Story Lab 500 Word Writing Contest for 7-18 Year-Olds

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Give your students the freedom to turn their ideas into an amazing story with Story Lab!

Story Lab invites your students to create an original story in just 500 words. There’s no set theme or genre, so they can follow their imagination wherever it takes them, allowing them to express themselves and write a story they'd love to read.

Budding authors have:

✏️ 500 words
📖 Any theme
📚 Any genre

Fantasy, sci-fi, adventure, comedy, ghost stories or a good old mystery – what story will your students tell?

If your students need a little inspiration to get started, download the free story examples and ‘How to Write a Story’ guide below.

This contest closes on September 11, 2026, so your students have all summer to plan & write their stories. They could see themselves as published authors later this year & even win a prize!

[Rules] =>

Only one entry per child. Schools can enter as many entries as they like.
Open to both schools & independent entrants.
Open for 7-18 year-olds
Stories can be typed in Word, etc or written on sheet of paper.
The child's name & age must be included with their story (entries can be submitted with first name or initials if required)
The story must be the child's own original work.
Stories can be written on any theme, as long as it is age-appropriate.
Word limit - 500 words.
Free to enter.
US entrants only.
Copyright remains with the author.

[School Prizes] => Participating schools receive a free copy of the book their students feature in. [Student Prizes] =>

Our favorite 5 writers each win $100 and a trophy.

Every entrant receives a bookmark and writers whose stories we'd love to publish will also receive a certificate of merit.

Winners will be chosen from published entries received May-September 2026.

[Tips] =>
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Give your child the freedom to turn their ideas into an amazing story with Story Lab!

Story Lab invites young writers ages 7-18 to create an original story in just 500 words. There’s no set theme or genre, so they can follow their imagination wherever it takes them, allowing them to express themselves and write a story they'd love to read.

Budding writers have:

✏️ 500 words
📖 Any theme
📚 Any genre

Fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, adventure, comedy, ghost stories or something completely unexpected – what story will they tell?

If your child needs a little inspiration to get started, download the free story examples and ‘How to Write a Story’ guide below.

This contest closes on September 11, 2026, so there’s all summer to plan & write their story. They could see themselves as a published author later this year & even win a prize!

It's Easy To Take Part - How To Enter

Email your child's entry along with their name and full address to: [email protected]

Upload their entry at www.youngwritersusa.com/new-uploader

Mail your child's entry along with their name and full address to:

Young Writers Story Lab

77 Walnut Street,

Unit 11,

Peabody, MA 01960

Closing Date: September 11, 2026

[Independent Rules] =>

Only one entry per child.
Open to both schools & independent entrants.
Open for 7-18 year-olds
Poems can be typed in Word, etc or written on sheet of paper.
Your child's name, age & full home address must be included with their story.
The story must be your child's own original work.
Stories can be written on any theme as long as it is age-appropriate.
Word limit - 500 words.
Free to enter.
US entrants only.
Copyright remains with the author.

[Independent Prizes] =>

Our favorite 5 writers each win $100 and a trophy.

Every entrant receives a bookmark and writers whose stories we'd love to publish will also receive a certificate of merit.

Winners will be chosen from published entries received May-September 2026. Independent entrants are eligible for student prizes.

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This contest is now closed.

If you have late entries, please email us at [email protected] and we'll do our best to accommodate them.

Open contests can be found here.

What happens now?

Our editorial team will read every single entry. Any child whose work they'd love to publish in a book will be sent a letter and certificate. Children whose work hasn't met the contest criteria will have the chance to resubmit their work. Winners will be chosen from published pieces once all the books in the series have been published.

Contest Timeline

Stage	Date	Status
Letters Sent	By No date set	⏳ In Progress
Books Published	No date set - No date set	⏳ Coming Soon
Winners Announced	No date set	⏳ Coming Soon

Please note we aim to keep these dates as accurate as possible but can be subject to change.

For more detailed information about your school's entries, please log in (or create) your teacher account here using the email you included on your teacher entry form.