Writing Awards for our Community: $250 Short Story Contest & $2,500 High School Senior Scholarship
Supporting writers young and old and in between
Bay Area Event announcement: Evelyn will be at Hicklebee’s Bookstore in San Jose, CA on December 2 at 6:30pm, sharing some of her favorite reads of the year, as well as signing books. More info HERE.
Hello, Protagonists,
In this season of gratitude, we are thrilled to announce two opportunities for you and other writers in your life:
❄️ Winter short story contest ($250 award)
🫶🏼 Ryan Stripling Scholarship for Young Writers ($2,500 award for a high school senior to put towards college tuition)
xo,
Joanna & Evelyn
❄️ Winter short story contest ($250 award)
I (Evelyn) am the guest judge for a short story contest on Reedsy!
Here’s a sneak peek at the prompt:
Theme: Winter Secrets
Whether you write realism or weave in a touch of magic, I’d love to see atmosphere, tension, and emotional depth. Think candlelight against a dark frosted window, footsteps in new snow, or the hush of something waiting to be revealed.
I can’t wait to see what stories emerge from the winter quiet, and what secrets your characters will dare to keep or finally let slip.
Use one of these prompts:
Include a moment in which someone knocks on a door right before or after midnight.
Write about a secret that could thaw—or shatter—a relationship.
Set your story in a place where something valuable is hidden beneath the ice.
Write about a character who receives an anonymous or unexpected gift.
Start or end your story with someone watching snow fall.
**Contest opens November 28, 2025 and ends December 5, 2025. Winner announced in mid-December.**
To enter the contest or get more info, visit the official contest page over at Reedsy:
🫶🏼 Ryan Stripling Scholarship for Young Writers ($2,500 award)
This scholarship was established to honor my husband’s brother, Ryan Stripling, an English teacher in Bentonville, Arkansas who passed away from cancer in 2019. Ryan was a fierce believer in young writers and always encouraged them with the motto, “Words create worlds.”
We are honored to continue Ryan’s legacy by awarding a scholarship to a high school senior who is a promising young writer. This scholarship is open to students pursuing any major, as long as they are interested in continuing to write throughout college. Students must currently be attending a high school within the United States and plan to attend a college or university within the United States.
The $2,500 award was fundraised by you—so THANK YOU for supporting young writers!1
**Applications due by February 5, 2026. Winner announced March 6, 2026.**
To apply or get more info, please visit our official scholarship page:
» Note: There are complicated tax rules that make it so only certain qualified non-profits can grant big scholarships, so we’re working with the Bold Foundation to host this award. The link will take you to their website and application. If you have questions about the application process or how the scholarship money can be used, please ask the support team at Bold, because I don’t know the answers. 😉
💛 Please pass this scholarship along to any high school seniors you know! 💛
Accounting note: Because I aim to be transparent, here are the behind-the-scenes numbers of the scholarship funds:
Last year, our community raised $3,908.11 for our 2025 scholarships.
$1,408.11 was spent on our community writing awards in May this year (I personally contributed the difference to get us to $1,500 total, for 3 awards of $500 each).
The remaining $2,500 is going toward this scholarship for a high school senior.
These prompts are incredible! I'm so inspired 🫶