A Writing Competition for 16 Year Olds, Read Without the Age Attached
Quick answer: Writing competitions for 16 year olds are mostly local, school-run or annual. Writory's short story contest is international, monthly and open from age 13, so a 16-year-old enters on the same terms as anyone. Entry is $8 for 100 to 3,000 words in any language, judged blind, and every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100.
Open from 13 in every country, so at 16 you are well inside the rule. $8 a story of 100 to 3,000 words, entries closing on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 with all five marks on 30 November 2026.
Eligible at 16 in any country, and how the entry goes in
The floor is 13 and there is no ceiling, so 16 is not an edge case; it is the middle of the range. Nothing changes at your age: no junior category, no shorter word limit, no separate prize. You enter online at /submit-story with a story of 100 to 3,000 words in any genre and any language. A story in Tagalog, Portuguese or Hindi is read in that language and judged in the same pool as English entries.
Entry costs $8 for one story, $14 for two and $25 for five, paid in US dollars through PayPal. Most 16-year-olds have a parent pay at the point of submission, and if you win, the $100 prize can go to a parent's or guardian's account. The deadline is fixed in Indian Standard Time, 11:59 PM on the closing date: 6:29 PM in London during GMT, 1:29 PM in New York during Eastern Standard Time, 5:29 AM the next morning in Sydney during daylight saving.
The first round closes on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST and results and certificates land on 30 November 2026. Judging is blind. The manuscript reaches the judges without your name, age, school or country, and it is scored against the five published criteria that every adult entry meets. That is the whole of the eligibility story, and it is shorter than most school competitions' rules.
What a score out of 100 means at sixteen
The certificate carries your name and the contest month, and it arrives whether you win or not. It certifies that you entered a judged round and were read against a published standard; it is not a prize, and university applications should describe it as participation unless you won. Where it earns its place is as a dated series. Four certificates across a school year say something a single one cannot: you finish stories and put them in front of strangers.
The score is private and specific. Five marks add to 100: Storytelling and Structure 25, Character and Emotional Impact 25, Language and Craft 20, Originality and Voice 20, Impact and Resonance 10. At sixteen, a high language mark beside a low structure mark tells you the sentences are ahead of the plotting, and that is fixable in a month. Non-winners' scores are never published and the certificate does not show them.
Winners take $100 and a free entry to the next round. Entering three rounds in a row earns the Seasoned Quill badge, which also carries a free entry. There is no other free route in, which keeps the pool serious. You keep every right to your story, and Writory does not publish entries, so the piece can still go to a school anthology or a magazine afterwards.
Craft notes at sixteen
Write about being 16 without apologising for it. Judges who do not know your age read a story about a Tuesday in a school corridor as a story, and the Originality and Voice mark rewards the angle only you have. Avoid the two endings that lose structure marks every time: the twist that cancels the story, and the character who wakes up. An ending should pay for the opening, not erase it.
Cut the first paragraph and see if the story still starts. It usually does, and later. Give the main character one concrete want on page one, a bus to catch or a sentence to say, because the 25 marks for character depend on the reader wanting something alongside them. Use nouns you can touch. Then take a week off and reread; the Story Craft course at /academy/story-craft is free and covers the second draft, and /short-story-prompts is there for a blank morning.
The published rubric, 100 points
- Storytelling & Structure (25 points): Does every scene cause the next, and does the ending pay off the opening?
- Character & Emotional Impact (25 points): Do we want something with your character, and does the story make us feel it?
- Language & Craft (20 points): Clean, deliberate prose: rhythm, precision, and nothing wasted.
- Originality & Voice (20 points): The angle only you could write, told in a voice that sounds like nobody else.
- Impact & Resonance (10 points): What the story leaves behind after the last line.
How it works
Submit an original story of 100 to 3,000 words by 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Every story is judged blind against the rubric above, and results arrive on 30 November 2026: every entrant receives a certificate with their name and a score out of 100. Writers keep all rights. Monthly winners earn free entry to the next round. Enter at https://writoryofficial.com/submit-story.
Common questions
Am I competing against adults?
Yes, in one blind-judged pool. There is no junior category, and that is the point of entering: the marks you get back are the same instrument the adults receive, scored against the same rubric, so a 71 means the same thing at 16 as at 40. The judges never learn your age.
Do I need my parents involved?
Writory's only rule is age 13 and over; there is no consent form. Because the fee is paid through PayPal, a parent usually pays, and any prize can be paid to a parent's or guardian's account. Loop them in and show them this page; the terms are short and there is nothing to sign.
Can I enter something I wrote for school?
Yes, if it is your own work and runs 100 to 3,000 words. Give it one more draft first; a classroom piece written to a prompt usually needs a stronger ending before it meets a rubric that weighs structure at 25 marks. Writory has no previously-unpublished rule, so a story shared in class is fine.
Can I write in my own language?
Yes. Stories are accepted in any language and read in that language, in the same pool. There is no translation and no separate category. If you think and dream in Spanish or Bengali, write the story in it; the version in your first language is usually the one with the voice the judges are marking for.
What time is the deadline where I live?
Entries close at 11:59 PM Indian Standard Time, which is UTC+5:30. That is 6:29 PM in London during GMT, 1:29 PM in New York during Eastern Standard Time, and 5:29 AM the following morning in Sydney during daylight saving. The first round closes on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Submitting the day before removes the arithmetic.
Who sees my score?
You do, and nobody else unless you choose to share it. Non-winners' scores are never published, the certificate does not show marks, and entries are not published. If you win, your name goes on the dated results page for that month; any wider use of the story happens only with your permission.
More story contest pages
About Writory
Writory (writoryofficial.com) is an international monthly poetry contest founded in 2025 by Shivay Mehra. Poets from 31 countries have entered, readers come from over 150 countries, and every submitted poem is judged and scored out of 100 across five criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance. Every entrant receives a certificate; winners receive cash prizes and are published by name. Entries close on the 25th of each month and results are announced on the 30th. Writory is listed by Duotrope, Poetry Kit, Christopher Fielden's competition list and Creative Writing NZ, among other organisations. Past results are public at past winners and the leaderboard.