top of page
World Map Blank.jpg

About

Polyphony Lit

Polyphony Lit is the global online literary platform for high school students. We invite high school students worldwide to submit creative writing, join our editorial staff, write blog posts, take workshops, and grow into leadership roles. Because developing young writers is central to our mission, our editors provide feedback on every submission.

We offer three awards for excellence in writing through the Claudia Ann Seaman Awards for Young Writers, one each in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, and the student editors publish an online magazine featuring their favorite pieces from each genre. 

Since our founding in 2004, we've received submissions from students in 87 countries and 52 U.S. states / territories. Our student editors have given feedback to every submission, over 21,000 and counting!

View our 2024 Impact Report

Polyphony Lit is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (2008), incorporated in the State of Illinois.

Editorial Philosophy

In the service of our Mission and Beliefs, we ask our editors to adopt the Polyphony Lit philosophy, which aims to be both encouraging and constructive to emerging writers. We ask our editors to:

  • Believe each writer's words are valuable.

  • Be committed to one aim: helping the author write the best poem, story, or essay they can write.

  • Avoid a cookie-cutter approach to reading for acquisition (editing with an eye toward publication). Our student editors hail from all over the world and represent a variety of cultures and literary tastes which help us create a magazine that we hope will be reflective of the world at large.

  • Give clear and specific feedback about a work's strengths and areas for improvement.

  • Strive to find successes buried in the work of all writers, regardless of their level of experience.

  • Constantly work to acquire more knowledge of literary devices, narrative elements, and poetry forms, which are tools to skillfully encourage richness and clarity.

  • Learn to recognize devices and techniques that make good writing.

Yang_Cecilia_CantBreathe.JPG
Apart.jpg

Editorial Process

The Polyphony Lit Editorial Staff, comprised of volunteer high school students from all over the world, provides editorial feedback to every submission, excluding seasonal contest entries, and decides which pieces are accepted for publication in our triannual online and print publications. Each piece is read and commented on by two Junior Editors and one Senior Editor. The final decision on publication is made by an Executive Editor, Genre-Managing Editor, or Editor-in-Chief. At the conclusion of the editing cycle, editorial comments are compiled and sent directly to the submitter. Since we seek to provide editorial training for young writers, our editors also receive feedback on their commentary from other editors.

 

Response time may vary, depending on the size and availability of our volunteer staff, but we are always searching for ways to streamline the process.

World Map Blank.jpg

Junior

Editors

  • Are first to read poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction submissions.

  • Write specific and general comments about the piece and then recommend "accept" or "decline."

  • Receive feedback on their commentary from other editors as the piece advances along the editorial pipeline.

  • Sometimes serve as readers for Polyphony Lit's seasonal contests.

Meet 

Our Team

Staff

dgheadshotbyb_edited.jpg

david galloway

Director ejecutivo

Julian 0.png

Julián Ricobon

Director general

Shawnprofile9.jpg

shawn hombre de agua

Gerente de Operaciones

IMG_3440 - Anshi Purohit.jpeg

Anshi Purohit

Social Media & Outreach Manager

Headshot.JPG

Chelsea Zhu

Assistant Manager

Nina Ballerstedt.JPG

Nina Ballerstedt

Teaching Assistant

Sosena Audain_edited_edited_edited.jpg

Sosena Audain

Teaching Assistant

Emilie Guan Headshot Photo.jpg
IMG_8625.jpg
Ava Chen Headshot Photo.jpg

Emilie Guan

Teaching Assistant

Vaidehi Ghotkar

Teaching Assistant

Ava Chen

Teaching Assistant

Fundador

billy lombardo

Editor administrativo 

2004 - 2020

Arte de portada y sitio web

 

Los collages de dibujos de Tony Fitzpatrick, artista, poeta y actor, adornaron las portadas de Polyphony HS durante nueve años y se destacan en todo nuestro sitio web. Tony Fitzpatrick es un artista de Chicago mejor conocido por sus collages multimedia, grabados, pinturas y dibujos. El trabajo de Fitzpatrick está inspirado en la cultura callejera de Chicago, las ciudades a las que ha viajado, los libros para niños, los diseños de tatuajes y el arte popular. Fitzpatrick es autor o ilustrador de ocho libros de arte y poesía y, durante los últimos dos años, ha escrito una columna para elCiudad Nueva. El arte de Fitzpatrick aparece en el Museo de Arte Moderno de la ciudad de Nueva York, el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Chicago y el Museo Nacional de Arte Americano en Washington, DC. El álbum Yellow Moon de los hermanos Neville y los álbumes El Corazón y The Revolution Starts Now de Steve Earle también cuentan con el arte de Fitzpatrick. En 1992, Fitzpatrick abrió un estudio de grabado en Chicago, Big Cat Press, que existe hoy como el espacio de exhibición de artistas Firecats Projects. Antes de ganarse la vida como artista, Fitzpatrick trabajó como locutor de radio, cantinero, boxeador, trabajador de la construcción y actor de cine y teatro. Para obtener más información, visite www.tonyfitzpatrick.com

Estudiantes en prácticas

Somos una organización dirigida por estudiantes. Además del trabajo editorial, los estudiantes en prácticas trabajan en diseño web, tareas administrativas, marketing y redes sociales, planificación de eventos y más. Las solicitudes para pasantías de verano se abrirán cada mes de abril.

bluebird.png
bluebird_edited.png

About Us Page Art by Julian Riccobon, Yuchen Shi, Maggie Yang, Faith Zhang, Cecilia Yang, Austin Liu, and Tony Fitzpatrick.

"Strangling Blue" by Maggie Yang was previously published in The Adroit Journal, Issue 42.

bottom of page