The Beijing Youth Literary Review (BYLR) is looking for submissions for their second edition, to be published near the end of June, with the theme “Pockets.”
Students ages 14-19 are encouraged to send their poems, stories or art submissions in English or Chinese (or both!) by May 15 at midnight.
Benefits for submitting work include feedback on request, even if the work is not published, selected pieces being published in print, the opportunity for public reading, and entry into the prize drawing for the first annual Beijing Youth Writers Award at the end of the year.
Submissions do have loose guidelines, including a word count limit for flash fiction and short stories, and a total page limit for the maximum allowance of five poems.
Five pieces of visual and graphic art, and/or photography, may include a 50 word artist’s statement.
All submissions require a biographical statement of 50 words or less in the “I am…” format.
Turn in your submission here.
We reached out to Simon Shieh, one of the editors of the publication, to ask what the current concept was and how it deviated from the first edition.
“In the first edition, “Maps,” we invited contributors to share with us their places, topographies, locations, directions, etc. Now, with “Pockets,” we want contributors to dig deeper and give us intimate expressions of themselves, their secrets, and those things, ideas, and people that they hold closest to themselves,” Shieh explained.
We were impressed to hear that over 80 young people submitted their work to the first issue of BYLR.
“While I expect many of those same contributors to submit work again for the second issue, I also expect students from a wider variety of schools to submit. We hope that students will not only see the practical benefits (like IB CAS requirements, college applications, CV’s, etc.) but also the personal benefits of seeing their work published alongside that of other writers and becoming part of a larger creative community that extends beyond their own school,” Shieh commented.
If you’re a teacher who wants to get involved, Shieh has created a group for Literature and Creative Writing teachers where they share activities for creative writing, as well as BYLR news and events. To join, just send them an email at the address below.
As for parents, Shieh said, “Parents are always welcome to our events as well, and can encourage their kids to submit, because sometimes they need a little nudge.”
To connect with the crew at BYLR for general inquiries, reach out to them at info@beijingyouthlit.com, or check out their website at beijingyouthlit.com. Additionally, you can follow them on their official WeChat account (ID: BYLR北京青少年文学).
Photos: Beijing Youth Literary Review