|
|
|
2026 Youth Writing Contest Theme: Freedom
Shore Lit x AAM Youth Writing Contest
Submissions Open April 1-April 30, 2026
Shore Lit and the Academy Art Museum are pleased to present a writing contest for Eastern Shore middle and high school students in conjunction with the 2026 Juneteenth celebration at the Academy Art Museum. Honoring the legacy of Henny and James Freeman, the earliest documented free Black landowning family in Easton, students are asked to consider the ways freedom impacts their daily lives on the Eastern Shore. Winners will receive cash prizes and be recognized at the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 20th, 2026.
WRITING PROMT: Consider the meaning of freedom—not just as the grand concept discussed in history class, but in the ways it effects your daily life at home, at school, and in all the spaces you travel in between. Our sense of freedom impacts what we read, how we speak, when we speak, how we dress, whom we date, where we spend our time, and so many other elements of our lives. Where do you feel free throughout your day? Where do you feel constrained by boundaries or rules (especially those that aren't stated outright)? Are there any places you feel like you can't go, even if you wanted to? Are there any doors you can always enter, knowing you'll be welcomed? How do you observe other people or creatures exercising their own freedom (or not)?
Your response can be in the form of a fictional story you make up, a true personal essay based on your own experience, or a poem of any kind. The goal here is not to give a clear definition of freedom, exactly, or explain why it is important, but to write creatively about the experience of freedom (or lack thereof)—what it looks like, where you find it (or don't), and how it feels.
Eligibility: This contest is open to local middle and high school students who live on, or have a strong connection to, the five counties of the Mid-Shore (Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Talbot, and Queen Anne's) . If you don't live in the Mid-Shore full-time (for example, if you used to live here but moved, or if you have family here that you visit a lot), just note your connection to the area briefly in the submission form.
Submission Requirements:
Deadlines: The submission window will be open between April 1 and April 30, 2026.
Awards:
Contest Judge: Entries will be judged by Carole Boston Weatherford, an award-winning writer and the 2025-2026 Poetry Foundation Young People’s Poet Laureate. The daughter of a printer, Carole Boston Weatherford was practically born with ink in her blood. She began writing at age 6 and soon after saw her poems in print. Her 80-plus books have garnered 2 NAACP Image Awards and 18 American Library Association Youth Media Awards, including a Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award and 4 Caldecott Honors. Her career achievements have been recognized with the North Carolina Award for Literature, the Nonfiction Award from the Children’s Book Guild and induction into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. Her middle-grade book KIN was the One Maryland One Book in 2025. A retired English professor, she lives in Maryland.
This program is presented in partnership with Shore Lit and the Academy Art Museum.
Submissions Open April 1-April 30, 2026
Shore Lit and the Academy Art Museum are pleased to present a writing contest for Eastern Shore middle and high school students in conjunction with the 2026 Juneteenth celebration at the Academy Art Museum. Honoring the legacy of Henny and James Freeman, the earliest documented free Black landowning family in Easton, students are asked to consider the ways freedom impacts their daily lives on the Eastern Shore. Winners will receive cash prizes and be recognized at the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 20th, 2026.
WRITING PROMT: Consider the meaning of freedom—not just as the grand concept discussed in history class, but in the ways it effects your daily life at home, at school, and in all the spaces you travel in between. Our sense of freedom impacts what we read, how we speak, when we speak, how we dress, whom we date, where we spend our time, and so many other elements of our lives. Where do you feel free throughout your day? Where do you feel constrained by boundaries or rules (especially those that aren't stated outright)? Are there any places you feel like you can't go, even if you wanted to? Are there any doors you can always enter, knowing you'll be welcomed? How do you observe other people or creatures exercising their own freedom (or not)?
Your response can be in the form of a fictional story you make up, a true personal essay based on your own experience, or a poem of any kind. The goal here is not to give a clear definition of freedom, exactly, or explain why it is important, but to write creatively about the experience of freedom (or lack thereof)—what it looks like, where you find it (or don't), and how it feels.
Eligibility: This contest is open to local middle and high school students who live on, or have a strong connection to, the five counties of the Mid-Shore (Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Talbot, and Queen Anne's) . If you don't live in the Mid-Shore full-time (for example, if you used to live here but moved, or if you have family here that you visit a lot), just note your connection to the area briefly in the submission form.
Submission Requirements:
- Word limits: Prose work (stories and essays) should be limited to 650 words. Poems should be limited to 20 lines.
- Formatting: Prose work should be double-spaced with one-inch margins and 12 pt. font. Poems can deviate from this format if you have artistic reasons for doing so. Please include page numbers if your work is longer than one page.
- Title: All entries should include a title (or, if your work is intentionally untitled, please note that at the top).
- Submissions are limited to one per student per genre. This means you can submit one entry in each genre category—fiction, essay, and poetry.
Deadlines: The submission window will be open between April 1 and April 30, 2026.
Awards:
- One 1st place winner will receive an award of $200
- Two runners-up will receive an award of $100
Contest Judge: Entries will be judged by Carole Boston Weatherford, an award-winning writer and the 2025-2026 Poetry Foundation Young People’s Poet Laureate. The daughter of a printer, Carole Boston Weatherford was practically born with ink in her blood. She began writing at age 6 and soon after saw her poems in print. Her 80-plus books have garnered 2 NAACP Image Awards and 18 American Library Association Youth Media Awards, including a Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award and 4 Caldecott Honors. Her career achievements have been recognized with the North Carolina Award for Literature, the Nonfiction Award from the Children’s Book Guild and induction into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. Her middle-grade book KIN was the One Maryland One Book in 2025. A retired English professor, she lives in Maryland.
This program is presented in partnership with Shore Lit and the Academy Art Museum.