YWP’s hub of inspiration: All our challenges are here!
Challenges
Weekly
Writing
Deadline
Desk
Imagine you are floating above your body, looking down on yourself drawing in response to this prompt. Sketch the view of yourself bent in concentration over your desk, pen in hand, materials spread out.
Writing
Deadline
Meliorism
A meliorist is one who believes that the world is on a steady path toward improvement and that humans can aid in its positive evolution. Are you a meliorist? If not, or your feelings are complicated, do you believe we have the power to change?
Writing
Deadline
Bears
The bears came out of hibernation early that spring. Little did everyone know they were actually an omen…
Great Artists
Visual Art
Mark Bradford
From hair stylist in his mom's beauty salon in Los Angeles to world-renowned artist, Mark Bradford explores issues of class, race, and gender through his art.
Visual Art
Ted Walsh
Recipe for a striking painting? Limited color palette, a spare style, and the gorgeous play of light and shadow.
Visual Art
Claude Monet
How did the Impressionist movement get its name? It started with this painting by Claude Monet and an art critic's insult.
Great Writers
Writing
Toni Morrison
In Black History Month, we honor Toni Morrison, the first Black woman to be awarded the Nobel laureate in literature, gained worldwide acclaim for her unvarnished exploration of Black identity in America. Have you read her work?
Writing
John Keene
Words matter. John Keene has a poem about that.
Writing
Naomi Shihab Nye
"Before you know what kindness really is, you must lose things," writes poet Naomi Shihab Nye.
Online Workshops
Visual Art
Photo Workshop: The Rule of Thirds
A foundational principle of photography and other visual arts is the rule of thirds. It helps create balanced and visually engaging compositions. Join YWP Alumni Advisor Kevin Huang for this online workshop.
Writing
Wondrous Writers: Editing - Polishing your Writing
This workshop explores key elements of editing that will make your story stronger.
Writing
Writing Workshop: Free Verse Poetry
Free verse is freeing! You can write any way you like, break lines wherever you decide, and end a poem whenever you want.
Contests
Writing
Deadline
Winter Tales
Tell a winter story in short descriptive or narrative poetry or prose. The best will be selected for presentation by Vermont Stage performers at the annual Winter Tales production in Burlington in December 2025!
Visual Art
Deadline
Teenager: In Visual Art
What does it mean to be a teenager in America in 2025? Responses can be abstract, literal, symbolic, interpretive, realistic – whatever best conveys your message.
Writing
Deadline
Teenager: In Writing
What does it mean to be a teenager in America in 2025? How would you describe your daily life? When and where do you most feel like your true self? Where do you find inspiration? What keeps you awake at night? What brings you joy?
Opinion & Commentary
Writing
Resistance
U.S. attorneys are resisting Justice Department orders. Vermont schools are holding firm on sanctuary status and transgender rights. Resistance is bubbling up in the first weeks of the Trump administration. What are you seeing and thinking?
Learn More
Writing
Hope & Resilience
Poetry steps in where uncertainty and chaos take root. Poetry lifts us up and moves us forward with determination. Explore these poems of hope and resilience. If you are inspired, share your own.
Learn More
Writing
Protests Begin
Americans are starting to rally against the Trump administration in a grassroots effort to build a national movement. Read about it. Write about it.
Learn More