I think I remember reading somewhere on the website that finalists will find out in December.
I ended up sending in my pieces for the creative non-fiction category on Thursday night. One piece, I thought, was really good, but the one I started the weekend before the deadline was kind of bad. The idea seemed awesome in my head, but when I got my thoughts onto the paper, I realized that my piece wasn’t good. Fingers crossed anyway!
I wanted to enter in the photography category at first, but then I realized that I only had eight good photos, and the requirement was ten.
tfw it’s 2 AM EST and i just submitted my poetry porfolio… time to work on prose lmao
(still ahead of that sunday 8 PM curve tho)
Also, for poetry, did anyone else forget to include a page number? I forgot to include one for one of my poems, but included it in my other 3 poems. All my poems are just 1 page anyway. I really hope that doesn’t affect my application… I emailed YA though just in case. I can’t imagine one tiny detail really negatively affecting my app but who knows how strict they are on page numbers, especially for poetry? (I feel like for prose or nonfiction page numbers matter more, as they are stories with multiple pages…)
@shadyconcepts woah I just submitted for poetry about five minutes ago too - then immediately realized I didn’t include page numbers on any of my poems. 
my poems are also just a page long as well, so hopefully it won’t matter (much)?
@lumiere16 yep, i’m thinking a lot of poets probably forgot page numbers because their poems aren’t that long/only a page… it probably doesn’t matter too much! i’ll let you know when YA emails me back 
I really hope the lack of page numbers doesn’t affect you guys @shadyconcepts and @lumiere16. I nearly forgot to put in my page numbers until I until I clicked on the application requirements area. I think including page numbers is really important for me, though, since I have one poem that’s 3 pages long and another that’s 2 pages.
If you don’t mind me asking, what subject/topic did you guys write about in your poems and short stories? I wrote about being a black woman (or as I put it black and a woman) in one and social anxiety in another poem.
@lumiere16 @shadyconcepts I don’t think the page number thing will affect your applications. I hope it won’t! I had some grammar mistakes 
(When your English teacher won’t proofread your application) and one spelling mistake that I hope isn’t that noticeable since it’s capitalization.
@Tricia22 I entered Creative-Nonfiction, and one of my pieces was mainly about coming to terms with being black and a (closeted) lesbian. The other was about the stigmatization that men are superior and women are below them. They were both ten pages, and I know the limit was 20 but it was still kind of long for me.
@HalfwayThereUni1 I think the piece about coming to terms with being both black and lesbian is a really great idea! As black women, we face both sexism and racism. On top of that, as a lesbian you will also face homophobia. And when you’re a black lesbian, all of these prejudices combine to form an intricate and unique experience. Anyways, good luck! I think you have great topics!
@shadyconcepts Did YA reply to your email about the page numbers?
Also, can you edit posts after 15 minutes have passed since you originally posted them?
My poems (I did four) were mostly building on theme of loss, but hope. A happy toned Sestina as the first one, that got darker near the end, and then a freeform one, followed by a pantoum and another freeform one, which were getting darker before the last one was light.
FOr my prose…one was a short 1-page story to meet the requirement of having two stories, the other was a 19 page one that really needed more editing and such. It went into some stuff about anxiety, and the troubles of being transgender. But…I don’t think enough got through to it.
I really hope I didn’t forget page numbers or some other required formatting…
@Tricia22 @lumiere16 Nope, unfortunately they have not answered my email yet. But seeing as today is the very final due date for submissions, they could be swamped with other emails. Not losing hope yet!
So…anyone want to share poetry or fiction submissions? I’d much rather read than finish a physics lab.
@Tricia22 Thanks! It took me a while to write it because it gets really deep, but it’s my best piece in my opinion.
Oh, and I’m not sure if you can edit your posts…
Well, I just finished submitting my application (before 8PM of course). I proofread my poems multiple times, but it was only after I submitted my app that I noticed that one of them had a typo. I hope that typo doesn’t hurt my chances too badly. I noticed that they emphasized proofreading in the application guidelines. Did everyone else that used the extension submit their applications?
@Tricia22 The sameee happened to me! I read through them each at least twenty times, and then realized I forgot to capitalize “him” when I was referring to God after I submitted it.
I really want to be a finalist, but I’m trying to remember I still have 2 more years left, and that it’s my first time submitting. Is this your first time submitting?
@HalfwayThereUni1 Yep, this is my very first time submitting. I only have one more year left that I can submit. I’m just praying that the judges ignore my typo because there is only one out all three of the poems I submitted.