Season of Ink

Why We Started Season of Ink

Since 2020, the founders of Season of Ink — Kevin Zhen and Vennela Vellanki — have helped students across the world win hundreds of writing awards, from Scholastic Gold Keys to distinctions in the John Locke Essay Competition and even the New York Times Tiny Memoir Contest.

But most writing contests only run once a year — and almost never offer feedback. We created Season of Ink to change that.

Season of Ink is a biannual writing competition open to students around the world. Every piece is read by a professional writer, and every writer receives personalized feedback designed to help them grow. In addition to generous cash prizes, our goal is to celebrate creativity, encourage risk-taking, and spotlight the next generation of storytellers.

Open to Students Worldwide

During our first two contests, we limited Season of Ink to students within our network.

But this season (December 2025), we couldn’t be more excited to open Season of Ink to the world!

Total Submissions

230+

Our Judges

Kyra Ann Dawkins
Director of Judging
Inspired by the stories her grandfather told her, Kyra Ann Dawkins is no stranger to writing. After having many academic and creative pieces published in papers and online magazines, Dawkins’ novel The We and the They debuted in 2020. Much of her written work, while grappling with dystopian themes, is inspired by oral tradition, a way of knowing that has intellectual and personal significance for Dawkins. She graduated with highest honors from Phillips Exeter Academy in 2016 and from Columbia University in the City of New York in 2020, where she majored in Medicine, Literature, and Society. She is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Fiction) at Columbia as well. When she isn’t visiting museums, you can often find her listening to jazz, spouting off puns, or annoying her younger siblings.
Serena Michaels
Through years of experience in filmmaking, writing, and vocal performance, Serena has learned to thoroughly appreciate good storytelling. After graduating from Yale (B.A., Film and Media Studies), Serena moved to New York City, where she spends much of her free time practicing guitar, searching for the city’s best decaf coffee, watching B-grade disaster movies, and/or
travelling the world.
Kaleb Sells
Kaleb Sells is an actor, singer, director, and lyricist with a B.A. in Drama & Theatre Arts from Columbia University in the City of New York. Whether it be his Off-Broadway appearance in the U.S. premier performance of "The Clockmaker's Daughter," his direction of M. Stratton's "The Insects" in New York's East Village, or his most recent regional theatre appearance in the Classic Theatre of Maryland's production of "Crazy For You," Sells takes joy in finding moments to help bring the creative works of others to life. He is ecstatic to now have the opportunity to read the writings of young, budding creatives as they pursue their own paths in developing their crafts.
Daniela Ordoñez
Daniela Ordoñez Delgado (She/Her) is an international 2nd year student in the Writing MFA, in the Fiction and Literary Translation concentrations. She moved to NYC in 2023 to pursue it, after living in Colombia her whole life. Through her work in speculative fiction, she's trying to understand how the world would be if all the folktales we hear from our grandparents, crazy teachers and older cousins were true, blurring boundaries between the mystical and the everyday.
Nathanie Yaskey
Nathanie Y. Yaskey is a New York-based playwright, screenwriter, memoirist, and educational artist who received her B.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Originally from Freetown, Sierra Leone, Nathanie immigrated to the United States in 1997 when her family was granted Political Asylum during the nation's Civil War. Her extensive advocacy work has been featured on national platforms such as ABC News and Spectrum News. In 2020, her original stage play, The Ladies of Café Society, was translated into a limited television mini-series. Nathanie is an M.F.A. Candidate in Nonfiction Writing at Columbia University and lives with her beautiful and wholesome German Shepherd Mix, Wesley-Love.
René Chestnut
René is a writer who loves archival research. An enthusiast for artifacts, she concentrates on the topics of religion, culture, tradition, heritage, social representations, and social injustice to write illuminating stories that inspire critical thinking. René is a M.F.A. candidate in Nonfiction Writing at Columbia University in New York, where she currently lives. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Journal. René enjoys the Metropolitan Opera in her free time.

Our Judges

Kyra Ann Dawkins
Director of Judging
Inspired by the stories her grandfather told her, Kyra Ann Dawkins is no stranger to writing. After having many academic and creative pieces published in papers and online magazines, Dawkins’ novel The We and the They debuted in 2020. Much of her written work, while grappling with dystopian themes, is inspired by oral tradition, a way of knowing that has intellectual and personal significance for Dawkins. She graduated with highest honors from Phillips Exeter Academy in 2016 and from Columbia University in the City of New York in 2020, where she majored in Medicine, Literature, and Society. She is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Fiction) at Columbia as well. When she isn’t visiting museums, you can often find her listening to jazz, spouting off puns, or annoying her younger siblings.
Serena Michaels
Through years of experience in filmmaking, writing, and vocal performance, Serena has learned to thoroughly appreciate good storytelling. After graduating from Yale (B.A., Film and Media Studies), Serena moved to New York City, where she spends much of her free time practicing guitar, searching for the city’s best decaf coffee, watching B-grade disaster movies, and/or
Kaleb Sells
Kaleb Sells is an actor, singer, director, and lyricist with a B.A. in Drama & Theatre Arts from Columbia University in the City of New York. Whether it be his Off-Broadway appearance in the U.S. premier performance of "The Clockmaker's Daughter," his direction of M. Stratton's "The Insects" in New York's East Village, or his most recent regional theatre appearance in the Classic Theatre of Maryland's production of "Crazy For You," Sells takes joy in finding moments to help bring the creative works of others to life. He is ecstatic to now have the opportunity to read the writings of young, budding creatives as they pursue their own paths in developing their crafts.
Daniela Ordoñez
Daniela Ordoñez Delgado (She/Her) is an international 2nd year student in the Writing MFA, in the Fiction and Literary Translation concentrations. She moved to NYC in 2023 to pursue it, after living in Colombia her whole life. Through her work in speculative fiction, she's trying to understand how the world would be if all the folktales we hear from our grandparents, crazy teachers and older cousins were true, blurring boundaries between the mystical and the everyday.
Nathanie Yaskey
Nathanie Y. Yaskey is a New York-based playwright, screenwriter, memoirist, and educational artist who received her B.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Originally from Freetown, Sierra Leone, Nathanie immigrated to the United States in 1997 when her family was granted Political Asylum during the nation's Civil War. Her extensive advocacy work has been featured on national platforms such as ABC News and Spectrum News. In 2020, her original stage play, The Ladies of Café Society, was translated into a limited television mini-series. Nathanie is an M.F.A. Candidate in Nonfiction Writing at Columbia University and lives with her beautiful and wholesome German Shepherd Mix, Wesley-Love.
René Chestnut
René is a writer who loves archival research. An enthusiast for artifacts, she concentrates on the topics of religion, culture, tradition, heritage, social representations, and social injustice to write illuminating stories that inspire critical thinking. René is a M.F.A. candidate in Nonfiction Writing at Columbia University in New York, where she currently lives. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Journal. René enjoys the Metropolitan Opera in her free time.

Our Judges

Kyra Ann Dawkins
Inspired by the stories her grandfather told her, Kyra Ann Dawkins is no stranger to writing. After having many academic and creative pieces published in papers and online magazines, Dawkins’ novel The We and the They debuted in 2020. Much of her written work, while grappling with dystopian themes, is inspired by oral tradition, a way of knowing that has intellectual and personal significance for Dawkins. She graduated with highest honors from Phillips Exeter Academy in 2016 and from Columbia University in the City of New York in 2020, where she majored in Medicine, Literature, and Society. She is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Fiction) at Columbia as well. When she isn’t visiting museums, you can often find her listening to jazz, spouting off puns, or annoying her younger siblings.
Serena Michaels
Through years of experience in filmmaking, writing, and vocal performance, Serena has learned to thoroughly appreciate good storytelling. After graduating from Yale (B.A., Film and Media
Studies), Serena moved to New York City, where she spends much of her free time practicing guitar, searching for the city’s best decaf coffee, watching B-grade disaster movies, and/or
travelling the world.
Kaleb Sells
Kaleb Sells is an actor, singer, director, and lyricist with a B.A. in Drama & Theatre Arts from Columbia University in the City of New York. Whether it be his Off-Broadway appearance in the U.S. premier performance of "The Clockmaker's Daughter," his direction of M. Stratton's "The Insects" in New York's East Village, or his most recent regional theatre appearance in the Classic Theatre of Maryland's production of "Crazy For You," Sells takes joy in finding moments to help bring the creative works of others to life. He is ecstatic to now have the opportunity to read the writings of young, budding creatives as they pursue their own paths in developing their crafts.
Daniela Ordoñez
Daniela Ordoñez Delgado (She/Her) is an international 2nd year student in the Writing MFA, in the Fiction and Literary Translation concentrations. She moved to NYC in 2023 to pursue it, after living in Colombia her whole life. Through her work in speculative fiction, she's trying to understand how the world would be if all the folktales we hear from our grandparents, crazy teachers and older cousins were true, blurring boundaries between the mystical and the everyday.
Nathanie Yaskey
Nathanie Y. Yaskey is a New York-based playwright, screenwriter, memoirist, and educational artist who received her B.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Originally from Freetown, Sierra Leone, Nathanie immigrated to the United States in 1997 when her family was granted Political Asylum during the nation's Civil War. Her extensive advocacy work has been featured on national platforms such as ABC News and Spectrum News. In 2020, her original stage play, The Ladies of Café Society, was translated into a limited television mini-series. Nathanie is an M.F.A. Candidate in Nonfiction Writing at Columbia University and lives with her beautiful and wholesome German Shepherd Mix, Wesley-Love.
René Chestnut
René is a writer who loves archival research. An enthusiast for artifacts, she concentrates on the topics of religion, culture, tradition, heritage, social representations, and social injustice to write illuminating stories that inspire critical thinking. René is a M.F.A. candidate in Nonfiction Writing at Columbia University in New York, where she currently lives. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Journal. René enjoys the Metropolitan Opera in her free time.

Our Judges

Kyra Ann Dawkins
Director of Judging
Inspired by the stories her grandfather told her, Kyra Ann Dawkins is no stranger to writing. After having many academic and creative pieces published in papers and online magazines, Dawkins’ novel The We and the They debuted in 2020. Much of her written work, while grappling with dystopian themes, is inspired by oral tradition, a way of knowing that has intellectual and personal significance for Dawkins. She graduated with highest honors from Phillips Exeter Academy in 2016 and from Columbia University in the City of New York in 2020, where she majored in Medicine, Literature, and Society. She is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Fiction) at Columbia as well. When she isn’t visiting museums, you can often find her listening to jazz, spouting off puns, or annoying her younger siblings.
Serena Michaels
Through years of experience in filmmaking, writing, and vocal performance, Serena has learned to thoroughly appreciate good storytelling. After graduating from Yale (B.A., Film and Media Studies), Serena moved to New York City, where she spends much of her free time practicing guitar, searching for the city’s best decaf coffee, watching B-grade disaster movies, and/or
travelling the world.
Kaleb Sells
Kaleb Sells is an actor, singer, director, and lyricist with a B.A. in Drama & Theatre Arts from Columbia University in the City of New York. Whether it be his Off-Broadway appearance in the U.S. premier performance of "The Clockmaker's Daughter," his direction of M. Stratton's "The Insects" in New York's East Village, or his most recent regional theatre appearance in the Classic Theatre of Maryland's production of "Crazy For You," Sells takes joy in finding moments to help bring the creative works of others to life. He is ecstatic to now have the opportunity to read the writings of young, budding creatives as they pursue their own paths in developing their crafts.
Daniela Ordoñez
Daniela Ordoñez Delgado (She/Her) is an international 2nd year student in the Writing MFA, in the Fiction and Literary Translation concentrations. She moved to NYC in 2023 to pursue it, after living in Colombia her whole life. Through her work in speculative fiction, she's trying to understand how the world would be if all the folktales we hear from our grandparents, crazy teachers and older cousins were true, blurring boundaries between the mystical and the everyday.
Nathanie Yaskey
Nathanie Y. Yaskey is a New York-based playwright, screenwriter, memoirist, and educational artist who received her B.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Originally from Freetown, Sierra Leone, Nathanie immigrated to the United States in 1997 when her family was granted Political Asylum during the nation's Civil War. Her extensive advocacy work has been featured on national platforms such as ABC News and Spectrum News. In 2020, her original stage play, The Ladies of Café Society, was translated into a limited television mini-series. Nathanie is an M.F.A. Candidate in Nonfiction Writing at Columbia University and lives with her beautiful and wholesome German Shepherd Mix, Wesley-Love.
René Chestnut
René is a writer who loves archival research. An enthusiast for artifacts, she concentrates on the topics of religion, culture, tradition, heritage, social representations, and social injustice to write illuminating stories that inspire critical thinking. René is a M.F.A. candidate in Nonfiction Writing at Columbia University in New York, where she currently lives. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Journal. René enjoys the Metropolitan Opera in her free time.

Our Judges

Kyra Ann Dawkins
Director of Judging
Inspired by the stories her grandfather told her, Kyra Ann Dawkins is no stranger to writing. After having many academic and creative pieces published in papers and online magazines, Dawkins’ novel The We and the They debuted in 2020. Much of her written work, while grappling with dystopian themes, is inspired by oral tradition, a way of knowing that has intellectual and personal significance for Dawkins. She graduated with highest honors from Phillips Exeter Academy in 2016 and from Columbia University in the City of New York in 2020, where she majored in Medicine, Literature, and Society. She is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Fiction) at Columbia as well. When she isn’t visiting museums, you can often find her listening to jazz, spouting off puns, or annoying her younger siblings.
Serena Michaels
Through years of experience in filmmaking, writing, and vocal performance, Serena has learned to thoroughly appreciate good storytelling. After graduating from Yale (B.A., Film and Media Studies), Serena moved to New York City, where she spends much of her free time practicing guitar, searching for the city’s best decaf coffee, watching B-grade disaster movies, and/or
travelling the world.
Kaleb Sells
Kaleb Sells is an actor, singer, director, and lyricist with a B.A. in Drama & Theatre Arts from Columbia University in the City of New York. Whether it be his Off-Broadway appearance in the U.S. premier performance of "The Clockmaker's Daughter," his direction of M. Stratton's "The Insects" in New York's East Village, or his most recent regional theatre appearance in the Classic Theatre of Maryland's production of "Crazy For You," Sells takes joy in finding moments to help bring the creative works of others to life. He is ecstatic to now have the opportunity to read the writings of young, budding creatives as they pursue their own paths in developing their crafts.
Daniela Ordoñez
Daniela Ordoñez Delgado (She/Her) is an international 2nd year student in the Writing MFA, in the Fiction and Literary Translation concentrations. She moved to NYC in 2023 to pursue it, after living in Colombia her whole life. Through her work in speculative fiction, she's trying to understand how the world would be if all the folktales we hear from our grandparents, crazy teachers and older cousins were true, blurring boundaries between the mystical and the everyday.
Nathanie Yaskey
Nathanie Y. Yaskey is a New York-based playwright, screenwriter, memoirist, and educational artist who received her B.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Originally from Freetown, Sierra Leone, Nathanie immigrated to the United States in 1997 when her family was granted Political Asylum during the nation's Civil War. Her extensive advocacy work has been featured on national platforms such as ABC News and Spectrum News. In 2020, her original stage play, The Ladies of Café Society, was translated into a limited television mini-series. Nathanie is an M.F.A. Candidate in Nonfiction Writing at Columbia University and lives with her beautiful and wholesome German Shepherd Mix, Wesley-Love.
René Chestnut
René is a writer who loves archival research. An enthusiast for artifacts, she concentrates on the topics of religion, culture, tradition, heritage, social representations, and social injustice to write illuminating stories that inspire critical thinking. René is a M.F.A. candidate in Nonfiction Writing at Columbia University in New York, where she currently lives. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Journal. René enjoys the Metropolitan Opera in her free time.