Q&A - How have your opinions on the genres changed since joining Polyphony?
By Hannah Ramsey, Nithya Ramcharan, and Anika Mukker Hannah Ramsey: When I first signed up to be a staff member for the magazine, I had...
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Claudia Ann Seaman Award
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- Apr 9, 2021
- 6 min
Seven Reasons Why Writing Listicles Are Stupid
By Giancarlo Riccobon Hands-down, a literary listicle is the laziest, most derivative, most cynical thing that a web publication can...
- Feb 10, 2021
- 2 min
Q&A - How important are writing programs to an author/editor's abilities?
By Brooke Nind and Melanie Van Peenen Brooke Nind Writing programs are a wonderful experience and an opportunity for young writers to...
- Feb 10, 2021
- 4 min
Tips for Writing Short Pieces
By Ishita Shah, Kate-Yeonjae Jeong You've just finished a masterpiece. One that will be remembered for the next millennia to come; that...
- Oct 31, 2020
- 4 min
Q&A - What has your greatest struggle with editing been?
By Brooke Nind, Anika Mukker, Eva Zheng and Daniel Boyko Brooke Nind My greatest struggle with editing has been crafting general...
- Oct 31, 2020
- 7 min
Writing Prompts and How to Best Use Them
By Ishita Shah, Manal Nadeem, and Kyra Chiller I’ll go out on a limb here and predict that your creative process is anything but linear....
- Sep 30, 2020
- 6 min
Genre Editor Q&A
By Pauline Paranikas, Daniel Boyko, Danielle Sherman, and Lara Katz We recently received the following questions from a writer: What...
- Sep 30, 2020
- 8 min
Writing Three-Dimensional Characters
By Ishita Shah, Julia Zacharski, Suhanee Mitragotri, and Pelumi Sholagbade Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the human species is...
- Sep 1, 2020
- 3 min
Poet Misreads Instructions; Accidentally Submits Piece Containing Only Personally Identifying Inform
By Yong-Yu Huang, Eva Zheng, and Neeraja Kumar WARNING: This piece is a work of fiction. Please do not include identifying information if...
- Sep 1, 2020
- 8 min
Writing To Make a Difference
By Alex Baker, Shelly Bhagat, Daniel Boyko, and Anika Mukker Alex Baker: How many of you out there know the feeling of writing something...
- Sep 1, 2020
- 4 min
Q&A - What do you do to inspire/overcome writer’s block?
By Kate-Yeonjae Jeong, Brooke Nind, Grace Zhang, Shelly Bhagat, and Daniel Boyko Kate-Yeonjae Jeong: As a writer, there always comes a...
- Jul 29, 2020
- 8 min
Getting Published as a Teen Part One
By Ishita Shah, Lara Katz, Daniel Boyko, and Zoha Arif Sometimes I have a feeling that the geniuses who birthed the English language got...
- Jul 29, 2020
- 7 min
Editing a Piece in a Style/Genre You're Unfamiliar With
By Hannah Ramsey, Daniel Boyko, Kate Jeong, and Suhanee Mitragotri Introduction Billy Lombardo has forwarded you the submission "xxx” by...
- Jun 29, 2020
- 7 min
Focus! Keeping Writing Focused
By Zoha Arif I have some exotic, discombobulating thoughts when I’m brushing my teeth. Some mornings, I’ll be applying a generous swab of...
- Jun 29, 2020
- 4 min
Q&A - What's your favorite line you've ever written?
By Giancarlo Riccobon, Daniel Boyko, and Yong-Yu Huang Giancarlo Riccobon My favorite line comes from the first draft of a short story...
- Jun 9, 2020
- 5 min
Poet Submits Piece Containing Every Literary Device
By Zoha Arif They say that Einstein birthed the theory of relativity in the mystic dungeon of a Swiss Patent Office. They say that Isaac...
- Apr 28, 2020
- 6 min
The Nature of Editorial Feedback
By Anya Chabria and Daniel Boyko If you work for Polyphony Lit, you’re more than familiar with this message from Billy: “With Polyphony...
- Apr 28, 2020
- 5 min
Avoiding Clichés
By Daniel Boyko and Maya Nalawade Ignorance is bliss. Better safe than sorry. Play your cards right. A fish out of water. What do all of...
- Mar 26, 2020
- 3 min
Formatting Commentary Is Like Making a Mug… No, Seriously
By Pauline Paranikas and Yong-Yu Huang Polyphony commentary is almost like a clay mug. There are many different styles and ways to make...
- Feb 1, 2019
- 10 min
Teenage Philosophizing
By Alex Jones and Adil Alvi Advice on avoiding condescension, getting in the reader’s head, and helping young thinkers produce their...
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