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

    Sandra Lim

    Born in Seoul, Korea, Sandra Kim grew up in California and now lives in Massachusetts where she is an English professor and author of three poetry collections. Lim is the recent recipient of the 2023 Jackson Poetry Prize. 

  • Writing

    Louise Glück

    American poet and essayist, Louise Glück (1943-2023) won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Award. She also had a strong connection to Vermont where she was poet laureate in the 1990s.

  • 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

    Great Writers Archive

    YWP's Great Writers Challenge was imagined and launched by a 16-year-old writer named Nightheart in 2021 as the Great Poets Challenge. Included here are some of her favorites, including poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.