TBPO Writers’ Guidelines

The Blue Pencil Online publishes the work of writers ages 12 to 18 from around the world, with the intention of showcasing the best and full scope of teen writing.

The Blue Pencil Online seeks:

♦ Narrative fiction of up to 5000 words

♦ Both free and measured verse of any length (limit = 3)

♦ Monologues, scenes, and one-act plays

♦ Essays (humorous, personal, miscellaneous) and interviews of up to 2500 words

♦ Translations into English (with original foreign-language text)

♦ Audio recordings of interviews and of readings of literary texts (up to 30 minutes) for Out Loud!

♦ Submissions to Pencil Shavings, The Draft Board, and A Good Read (please visit these features to learn more).

We encourage submitting writers to read print editions of The Blue Pencil, available here, and pieces from our growing online archive to get a sense of what we have published.

Submission Formats

All text submissions must be in black, 12-point type, Times New Roman font.  Prose should be double-spaced. Verse may be single-spaced or double-spaced.  Plays should follow the standard play formatting exemplified here. All text submissions must have page numbers and a title.

All submissions must be uploaded through The Blue Pencil Online submission manager. All text submissions must be either Microsoft Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) files. (Please be aware that our system cannot accept submissions with the “.docx” suffix; such submissions will not be considered.)

Submissions to Pencil Shavings should use  the editors’ specific given topic as a title (”Baldness”). Please note that the editors are unable to respond to every Pencil Shavings submission; visit the site to see the Shavings that have been selected.

All audio submissions for Out Loud! must be in “mp3″ format. There are two steps for submitting an audio piece:

(1) Submit the mp3 file through the submission manager.

(2) E-mail a text copy of the piece you’ve performed to the editors at thebluepencil@walnuthillarts.org, and be sure to type “Out Loud Submission Text” in the subject line.  In the body of the e-mail message include your hometown, your school, your grade, and your telephone number. Please note that we cannot review work that is submitted without this information.

Restrictions & Policies

Writers who are between the ages of 12 and 18 and who have not yet graduated from high school are eligible for publication in The Blue Pencil Online.

For prose, verse, and playwriting submissions: Writers may submit two pieces of different genres for consideration at any one time—for instance, a short story and a play, or verse (a verse submission may include up to 3 poems) and an essay. Due to the volume of submissions, we ask that you do not send further submissions until we have responded. There are currently no restrictions on submissions to A Good Read, The Draft Board, Out Loud!, or Pencil Shavings.

Note to submitters of verse: If submitting more than one piece of verse, please send all pieces in a single document. (See the TBPO Submission Manager for further instructions.)

We try to respond to all writers within a month of their submission. If you haven’t heard from us within a month and you have concerns, feel free to send an inquiry to thebluepencil@walnuthillarts.org. Should your piece be accepted at another magazine during the time it takes us to respond to you, please let us know right away. Rejections are final.

All work submitted through the TBPO Submission Manager is read “blind.” A writer’s name should not appear on any page of his or her work. Contact and identifying information is gathered through the online submission process. There is no submission fee. For information about editorial procedures, please consult our FAQ page.

Reading Period

Submissions to The Blue Pencil Online are read throughout the school year (October through May) and are suspended during the summer months.

Should you have any further questions, please check our FAQ page. Thank you for your interest. We look forward to reading your work!