Leave Your Mark: Teen Contest

 Full details

Write about a scar. Physical or invisible. This could be a scar you have, or one for a character you make up. You can do this in any form you like: story, song, script, or poem, as long as it's 250 words or fewer.

The writer of the most compelling story will receive a $400 Gotham credit, a $50 gift certificate to Bookshop, and publication on our website. Plus bragging rights—you'll be the first winner of Gotham's inaugural teen writing contest. Two finalists will each receive a free Gotham class of their choosing and publication on our website. 

Some examples:

When I was nine, I cut my thumb on a paring knife. It didn’t hurt. Amazed, I watched the skin along my knuckle curl into itself like paper. If it was a second, it felt longer. Time stretched out before me as I peered inside myself. There was no blood. The bone was shiny and clean. I was surprised by how immaculate it looked. Then the flesh turned red and flooded out. Still, it didn’t hurt.

In the car, I sat with a towel wrapped around my hand, feeling lopsided. I had never been to the hospital before. My father commended me on my stoicism. I was taking it like a champ. Looking out the window, a thought came to me. I asked if they would give me stitches. They might, he said. I watched the hills outside. 

The doctor was young and thin. I remained still as he unwrapped the towel and as he threaded the sutures through my finger. Even numb I could feel my skin resisting the needle. When he finished, I had three new navy blue stitches. They were ugly, like spider legs. Seeing them, I cried. I had been doing so well, my father said. Why now? I couldn’t explain myself. But eventually, the stitches dissolved into six small white dots. And between them, I was left with a long, pale line the color of bone. 

Clyde Chelkowski

Yellow moonlight flushes the room,
sterile and sickly. My sutures and seams expand
it with life blazing coral
smears on sallow skin proof
of a concert for continuance.
Life as creation, not existence.
As doing, not just being but finding
something beyond. I will not die
in passivity, trampled to atomic dust.
Collect my pieces and make me anew.
We are all creating ourselves and each other.

Anna Seger

The Details: 

• This contest is only open to writers ages 13-18 years old 
• Entries must be submitted online by 11:59 pm Eastern Time, Monday December 15, 2025
• Entry is free 
• Limit one entry per person
• Entry must consist of no more than 250 words
• Entry must be original and unpublished; AI generated entries are not permitted
• Entries will be judged on originality, quality, spelling, and grammar
• The winner will be notified by mid-January
• Winner receives a $400 Gotham credit, a $50 gift certificate to Bookshop.org, and publication at writingclasses.com/contests. Two finalists will receive a free Gotham class of their choosing (excluding any premium classes: Zoetrope Fiction, Business Writing, Level III) and publication at writingclasses.com/contests.