Frequently Asked Questions

What is the submissions deadline? April 15, 2011!

How will I know that my submission has been received?
You will be automatically notified by Polyphony H.S. Submission Manager that your submission has been received.

How soon can I expect to hear about my submission?
We will do our best to respond to your submission in 4-6 weeks. Out of respect for our writers, we will do all we can to minimize response time. Please be patient. It is our goal to make sure each submission gets a good read. Please ensure that you set your e-mail spam filter to allow mail from Polyphony HS, otherwise notification regarding your submission may be marked as junk mail.

Should I torment you with phone calls and emails to find out if you’ve received my submission?
No, you should not. We love getting submissions. We promise to read, edit, and comment on every one of them. We are dying to find beautiful gems made of the written word. The beauty of the Polyphony H.S. Submission Manager is that you will be able to check the status of your submission at any time by going to our login page.

If my submission is accepted, will it be accepted exactly as it is written by me?
Possibly. It has happened before. However, most pieces go through what we call an in-house editing process. Select members of our national editorial staff make editorial suggestions based on the comments of our first and second readers.

Do I have to accept the in-house edit?
No. This is an important part of our mission. We make suggestions and work with the author until we reach a final decision, subject to authorial approval. If you like a line, a word, a phrase, and you have a compelling reason to keep it, fight for it. We’ll listen. So far, we have reached consensus on every piece we’ve accepted for publication. If we like a piece enough, we’ll make it work.

Does Polyphony HS accept previously published material?
We cannot consider anything that has been previously published in a national magazine. If we accept your poem, story, or work of creative nonfiction for publication, you must let us know about its previous publication history. We do consider simultaneous submissions.

How do I submit my work to Polyphony H.S.?
We now have an online system for you to send us your work. It will securely send our editors your work and email you a confirmation that it has been received. To use the automated system, you need to have a Polyphony HS account.

I just wrote a brilliant first draft that I’m extremely pleased with. Can I submit it?
Please don’t do that. The only published writers who say they don’t revise are liars. What file types can I submit? Please submit files in one of the following formats only:
Word document (.doc) files
Rich Text Format (.rtf) files

Can I submit an piece that was written for an assignment for a class?
Of course. Just make sure it stands on its own as a piece of literature.

How many files may I submit at a time?
Please note that submissions are limited to three files. No author can submit a total of more than three pieces (poems, stories, or works of creative nonfiction) at a time. Once an action has been taken on a submission (rejection or acceptance), another piece can be submitted to take its place.

When can I submit to Polyphony H.S.?
We accept submissions from July 1 to April 15 of the volume year.  With the start of vol. VI, we have designated March 15 as the annual early deadline. Creative work that is submitted by March 15 will receive coments from three readers/editors, and pieces submitted between March 16 and the late deadline (April 15) will be responded to by three readers/editors.

Do you still accept standard mail submissions?
Nope.

I don’t have a title for my poem (or story, or work of creative nonfiction). May I still submit it?
You’ll need a title to submit it on Polyphony H.S.’s Submission Manager. Find one you can live with for the purposes of submission. If we accept it for publication, you’ll have time before we go to press to come up with a title you’re happy with.

Can I submit something anonymously?
Nope.

Do you have a mailing address so that I can send you money to make sure that Polyphony H.S. will always be serving the needs of young writers?
Yes. Excellent question. Our mailing address is:

Polyphony HS
c/o Educational Endeavors
1535 N. Dayton Street
Chicago, IL 60642