About this Event
Now in its thirteenth year, the Top of Iowa High School Creative Writing Contest is designed to encourage high school creative writers from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
Recognition is given at two levels: to older students (11th and 12th Grade) and younger students (9th and 10th Grade). Poems, stories, and personal essays will be considered for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place honors at both levels and substantial Waldorf University scholarships. The work by 11th and 12th-grade contestants will be judged by the editorial staff and faculty supervisor of the Waldorf Literary Review, who may choose top entries to publish in the 2026 edition of the print journal. Prose and poetry submissions from the 9th and 10th-grade contestants will be judged by Waldorf’s Warriors Writing Club and their faculty sponsor, and will be considered for publication in the online version of the Waldorf Literary Review.
1st place winners in the 11th and 12th Grade categories will receive a renewable $20,000 scholarship to study creative writing at Waldorf University. 2nd place winners will receive a renewable $19,000 scholarship, and 3rd place winners will receive a renewable $18,000 scholarship. All 9th/10th-grade winners will receive a renewable $16,000 scholarship.
The contest will culminate with a one-day Creative Writing Festival on the Waldorf University campus, where winners will be announced, including honorable mentions.
This year, the writing festival will include opportunities for students to attend talks on varying aspects of creative writing, learn publishing insights from the editorial staff of the Waldorf Literary Review, and attend a reading by Waldorf’s Distinguished Visiting Writer, Samantha Edmonds, reading from her debut story collection, A Preponderance of Starry Beings.
Students are limited to a maximum of 2 submissions per category, with each submission titled. For fiction and personal essay submissions, please limit to 2000 words.
Submission Deadline: October 13, 2025
Feel free to email Dr. Korey Hurni with any questions about the contest or scholarship.
When
August 25, 2025 - October 13, 2025
8:00 AM - 8:00 AM
Where
Waldorf University