General Guidelines

• Open to creatives in grades 7 through 12 who live in Allen County, Indiana.

• Entries accepted: October 1 through October 31, 2026

• Entries must be your own work

• Entries should not be previously published

• Poems, short fiction, comics, creative nonfiction, photography, digital art, and illustrations will be accepted.

Entry Guidelines

• Poem – limit one page, 12-point font, 1-inch margins

• Short Fiction – limit 2,000 words, 12-point font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins

• Creative Nonfiction – limit 2,000 words, 12-point font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins

• Sequential Story (Comics) – limit 5 pages

• Photograph – 300 dpi, maximum size 10 MB

• Digital Art or Scanned Art – 300 dpi, maximum size 10 MB

• Entries must be Microsoft Word compatible docs or JPGs

• Up to 3 entries per person

How to Enter

Please submit your entries by using the entry form on this page or by email to programs@acpl.info. Please submit each entry separately.

If emailing, please follow the instructions below.

Use the subject line “2026 Teen Literary Magazine, [Your Last Name]”

In the body of the email, please include your contact information and a short biographical statement.

• Name*
  *Please let us know if you’d like your submission published anonymously.

• Phone Number

• Email address

• Mailing Address

• Age

• Grade

• School

• Title of your work

• Short biography (125 words)

Attach the entry to your email and send to programs@acpl.info.