SUBMIT YOUR WORK

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

#TeenWritersProject accepts submissions of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays, memoirs, short plays, and photo essays. All submissions must be in English and previously unpublished in print or online.

Submissions are accepted year-round and published in the Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. All genres are welcome, and you can submit with or without an agent, from anywhere in the world, and as often as you wish, to multiple genres. Selected contributors are published and paid. Please submit all works separately.

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1. ACCEPTABLE GENRES

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Prose, Poetry & Art

Whether you are a new writer or a novice, unpublished or previously published, we want to hear from you!

• We do not accept simultaneous submissions. Work must be your own and not previously submitted for publication elsewhere.

• All submissions of writing and artwork will be seriously evaluated and considered for publication.

• We do not have deadlines. We accept submissions year-round, but the cutoff for each issue is at least one month before publication.

• You must be 14 to 19 years old in order for your work to be published in The #TWP Quarterly or in Ctrl+Z Teens.

• Please do not send requests for book reviews unless you are a previous contributor, some of the work in the book was originally published with us, and/or the book is scheduled for release within three months or has just been released.

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Journalism

#TeenWritersProject is always looking for new contributors! If you can write something smart, funny, interesting, or provocative in literary, narrative, art, cultural, and social journalism, we want to hear from you! All submissions must be in English and previously unpublished in print or online.

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How to Pitch to #TWP

• Submit completed stories on our submissions form. (You may be asked to revise or further develop the story with guidance from our managing editor.)

• When we put out calls for submissions on certain themes or topics, submit completed stories through our submissions form.

• If you are invited to write or develop a story based on a topic discussed at one of our Listening Labs, submit the completed story through our submissions form.

• If you'd like to write for us but don't have a story idea yet, select "Request a Writing Assignment" on the submissions form. We'll match you with a story based on our current editorial needs. 

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2. WORD COUNT, ART, AND SUCH

We strongly recommend that you stay within our length limits (exceptions are occasionally possible, but pieces that go past our word count will have a much harder time getting accepted).

• Prose (fiction and nonfiction): 1 piece per writer (not to exceed 2,000 words each)

• Poetry: 1-5 poems (please group your poems into one document containing no more than 5 poems)

• Drama: 5-minute, One-Act play (not to exceed 750-1,000 words)

• Art: 1-3 pieces per issue (please group your artwork into one document containing no more than 3 pieces)

• Journalism: Reviews (150-200 words), Listicles (250-500 words), Articles (600-800 words), Features (900-1,800 words)

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3. FILE TYPES, FONTS, AND FORMATTING

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File Types

• Writing: doc, docx, Google Docs (pdfs, images, notes, etc. will not be accepted for written material)

• Artwork: png, jpg

• Photography: png, jpg

Absolutely no screenshots.

Font Size and Types

• 12 pt. font only

• ​Open Sans (Times New Roman and Arial acceptable) (These are the only acceptable font types. Others may cause your work to not be considered for publication.)

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Spacing

• Double-spaced for prose, essays, and articles.

• Poetry may retain the author's intended spacing and line breaks.

• 1 in margins on all sides.

• Left-aligned, not justified, centered, or right-aligned (see above for poetry)

Other Formatting

• The title must be at the top of the submission.

• Page numbers required for submissions longer than one page.

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4. LANGUAGE, ETC.

Profanity

Allowed but not encouraged. Excessive profanity will be rejected.
 

Themes

All themes allowed including sexual assault, domestic violence, drug abuse and suicide as long as they are not romanticized. Works that are racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, audist, hateful or riddled with -isms and -phobias will not be published, unless transformative, but can be censored if excessive or ill-intentioned.

Explicit Content: 

Allowed (think romance, coming of age, first kisses, etc.), but we will not publish works that are overly sexual (erotic, pornographic, explicit descriptions of rape, beastiality, necrophilia), excessively violent, or unnecessarily gory.

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5. TIMING

Here’s a quick overview of our submission process:

• Once you submit, your work goes into our review queue.

• We read all submissions and selects pieces for publication.

• If your piece is selected, you’ll receive an email with next steps, including light edits and revisions.

• We work collaboratively—editors give feedback, and you have a chance to revise before anything is finalized.

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The review process can take up to eight (8) weeks, sometimes longer, depending on submission volume. We appreciate your patience, and we’re excited you submitted! We will contact you once a decision has been reached to let you know if your piece was accepted or rejected. Please do not email us inquiring about acceptance. You will know whether or not your piece was accepted.

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6. RIGHTS

• All works remain the intellectual property of their respective authors and artists.

• The #TWP Quarterly Lit Zine acquires First World Serial Rights, which means we have the right to be the first to publish the work in print and digital formats worldwide. After publication, all rights revert to the author.

• We also acquire Electronic Rights (E-Rights) to publish and archive the work on our website and in digital editions of the magazine.

• We acquire Non-Exclusive Anthology Rights, which allows us to republish the work in future anthologies or collections of works from The #TWP Quarterly Lit Zine.

• Second Serial Rights (Reprint Rights) apply to works that have been previously published elsewhere. By submitting previously published work, the author grants The #TWP Quarterly Lit Zine permission to republish the work in print and digital formats.

• The editors reserve the right to decline or withdraw any submission at any time.

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7. FINE PRINT

• #TeenWritersProject is a nonpartisan organization. The publishing of certain topics does not equal our endorsement of any ideas, and while we do research writers before publishing, we are not responsible for their views or opinions, and our views and opinions are our own and not influenced by any parties or entities.

• #TeenWritersProject does not align with any political party, and will never publish information or content about any known or covert hate groups.

• Plagiarism. #TeenWritersProject has a no-tolerance policy for plagiarism. The originality of all published work is confirmed through WriteCheck.

• AI must not be used in the creation of submitted work. (You are encouraged to attend one of our workshops on "How to Use AI Responsibly as a Writer.") All content is subject to editing and/or rewrites, and if factual information is found to be erred after publication, we will publish a statement of retraction.