The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is a national recognition program for teen writers and artists. Students submit their work to their region for initial evaluation. Submissions are $10 per individual work and $30 for a Senior Portfolio; if the fees present a barrier to participation, students can use a fee waiver, which is available in their student account. The deadline for submission is December 15, 2023 at 9:59 MT/10:59 CT. Once the works are submitted, South Dakota writing professionals read each student’s work and assign it a Gold Key, Silver Key, Honorable Mention, or no award. There is no limit to the number of awards given, meaning that there can be multiple Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention recipients. In past years, we’ve had dozens of award winners. Following the competition, we hold a celebration for all student writers and present them and their educators with their awards. Students who receive Gold Key awards then have their works passed on to the National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition where they can receive national recognition and even scholarships. To learn more, check out https://www.artandwriting.org/.