Pencil & Palette Creative Contest Upload
The Center for Improving Youth Justice hosts an annual creative arts contest for young people. We will accept entries for the 2025 contest from August 18 through September 30, 2025.
Step 1
Review the details of Pencil & Palette to ensure you understand the submission requirements.
Step 2
Invite young people to participate in the contest and let them create their poetry, drawing or short story.
Step 3
Upload the entries and release forms via our upload page. Deadline is September 30th.
Who is eligible?
Any young person who resides in a facility or program that participates in CIYJ's Performance-based Standards program during the time of this contest (Aug. 18 through Sep 30, 2025).
Can our site submit more than one entry?
Yes! We encourage sites to submit as many entries as they would like. In fact, a young person may participate in as many creative categories as they would like.
Which file types can we upload?
You can submit these file types: PDF, DOC, TXT, RTF, JPG, JPEG and PNG.
What is the prize?
The winners will be awarded a $500 Cash Prize for each category they win. The drawing contest winner will be featured on the cover of the CIYJ annual report. The short stories and poems winner will be highlighted in the CIYJ annual report.