My List: A Different Kind of Review Contest

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Even if you don’t recognize the term “curated list,” you probably encounter at least one every day, whether on social media, in the news, via an app or streaming platform, or just in conversation.

Why are these lists so popular? Perhaps because, at a time when we can instantly access music, books, movies and more from nearly any time and place in human history, we have too many choices. We need help cutting through the noise.

The New York Times regularly asks its journalists and critics to create these kinds of guides, whether to introduce readers to what’s new, show us works of art or culture through a specific lens, or focus on excellence.

In this contest, a revamped version of our long-running Student Review Contest, we’re encouraging teenagers to do the same. When we ran it in 2024, nearly 3,000 students rose to the challenge, and our 11 winners offered us lists including five songs for situationships, four teen dramas that defined the 2000’s, three novels that reinvent the classics, and four “middle-seat approved” movies for your next flight.

So use your interests and expertise to become a cultural curator, by creating a list of three to five works on any theme you like and then telling readers why they should — or shouldn’t — check them out.

Take a look at the full guidelines and related resources below. Please post any questions you have in the comments and we’ll answer you there, or write to us at [email protected]. And, consider hanging this PDF one-page announcement on your class bulletin board.

The Challenge

Choose any collection of three to five works of art or culture to group in some way, and then tell us, in 600 words or fewer, why we should — or shouldn’t — check them out.

What does this look like? To get an idea, check out any of the examples we’ve linked to throughout this announcement or check out the 11 winning lists from last year’s contest.

The works you choose must fit into at least one the following categories of creative expression The Times reviews:

— architecture
— art
— books
— comedy
— dance
— fashion
— movies
— music
— podcasts
— restaurants
— technology
— theater
— TV shows
— video games

You can also mix categories if you like. See the F.A.Q. below for details.

Here’s what your list needs to include:

A headline with a clear theme. For example, “Three Novels That Have Great Teenage Characters,” “Four Sci-Fi Movies That Even People Who Hate Sci-Fi Will Love,” or “The Five Worst Fast Food Sandwiches.”

The more specific your headline and theme, the more interesting your piece will likely be. And remember, your angle can be positive — telling readers what they should check out — or negative — telling them what they should avoid.
A brief introduction to frame your collection. Start with a catchy hook, and then explain who this collection is for and why that audience might be interested in it.
Three to five works of art or culture related to your theme, with a short review of each. Your commentary on each work should both tie the work to the theme and express your thoughts and opinions on it as it relates to that theme. As always when making an argument, remember to support your opinions with evidence. Also keep in mind that your piece needs to be appropriate for a general audience who may not have a lot of background on your topic.

A Few Rules

Please read these rules carefully before submitting an entry. You can find more details in the Frequently Asked Questions section below.

Your collection should only cover works that fit into the following categories of creative expression that The New York Times reviews: architecture, art, books, comedy, dance, fashion, movies, music, podcasts, restaurants, technology, theater, TV shows or video games. You can mix categories, however. (More on that below, in the FAQ)
Your piece must be, in total, 600 words or fewer, not including the title.
Whatever works you choose to review, you must experience them for yourself, meaning, if you choose to review a list of books, you should have read them; if you choose to review a list of restaurants, you should have eaten at them; and so on. You should not base your piece on online synopses or reviews. (If you are working with a partner or in a group, at least one member of the team should know the work well.)
You must be a student ages 13 to 19 in middle school or high school to participate, and all students under 18 must have parent or guardian permission to enter. Please see the F.A.Q. section for additional eligibility details.
The work you submit should be fundamentally your own — it should not be plagiarized, written by someone else or generated by artificial intelligence.
Your list should also be original for this contest, meaning, it should not already be published at the time of submission, whether in a school newspaper, for another contest or anywhere else.
Please also keep in mind that The New York Times has a global audience, including many families, so your submission should be appropriate for a broad audience. (For instance, please avoid cursing.)
You may work alone, with a partner or in a group, but you may only submit one entry. All members of the group must be eligible to participate.
You must also submit an informal “artist’s statement” that describes your process. These statements, which will not be used to choose finalists, help us to design and refine our contests. See the F.A.Q. below to learn more.
All entries must be submitted by Feb. 25, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time, using the form at the bottom of this post.

Resources for Teachers and Students

Use these resources to help you write your list:

The 11 winning lists from last year’s contest
A step-by-step guide for participating
A writing prompt to help students brainstorm
This guide from our previous traditional review contest can also help. In it, you’ll find many many free links to Times and student-written criticism; advice from the experts on how to write in a way that is honest, engaging and fair; lesson plans on various review-writing techniques, such as how to express an opinion and address your audience; and much more.

Finally, here is our contest rubric. These are the criteria we will use to judge this contest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions About Writing

Why aren’t you running the traditional review contest anymore? How is this one different?

For nine years, we ran a review contest that invited students to send us their critiques of a book, movie, restaurant, album, theatrical production, video game, dance performance, TV show or art exhibition. To help, we offered extensive resources, including advice from Times critics, mentor texts by professionals and winning students, lesson plans, writing prompts, a webinar and more.

But one of our goals is to keep things fresh — for ourselves and for teachers and students. We look across sections at The Times for inspiration, and we also regularly read a range of other media. When a format is as ubiquitous and offers as many creative possibilities as the curated list, it feels natural to invite teenagers to try it.

But keep in mind that what students are writing are still, essentially, reviews. As in our previous contest, they’ll have to make a compelling case for or against the works they’ll describe, offering evidence to support their opinions.

The chief differences? First, instead of a detailed look at one work, they’ll be offering shorter descriptions of several. Second, they’ll be coming up with a theme for their list that explains their reasons for putting the collection together. This, we hope, will be fun, and since they’re likely already familiar with the format, we hope that for many it will feel more natural to create than a traditional review.

What can and can’t I include in my list?

Since this is a contest about art and culture, we invite you to include anything on your list that fits into the categories of creative expression that The New York Times reviews: architecture, art, books, comedy, dance, fashion, movies, music, podcasts, restaurants, technology, theater, TV shows or video games.

For example, because The Times reviews theater, you could make a list about three stage productions you think your school should put on. Because The Times reviews fashion, you could make a list of sneakers you think are overrated. But because The Times does not review sporting goods, you could not make a list about the five best skateboards. (You may be aware that there is a section called Wirecutter that is part of nytimes.com and offers independent reviews of products, including sporting goods. But that section runs outside of our newsroom and follows different procedures, and for this contest we’re focusing on creative expression.)

Still not sure if what you want to review is acceptable? Post a comment or email us at [email protected].

Can my list contain a mix of different kinds of art or culture, or does it all have to be the same type?

Feel free to mix! For example, during the holidays you’ll often see lists like this that suggest books, movies and music that will put you in a seasonal mood. Similarly, around Valentine’s Day you might see lists of works across categories that celebrate love — or help people survive heartbreak. (For example, here are “20 books, films and songs for when you need a good cry”!)

I’m not sure what to write about. Where should I start?

Here is our step-by-step guide and our related writing prompt. The goal of both is to help you brainstorm many ideas first, then choose one that will be fun for you to write and interesting for a general audience.

Play to your strengths: Are you that person in your friend group who always suggests what to listen to next? Are you the one in your family who is most opinionated about food?

Once you’ve chosen a category, start breaking it down. For instance, you may love fashion in general, but you might be a real expert on a particular brand, style or type of clothing. You could be an avid reader of all kinds of fiction, but psychological thrillers might be your favorite genre. How could you use this expertise to craft a meaningful list that’s also fun to write?

Do I need a Works Cited page?

Our submission form does not allow for a separate Works Cited page for this contest. If you are quoting from another source or referencing someone else’s ideas, you should give appropriate credit in the piece itself.

Here is an example of how to do so from one of our past winning reviews about New York City’s Penn Station:

As Vincent Scully, the late art critic, famously noted, “One entered the city like a god … One scuttles in now like a rat.” That blustery Friday afternoon, it wasn’t too hard to see Mr. Scully’s point.

Many of the lists you link to in The Times also have photos or videos along with them. Can I submit those too?

The short answer: no. This is a writing contest, and while we agree that the photos really make lists like “Best and Worst Moments From the 2025 Golden Globes” shine, you’ll need to both choose a topic that doesn’t depend on images, and make your writing vivid enough not to need them.

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QUESTIONS ABOUT JUDGING

How will my review be judged?

Your work will be read by New York Times journalists as well as by Learning Network staff members and educators from around the United States. We will use this rubric to judge entries.

What’s the prize?

Having your work published on The Learning Network.

When will the winners be announced?

We plan to announce winners by early May 2026.

My piece wasn’t selected as a winner. Can you tell me why?

We typically receive thousands of entries for our contests, so, unfortunately, our team does not have the capacity to provide feedback on individual student essays.

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QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RULES

Why are you asking for an Artist’s Statement about our process? What will you do with it?

All of us who work on The Learning Network are former teachers. One of the many things we miss, now that we work in a newsroom rather than a classroom, is being able to see how students are reacting to our “assignments” in real time — and to offer help, or tweaks, to make those assignments better. We’re asking you to reflect on what you did and why, and what was hard or easy about it, in large part so that we can improve our contests and the curriculum we create to support them.

Another reason? We have heard from many teachers that writing these statements is immensely helpful to students. Stepping back from a piece and trying to put into words what you wanted to express, and why and how you made artistic choices to do that, can help you see your piece anew and figure out how to make it stronger. For our staff, they offer important context that help us understand individual students and submissions, and learn more about the conditions under which kids around the world create.

We won’t be using your statements to choose our finalists, or publishing them alongside the winning work. Instead, they will strictly be for our staff to read. If we later decide to post something about student process using these statements, we will ask for your permission before quoting you. In other words, this is fairly informal; just be yourself and be honest in telling us as much as you can about how you worked and why.

Who is eligible to participate in this contest?

This contest is open to students ages 13 to 19 who are in middle school or high school around the world. College students cannot submit an entry. However, high school students (including high school postgraduate students) who are taking one or more college classes can participate. Students attending their first year of a two-year CEGEP in Quebec Province can also participate. In addition, students ages 19 or under who are not enrolled in college, either because they are taking a gap year or because they are no longer attending school for any reason, can participate.

The children and stepchildren of New York Times employees are not eligible to enter this contest. Nor are students who live in the same household as those employees.

Whom can I contact if I have questions about this contest or am having issues submitting my entry?

Leave a comment on this post or write to us at [email protected].

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QUESTIONS ABOUT TEACHING WITH THIS CONTEST

Why should I have my students participate in this contest?

For one thing, we think this exercise works broadly as a media literacy challenge. In an age of too much information, practicing curation helps students learn to consume critically. It invites them to bring judgment, voice and creativity to the process of choosing, organizing, giving context, citing evidence and making an argument for a collection that matters to them. We hope the process will be not just instructive, but also fun.

But we understand that our challenge may be too open-ended for some curriculums. Instead, you might invite your students to make a subject-specific list by investigating how the topics they’ve studied in your class echo in our culture.

For instance, history students could create lists like “Five Works of Art That Can Teach You About the Renaissance” or “Three Musicals That Bring American History to Life.” STEM students could make lists like “Four Movies that Accurately (or Inaccurately) Illustrate Principles of Physics” or, perhaps inspired by this Times list, “Three Podcasts That Can Help You Appreciate Math.”

One caution, however: If you are assigning a general topic, please let your students choose their own specific themes from within it. Much of the creativity and fun of this contest will lie in coming up with imaginative ways to group items.

So, for instance, if you teach world history, everyone could be assigned to create a list that somehow relates to World War II, but the specifics of how could be left up to the students. (And don’t forget: They can work alone, with a partner, or in small groups — as long as each student submits only one entry.)

What resources do you have to help me teach with this contest?

Start with our step-by-step guide, which can be used by teachers or students. It includes a related writing prompt, links to free Times mentor texts, advice from professional critics, and other resources that can help your students succeed. And, of course, the 11 winning lists from last year’s contest make excellent mentor texts.

Do my students need a New York Times subscription to access these resources?

No.

Students can get free access to Times pieces through The Learning Network. All the activities for students on our site, including mentor texts and writing prompts, plus the Times articles they link to, are free. Students can search for articles using the search tool on our home page.

However, if you are interested in learning more about school subscriptions, visit this page.

How do my students prove to me that they entered this contest?

After they press “Submit” on the form below, they will see a “Thank you for your submission.” line appear. They can take a screenshot of this message.