I am considering submitting a short story or essay to your magazine, but before I do I would like to know how strict the word count is. Can a piece over 2,500 words be published? What is the maximum length for a short story or essay?

I was also wondering when the editors choose the winners of the yearly contests. If I submit something at the end of May, will it be considered for the 2013-14 contest or the 2014-15 contest?


Editor's response: We rarely publish essays and short stories that exceed 2,000 words (about a page in our magazine). Often we will edit down a submission that we like to make it fit. However, like many rules in life, there are exceptions (“The Apathetic Galaxy” in the Summer 2014 issue is 3,651 words long).

Contest winners are announced at the end of the school year – right around now. You can find the 2014 Educator of the Year winners in the Summer 2014 issue. All contest ­winners are notified by mail, and a full list will be posted at www.teenink.com/Contests/Winners1314. Submissions received at the end of a school year will be considered for the following year's contest.