Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival
Brave New Voices is an annual international youth poetry slam festival founded and produced by Youth Speaks, a San Francisco spoken-word organization. Teen poetry teams from across the world compete in spoken-word slam rounds alongside workshops and community events; the 2026 festival (its 29th year) will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area in July.
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San Francisco Shakespeare Festival - Upstart Crows
An audition-required summer teen intensive at San Francisco Shakespeare Festival for actors ages 14-18 with prior acting experience, focused on Shakespearean text, voice, and movement work, culminating in a performance; need-based scholarships are available.
Tri-Valley Writers High School Writing Contest
The California Writers Club Tri-Valley Branch hosts an annual writing contest for students attending high schools in Danville, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and San Ramon (East Bay, CA). Students submit up to two original pieces in poetry, nonfiction, or short story categories; branch members judge entries, and winners receive cash prizes and read their work at a public awards ceremony.
Writopia Lab - San Francisco Bay Area
Writopia Lab's Bay Area chapter runs writing workshops out of hubs in Oakland and San Francisco, offering high schoolers trimester-long weekly workshops, school-break and summer intensives, and private sessions across fiction, memoir, poetry, and playwriting. Students can submit work through Writopia's affiliated competitions, including the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards regional partnership and the Worldwide Plays Festival.
Building Young Entrepreneurs (B.Y.E.)
A Silicon Valley Center for Entrepreneurial Development initiative that equips African American youth in Silicon Valley with entrepreneurship skills, guiding participants from idea generation through researching, developing, and pitching a business for startup investment funding.
CATE Creative Writing Student Showcase
The California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) runs an annual statewide creative writing showcase inviting California students, including high schoolers, to submit poetry, short stories, or essays responding to an annual prompt. Local CATE council divisions select top entries, which are published on the CATE website; the 2026 prompt is 'Preserving Narratives, Amplifying Perspectives,' exploring AI and human voice.
Contra Costa Ballet Summer Intensive
A 2-4 week ballet summer intensive for dancers ages 8-18 at Contra Costa Ballet Centre in Walnut Creek, requiring in-person or video audition for ages 9+, with daily technique, pointe, jazz, character, and repertoire training for intermediate/advanced levels.