Literacy In Place Rural Teen Writing Contest

2026 Contest Theme: Did the Woods Just Whisper Your Name?: Rural Myths & Folklore

For this year’s contest theme, we invite pieces to consider the rural myths, legends, and folklore. This could include any number of local, national, and/or international myths and lore. Some possibilities include but are not limited to:

  • cryptids like Big Foot and the Beast of Busco
  • well-known figures such as Mothman and the Wicker Man
  • stories of apparitions a person ought not to pick up on a dark and misty night
  • bridges that shouldn’t be driven on at specific times
  • even medicinal practices like my Grandma Jean tapping my warts with a broom straw

While submitted pieces don’t need to be connected to theme, we are excited and hoping to read rural young folks perspectives and imaginings of their local myths and folklore.

The submission portal opens today – July 25, 2026 – and will close December 1, 2026. This contest accepts poetry, short fiction, and essays of 500 words or less.

Submission Rules/Guidelines

* Manuscript is DOC or PDF file  (NO Google docs)

* Manuscript Contains Title

* Manuscript is anonymized (the author’s name has been removed from the attached document)

* Manuscript contains page numbers

* Manuscript is 500 words or less

* 12 pt. Times New Roman or Arial font, double-spaced, one-inch margins

Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will be automatically disqualified.  

Rights: Winners retain all rights to their work. We ask for non-exclusive rights, meaning you are free to take your story elsewhere even after we publish it. Previously published stories are welcome too, so long as the author holds the rights to grant usage to Literacy in Place.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR PIECE

Meet this year’s judges!

Mindy McGinnis is the author of multiple novels that span many genres. From historical to fantasy, contemporary to gothic thriller, you can always count on Mindy’s books to deliver grit, truth, and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us.

A ninth-generation farmer, Mindy attributes much of her character to growing up on an Ohio farm, learning the value of physical labor, and the harshness of the natural world early in life. Much of her writing reflects small-town living and aspects of rural poverty. A former school librarian, Mindy still lives and works in her hometown, and is dedicated to making herself available to financially disadvantaged school districts and communities.

Ryan Dennis is the author of the memoir  Barn Gothic: Three Generations and the Death of the Family Dairy Farm, published by Island Press in November 2025, as well as the novel  The Beasts They Turned Away  (époque press),  longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize. He is a Fulbright alumnus and PhD in creative writing, has taught writing at various universities, and was a Writer-in-Residence at Maynooth University in 2021.  In 2020 he founded The Milk House, an initiative to showcase the work of those writing on rural subjects in order to help them find greater audiences. The Milk House publishes the annual  Best in Rural Writing  print anthology.

David Macinnis Gill is the award-winning aut  hor of THREE SISTERS, ZOMBIE TRAIN, BLACK HOLE SUN, INVISIBLE SUN, SHADOW ON   THE SUN, UNCANNY,   and SOUL ENCHIL  ADA from HarperCollins  /G  reenwillow.

David’s books have been named ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Kirkus Best Book, a Bank Street College Best Books of the Year, and an NYPL Stuff for the Teen Age as well as nominated for a variety of state and regional lists and awards. His short stories, essays, and poetry have appeared in journals, magazines, and anthologies.

Prizes

First Place winner will receive:

  • Publication on Literacy In Place
  • A virtual author visit from Neema Avashia (see below)
  • A guest spot on the Reading Rural YAL podcast

Neema Avashia is the daughter of Indian immigrants and was born and raised in southern West Virginia. She has been an educator and activist in the Boston Public Schools since 2003, and was named a City of Boston Educator of the Year in 2013. Her first book,  Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place, was published by West Virginia University Press in March 2022. It has been called “a timely collection that begins to fill the gap in literature focused mainly on the white male experience” by  Ms. Magazine, and “a graceful exploration of identity, community, and contradictions,” by  Scalawag. The book was named Best LGBTQ Memoir of 2022 by BookRiot, was one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2022, and was a finalist for the New England Book Award, the Weatherford Award, and a Lambda Literary Award. She lives in Boston with her partner, Laura, and her daughter, Kahani.

Second place winner will receive:

  • Publication on the Literacy In Place website

Winners of Last Year’s Rural Teen Writing Contest:

WINNER – Maxwell Harris, a sophomore from Virginia for his poem “soul river, bone dry”. His prizes include an author visit from Rob Costello, a possible Reading Rural YAL interview, and books for his teacher-sponsor’s classroom library.

Read “soul river, bone dry”

RUNNER-UP – Lleyton Michael Kane, a senior from Georgia, for his short story “The Last Well-Reader”.

Her prizes include a feature on  Reading Rural YAL  and a signed copy of a book of her choosing written by one of our judges.

Read “The Last Well-REader”

HONORABLE MENTION – Rohan Mahapatra, a freshman, for his poem, “Lariat”.

read “lariat”

Previous Winners

Let us know if you have any questions by using the form below.

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