Teen Writing Contest at the Morgan Library & Museum

Franz Kafka

Imagine a more Kafkaesque New York. The Morgan Library & Museum’s exhibition Franz Kafka presents, for the first time in the United States, the Bodleian Library’s extraordinary holdings of Kafka’s manuscripts and diaries, as well as exploring the influential afterlife of his works.

Inspired by the exhibition, the Morgan is hosting a creative writing contest for teens. In Kafka’s writing, New York landmarks and locations do not always match the real place, and an imagined idea of the city emerges. The Statue of Liberty holds a sword instead of a torch in her right hand; the Brooklyn Bridge links New York and Boston.

Describe a landmark, location, or other feature of New York, but add your own fictitious twist. How has your space been transformed? Is it more welcoming or sinister? Does it draw crowds or repel them? Who will inhabit your imagined space, and what will they do there?

Enter the Morgan’s Teen Writing contest with an original diary entry with a limit of 400 words (2,500 characters). Prose or poetry formats are both accepted.

Enter

Winners receive a $100 MasterCard gift card!

Entry Criteria:

• Participants can submit up to two entries per person.
• Prose or poetry formats are both accepted.
• Composition limit is 400 words per entry (2,500 characters).

Awards will be given in two age groups:

• Middle School (Grades 7 to 8)
• High School (Grades 9 to 12)

Entries will be judged by a panel of Morgan Library & Museum staff for originality, creative reaction to prompt, and style.

Written work should be submitted in a format readable by Google Drive and/or Microsoft Word. Submissions must be written in English. Works can contain mature themes but inappropriate or graphic content is subject for removal.

Four winners total will be selected and will be awarded a $100 MasterCard gift card. Prizes are non-transferable. Content will be published on the Morgan’s webpage and via our social media channels.

Morgan Teen Writing Contest Guidelines:

• Entrant must live, work, or go to school in one of the five boroughs of New York City.
• Entrant must be between 13 and 19 years of age as of the date of entry.
• Contest begins at 12:00:01 AM ET on Monday January 13, 2025 and ends at 11:59:59 PM ET on Sunday April 13, 2025.
• Limit two entries per person, per email address.
• Winners will be notified on Friday, May 2, 2025.
• The Morgan may request a photograph of the winner to post with their writing.