Submissions are invited for The Claudia Ann Seaman Awards for Young Writers. Submit your entries by Sep 30, 2023, and win exciting prizes!
About Polyphony Lit
Polyphony Lit is the global online literary platform for high school students. They invite high school students worldwide to submit creative writing, join their editorial staff, write blog posts, take workshops, and grow into leadership roles.
Because developing young writers is central to their mission, their editors provide feedback on every submission.
About The Claudia Ann Seaman Awards
Members of Polyphony Lit’s editorial staff will read and comment on submissions to the Seaman Award for Young Writers with the goal of nurturing the writing community, connecting young writers and editors, and enabling young writers to reach a wider audience.
Their hope is that participants will better understand the impact their writing has on readers and that the close scrutiny of editors will help writers perceive greater possibilities in their work. The winners of the awards are selected from the print volume of Polyphony Lit by published authors in each genre and are announced with the publication of each issue.
The Claudia Ann Seaman Awards for Young Writers
The Claudia Ann Seaman Awards for Young Writers were created by the Seaman family in memory of their daughter and sister, a young poet. The CAS Award acknowledges excellence in teen writing in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
Nominees are selected each year by their editorial staff from the works that have been accepted for publication. A distinguished panel of professionally published authors choose one winner each in poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction, to receive a $200 (approx. Rs. 16k+) cash award. Two honourable mentions are also selected in each genre category.
Call for Submissions
Polyphony Lit invites submissions of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction from high school students (aged 14-18) worldwide. Students may submit for publication in their annual volume, and/or their annual writing contests.
Submission Schedule
Submissions for Volume 19 are open on the following schedule:
- Reading Period 1: July 1 – September 30, 2023 (capped at 200 submissions).
- Reading Period 2: November 1, 2021 – January 31, 2024 (capped at 200 submissions).
- Reading Period 3: March 1 – April 30, 2024 (capped at 200 submissions).
Please note that some reading periods may close early if they reach their submission cap, so they recommend submitting early during the reading period.
The submission window for July 2023 – September 2023 may close before the end of September, so they recommend submitting early to ensure your work is considered.
Student Editors Read Every Submission
They have a staff of more than 150 high school students from around the world, all of whom have successfully completed their literary editing training program.
Editorial Philosophy
It is their privilege to read every submission they receive. They relish the opportunity to participate in this personal and essential journey of the human voice. They strive to build respectful, mutually beneficial writer-editor relationships. They honour literary achievement by bringing attention to excellence through awards and publishing much of the extraordinary work they receive.
Why Submit?
Anytime you submit, your work will be evaluated for publication in their magazine and, if published, it will be eligible for the Claudia Ann Seaman Young Writers Award.
Submission Calendar
Due to the high submission volume, they manage their reading periods to match their editorial capacity. They have six windows during the 2021/22 submission period. To verify a reading period is still open, visit their submissions page on Submittable.
For Volume 19
Submissions during these times:
- will receive in-depth editorial feedback from their editors.
- will be evaluated for publication in their annual volume.
- are eligible for the Claudia Ann Seaman Awards.
- Submissions are free.
Contests
- Submissions during these contest reading periods are read by editors but do not receive feedback unless they are selected as a finalist.
- Submissions cost $5.00 (approx. Rs. 400) each for the Fall, Winter, and Summer Contests.
- Submissions are free for Latin Heritage Month, Black History Month, and Pride Month Contests
- Winners are:
- awarded the Polyphony Lit Writing Award (no cash value).
- published in our annual volume.
- offered a full scholarship for Polyphony’s editor training course.
- eligible for the Claudia Ann Seaman Awards.
Current Deadline
The deadline for the first reading period is September 30, 2023.
How to Submit Entries?
To submit your entries, click here.
Click here to read the official guidelines of The Claudia Ann Seaman Awards for Young Writers by Polyphony Lit [Prizes of Rs. 16k+ & Online Publications].
Image taken from here.
