Weekly Reader's Student
Publishing Contest honors the best in nonfiction publications and writing by
students in grades 3-12. The contest is intended to inspire young people to
tell compelling, true stories through good reporting and writing.
Download
a 2008-09
Student Publishing Contest Entry form
[Adobe PDF]
View last year's winners
How The Program Works
A total of six awards will be presented—three awards for overall student
publications, and three for an individual piece of student nonfiction writing.
Winners will be chosen in elementary, middle, and high school categories.
Individual Student Writing
Any piece of nonfiction writing between 500 and
2,500 words is eligible for the Individual Student Writing category, which
could include
memoirs, essays, or a reported story about a news event. The
article or essay need not have been published. The
entry need not come directly from the school, but an adult (teacher, parent,
or guardian) must sign the entry form.
Whole Publication
All student publications—newspapers, magazines, and literary magazines
that include nonfiction—are eligible for the Whole Publication award.
Any electronic complement to the student publication—such
as an official student-created Web site—will also be considered
in judging the entry.
Prizes
Each winning whole publication will be awarded a $500 check (payable to the
school) and a plaque. In addition, a Weekly Reader editor will visit each winner’s
school. Teacher sponsors of winning entries will receive a one-year full classroom
subscription to the Weekly Reader publication of his or her choice. (Elementary
schools will receive any Weekly Reader or WR News edition;
for middle and high schools, choices include Writing, READ,
and Current Events magazines.)
Each winner of an individual student writing award will receive a check for
$500, payable to the student. In addition, Weekly Reader will publish (or republish)
the piece, either in one of its magazines or on its Web site.
Weekly Reader will contact all winning schools and students. Winners will
be honored at a luncheon in June at the annual Association of Educational Publishers
(AEP) Summit in Washington, D.C.
Airfare for the winners to Washington, DC, will
be provided by Continental Airlines, the exclusive airline sponsor of the
Student Publishing Contest. (Continental will provide roundtrip airfare
for each individual winner, one student representative of each winning publication,
and two chaperones to accompany each student.)
Download
a 2008-09
Student Publishing Contest Entry form
[Adobe PDF]
The Student Publishing Contest is sponsored by Weekly
Reader Publishing and organized by AEP. For more information write to dgladney@AEPweb.org
or call 914-242-4009.
The
National Association of Secondary School Principals has placed this program on
the NASSP National Advisory List of Student Contests and Activities for 2008-2009. | 
