All writing submissions must include:

• A cover letter that includes the writer’s name at the top followed by the titles of all pieces submitted underneath. Include a brief biography, the name of your current school and a sponsoring teacher’s name and email address.
• The writer’s pieces may begin on the next page. Have the title of each piece bolded in the upper left hand corner on the first page of each piece. Do not include your name on the document, as all submissions go through a blind reading process by our staff.

If an email submission, also include:

• The subject of the email must say the writer’s full name and then “Submission for Élan.” (For example: Sara Rodgers Submission for Élan).
• In the body of the email, please include the writer’s full name, age, email, school, city, home address followed by the titles of each piece they are submitting and the genres of the pieces.
  All cover letters and submissions must be attached to the email as a word document. The title of the document needs to be the writer’s name only.

Formatting:

• Always use Times New Roman, 12pt font. Screenplays may use Courier or Courier New.
• Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction and Screen and Play pieces should always be double-spaced.
• If submitting poetry, you may single space. Only one poem per page.

Please refer to the following guidelines for each genre to submit your work:

Poetry

Poems can be any length and style, single-spaced.

Fiction

Micro-fiction, short-stories and excerpts of larger stories up to 5,000 words are acceptable. Pieces over 1,200 words must have a marked excerpt. All excerpted submissions should include the full manuscript with selected portion clearly marked. If a piece is selected and over 1,200 words, only the excerpted portion will receive publication.

Creative Nonfiction

Essays up to 3,000 words may be submitted with excerpt, 1,200 words or under, clearly noted. As with fiction, if a piece is selected and over 1,200 words, the excerpted section is the only portion that will receive publication.

Plays and Screenplays

Submit full manuscripts with potential excerpts clearly noted. Pieces over 1,200 words must have a marked excerpt. All excerpted submissions should include the full manuscript with the selected portion clearly marked. If a piece is selected and over 1,200 words, only the excerpted portion will receive publication.

Celtx.com is a great, free service and we would prefer for all screenplays to be formatted through Celtx, as long as one is able. Plays can also be formatted through this service. If you are unable to use the service, your screenplay must still match its formatting.

We look for fresh, diverse, and emotional art work which seeks to tell a story. Take a look at our recent issues to see the kind of work we are publishing. When submitting your art, please take the time to create a meaningful title – we take your art very seriously.

If emailing:

• The subject line should read “(Full Name) Art Submission” – example, “Sara Rodgers Art Submission.”
• In the body, please include the artist’s name, age, primary email, school, city, and home address, followed by the titles and the medium (ie, painting, drawing, print, etc.) of each piece being submitted.
• Name each art file “Piece Title (Full Name)” – example, “Water (Sara Rodgers).”
• Submit the highest resolution quality format that can be sent as an attachment – 300 dpi or higher. If your art does not meet the dpi requirement, there is no guarantee your art can be published.

If mailing:
Send copies of work on disc with JPEG files no smaller than 300 dpi (1 MB or higher). Flash drives are also acceptable, but cannot be returned.