It’s that time of the year again! The entry period for the 2026 Scholastic Awards will be here before you know it. Here’s everything you need to know to participate in this upcoming program year.
AI Policy
We’ve updated our AI policy to better reflect the way you’re creating.
In this year’s competition season, the Scholastic Awards permit the use of AI technologies to aid in the artistic process during the creation of an entered work, such as brainstorming or outlining.
However, the Scholastic Awards do not permit and will deem ineligible any entered work for which the final product is itself AI-generated.
The Scholastic Awards define AI-generated work as a work that is automatically created based on prompts or other inputs, with minimal or no human interaction.
Find more details on the Copyright & Plagiarism page.
Launch Date
This year, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards open on Wednesday, October 1. Deadlines are still determined by your region, with the earliest occurring on December 1. Find your exact deadlines using our Region Locator.
Category Changes
We’ve made some exciting changes to the entry categories! We’re talking revisions, additions, and other adjustments. There are now 29 entry categories across art and writing.
Art Categories:
- Drawing & Illustration category has been split into two separate categories.
- Expanded Projects has been renamed Conceptual, Installation & Participatory Art.
- A new category, Experimental Photography, has been added.
- The Digital Art category has been renamed Digital Painting, Drawing & Collage.
Writing Categories:
- The Humor category has been removed. Works that would have been entered into Humor can be entered into other writing categories such as Short Story or Flash Fiction.
- The Science Fiction & Fantasy category has been renamed. It is now Speculative Fiction.
- The Dramatic Script category has been renamed. It is now Screenplays & Scripts.
Be sure to review the complete Category page to refresh yourself on the entry descriptions and instructions (and be sure to check out the new categories while you’re there)!
Portal Changes
We’ve been tinkering with the Scholastic Awards Portal over the summer. Most of these changes have been “under the hood” to make entering your works easier and faster. You might notice some slight differences in the size limit and file types for uploads, adjustment to the text editor for writing entries, and more!
We’ve created a new login process to help you update your account from last year! When you log in for the first time this season, if you already have an account, you’ll be taken through some “Welcome Back” steps. You’ll be prompted to update your profile information, your grade, and agree to our Participation Terms.
Meredith McGonigle, The 100s Museum, Drawing & Illustration. Grade 11, Robert W. Traip Academy, Kittery, ME. Maine College of Art and Design, Affiliate. Gold Medal