Autumn '24: Writing

Contests

Red tree among muted trees

Autumn '24: Writing

Convey the ephemeral beauty of autumn in the genre of your choice, poetry or prose, fiction or nonfiction. Let yourself be inspired by the colors, settings, tones, and traditions of the season. 

[Photo credit: "The Last of Fall" by ckodama24, YWP archive]


It's a complex season of interchangeable names (is it autumn or fall to you?) and back-and-forth weather with its echoes of summer and hints of winter. It's a time of beginnings (a new school year and the range of emotions that go with it, from trepidation to excitement) and endings (falling leaves, shorter days). Share your take on the season!


CONTEST DETAILS

  • Three $75 prizes for writing; three $75 prizes for visual art
  • For ages 13-19. You must have a YWP account (It’s free to join!)
  • Respond to the challenge in any literary genre
  • Must be your original work and not published elsewhere. No AI.
  • No limit to number of submissions
  • Prize winners and honorable mentions will be published in the November 2024 issue of our digital magazine, The Voice.
  • Contest deadline: Oct. 25, 2024


    Click here for the Visual Art Contest

     

Submissions

  • Fall Before

    I want to find what I lost, 
    To search for it in the unknown. 
    The relics of time, 
    Soon to be lost to the past. 

    Life's beautiful moments, 
    Cherished but soon to be forgotten. 

  • Apple Cider

    I want to drink apple cider with you 

    Like it’s a fine wine, 

    Make-believe adult, wrapped in your wool blanket, 

    Counting the minutes until your parents return. 

  • That one leaf

    Every leaf tells a heartbreaking story

    Every leaf gets swept away

    Every leaf crumples

    Until it is nothing but dust

    Is that my story?

    Am I bound to be forgotten

    Like that one leaf that flew in my hair

  • Forever

    Three years ago,
    You said forever. 
    And I repeated it, 
    It left a sweet taste in my mouth. 
    Like sugar poured onto a lemon, 
    Covering up the sour bitterness. 

  • Stand Still

    Standing still thinking about what I lost 

    Fire drill and you’re in the parking lot

    Season changed and everything grows 

    Do you remember my last name 

  • Keeping Up

    The world has evolved

    From eternities of small change

    To rapid movements

    Clement days

    Then

    Brisk winds

    Blowing ideas, seasons into the next

    One moment, solidarity

    Dissent, unity

  • The Forest of Dreams

    I trudge down the leaf-strewn road, hugging myself against the frigid bursts of wind tugging at my jacket. I hop over a puddle and glance up as the clock-tower strikes six. I should’ve been home by now.

  • Change

    What can I do to make this stay? 
    To make all the moments, 
    Where we were infinite last forever. 

    To keep the good days for the future, 
    And carry the bad along with my past.