On Wednesday, June 11, 2025, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards celebrated national student medalists of the 102nd Awards at the National Ceremony held at the storied Carnegie Hall in New York City. Take a look at photos and a highlight reel from the evening!
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Honors 2025 Teen Medalists at Carnegie Hall in NYC
Below, author and Alumni Achievement Award recipient Audrey Niffenegger, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers Chris Wisniewski, Chair of the Board, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and President, Scholastic Entertainment, Iole Lucchese, President and CEO of Scholastic Peter Warwick, Chair of the Board of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers Olivia Morgan, and actors Amy Ryan and Anthony Edwards pose backstage at the 2025 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall:
In the below photo, actors Amy Ryan and Anthony Edwards opened the ceremony at Carnegie Hall by performing excerpts from a selection of Scholastic Award-winning teen writing:
Below, the 2025 Gold Medal Portfolio Award recipients—the program’s highest honor, accompanied by $12,500 cash awards—take their bow on stage at Carnegie Hall:
In the below photo, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, himself a Scholastic Art & Writing Award alumnus, delivers inspiring remarks to the 2025 national teen medalists:
Capping off the ceremony, in the below photo actor and comedian Tracy Morgan made a special appearance to address the teen medalists and honor them for their incredible achievements:
Photos by Jason DeCrow /AP Images for Alliance for Young Artists & Writers
In her Alumni Achievement Award acceptance speech, best-selling author Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler's Wife) thanked the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for giving her confidence at the very beginning of her career, and shared her hope for the 2025 national teen medalists, stating, “this is what I hope for you: that you will have a life of making art, a life of ideas, and that your time will be yours to create your own glorious worlds.”
Check out highlights from the night's celebration, including more inspiring words from the evening's speakers, below: