevans@chicagoliteraryhof.org.

Learn About Randall Albers

Read the Rules & Guidelines

 

 

Rules & Guidelines

Eligibility

The Randall Albers Young Writers Award contest is open to all Chicago area students currently in grades 9 through 12. Entrants must reside in Chicago or one of its collar counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will) but can attend any school (public, private, homeschool, or online school) within or outside of these areas. Submission is free.

Genre

We welcome original submissions in prose (fiction or nonfiction) and poetry. Contestants may submit to only one genre: either prose or poetry. A contestant may not enter work in both genres.

For Prose: We welcome original fiction and nonfiction entries of up to 2,500 words. Entries over that limit will be considered at the judges’ discretion.

For Poetry: Writers may submit up to three poems within a single entry. If submitting more than one poem, contestants must include all poems within a single document, and separate each poem with ample white space. Combined, the poem(s) in each submission should not exceed 2,500 words. There is no minimum word count.

Submission Instructions

• Submissions will remain open until we reach our submissions cap of 400 total entries across prose and poetry OR until 5 p.m. CT on March 3, 2025, whichever comes first. To submit, fill out our entry form, attaching a PDF, DOC, or DOCX file.
• Prose – fiction or nonfiction – manuscripts must be typed and double-spaced and in Times New Roman size 12.
• Poetry manuscripts may adhere to the writer’s desired format but should use Times New Roman size 12 as the font. We suggest submitting files as PDFs in order to make sure format is maintained.
• All manuscripts must be in English. Translations should be provided for any words or phrases in another language.
• Only one submission per student is allowed. Contestants must submit to either prose OR poetry; submissions to both genres are not allowed.
• Work previously published in print or online (including on social media or blogs) is not eligible.
• Cover letters SHOULD NOT be included with submissions.
• No names or personally identifiable information should appear within files. Submissions will be judged blindly to ensure fairness.
• Research papers and book reports should not be submitted. For fiction, we’re looking for stories addressing any subject or situation. In creative nonfiction, we’re looking for pieces in the realm of personal essay. Poetry of all styles and forms is welcome.
• We’re interested in fiction, nonfiction and poetry that exhibits originality in thought and voice and that demonstrates your unique perspective. Of course, we love high-quality writing and want to see it in your work. Send us your best, we’re excited to read it!
• We are interested in original work. AI generated content is NOT permitted.

Submissions Cap

To ensure that each submission gets a thorough reading, we are capping the number of total entries received across prose and poetry at 400. Submissions will remain open until we reach our submissions cap of 400 total entries across prose and poetry OR until 5 p.m. Central Standard Time on March 3, 2025—whichever comes first.

Selection of Winners

Entries will be judged by a panel of Chicago area writers selected by the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. The 1st place winners and runners-up will be contacted and announced on the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s website (chicagoliteraryhof.org) in late March, 2025. Awards will be presented at a ceremony on May 17, 2025.

Awards

Winners in each of the two categories – prose and poetry – will receive prizes in the following amounts:

Prose: A 1st place winner will receive a prize of $250.00, with finalists receiving prizes in the following amounts:

• 2nd place: $150
• 3rd place: $100
• 4th place: $50

Poetry: A 1st place winner will receive a prize of $250.00, with finalists receiving prizes in the following amounts:

• 2nd place: $150
• 3rd place: $100
• 4th place: $50

Each winner will also receive publication in the commemorative program we produce for the award ceremony, which is scheduled for May 17, 2025 at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago. Winners will also be listed on our website and will be invited to read from their entries during the awards ceremony.

 

ABOUT RANDALL ALBERS

Professor and Chair Emeritus of Fiction Writing at Columbia College Chicago, Randall Albers was founding Producer of the long-running Story Week Festival of Writers, received the Columbia College Teaching Excellence Award, and, as chair of the Fiction Writing Department, fostered innovative interdisciplinary and community-based arts work in Chicago, and led development of abroad programs in Moscow, Prague, Florence, Bath, and Rome. A Story Workshop® Master Teacher, he has been a visiting professor at England’s Bath Spa University, has lectured at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and has presented at numerous national and international conferences on the teaching of creative writing. His fiction, creative nonfiction, and scholarly work have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Chicago Review, TriQuarterly, Writers Digest, Writing in Education, Brevity, F Magazine, and Briefly Knocked Unconscious by a Low-Flying Duck, among others. With Steve May, he authored the lead article in Creative Writing and Education, edited by Graeme Harper; and two chapters from his novel-in-progress, All the World Before Them, have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

As an educator, volunteer, advocate, and mentor, Randall has long supported helping young writers find, develop, and amplify their voices, finding ways for their words and voices to gain a wider audience and full inclusion into local arts and letters.

Randall’s tireless efforts to enhance the city’s literary profile and honor the great diversity and legacy of Chicago writers through encouragement, education, and philanthropy has earned him a cherished place in the hearts and minds of Chicago Literati.