Great Writers


Introducing you to great writers of poetry and prose every month. Be inspired. Respond to the challenge. 

The Great Writers Challenge started in 2021 when YWP writer Nightheart, then 16, wanted to introduce Young Writers Project to the incredible poets she was discovering. We're continuing the tradition by featuring a new poet or author every month, sharing their styles, themes, and contributions to the literary landscape. If you're inspired by the monthly challenges, please respond with your own writing.


  • Writing

    Pablo Neruda

    This Chilean poet, diplomat, senator began publishing under a pen name because his father discouraged him from writing poetry. Neruda went on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

  • Writing

    Rita Dove

    What do ballroom dancing and poetry have in common? Rita Dove, an award-winning poet and dancer, will tell you.

  • Writing

    Ada Limón

    Appointed the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States in 2022 and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. She's planning to send one of her poems into space in October 2024.

  • Writing

    Amanda Gorman

    The youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history and an award-winning writer and social activist, whose poem, "The Hill We Climb," wowed America at President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021.