Congratulations 2023 DC Scholastic Writing Awards recipients!

View the full list of works recognized in the 2023 DC Writing Region of the Scholastic Writing Awards below!

A panel of professional novelists, editors, teachers, poets, librarians, journalists, and other literary professionals selected these works from 1,932 works submitted this year.

• 388 Honorable Mentions awarded to promising works
• 201 Silver Keys awarded to distinguished works
• 133 Gold Keys awarded to the most accomplished works
• 5 American Voice Nominees selected as the strongest regional works

Gold Keys are automatically forwarded for consideration at the national level of the Scholastic Writing Awards.

American Voices Nominees

These Gold Key works were selected by our jurors for consideration as the DC Writing Region's National American Voices Medal, to be announced in March.

• Riva Jain of Thomas Jefferson High school for Science and Technology, for The Interview (Dramatic Script)
• Naomi Ling of River Hill High School, for Chinese New Year Rituals (Poetry)
• Salonee Verma of Stone Bridge High School, for Attachment Theory (Science Fiction & Fantasy)
• Aileen Zhao of Mclean High School, for Catalog of Ants (Poetry)
• Chelsea Zhu of Richard Montgomery High School, for Piecing Together Fragments of Myself: The Puzzle of Finding My Voice (Personal Essay & Memoir)

2023 DC Metro Scholastic Awards