The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens. It has an impressive legacy dating back to 1923, when Scholastic Founder Robbie Robinson started the program as a way to honor the creative achievement of high school students.

Some things have changed with the Awards over the years, but a few things have not. First is freedom of expression. The Scholastic Awards places no limitations on content and places a high priority on work that challenges boundaries and can communicate new and interesting ideas; students are free to pursue any idea or topic in their art and writing. Blind adjudication has also been a core tenet of the awards since day one. Work is evaluated on its own merits, with jurors having no information on the identity of the young artist or writer. And lastly, the three criteria used to select work: originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.

As a local affiliate, the MN Writing Region facilitates the participation of all writing submissions from the entire state. This year, that included 665 submissions—all of which are read and scored by three different readers—and a team of 44 volunteer judges. Awards at the regional level include Gold Key (top 7%), Silver Key (top 8–10%), and Honorable Mention (top 11–15%). Five Gold Key winners are then selected as the American Voices nominees, which is the top regional award. All Gold Key pieces are automatically submitted to the national level which uses the same awarding system.

MCTE is proud of the accomplishments of the young writers in our state. We are excited to present a selection of works awarded Gold Keys in the 2025 MN Writing Region of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

*All authors of pieces awarded Gold Keys were invited to submit their work for publication.

CRITICAL ESSAY

DRAMATIC SCRIPT

FLASH FICTION

JOURNALISM

NOVEL WRITING

PERSONAL ESSAY & MEMOIR

POETRY

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

SHORT STORY