We welcome submissions of original writing, art, and photography from students who love their rivers!
Deadline
We accept submissions year-round on a rolling basis. Deadline for Issue #19: Friday, May 31, 2019.
Due to the later submission deadline, we will be notifying students of the status of their submission's acceptance in the summer of 2019. We anticipate releasing the new anthology in August/September 2019.
Subject Matter
2019 Theme: Envisioning Our Watersheds: Present and Future. What do you think our watersheds will look like in 25 years? In 50 years? Will there be clean rivers surrounded by healthy forests and abundant native wildlife? What steps can we take to ensure this future?
Because climate change, habitat restoration, wildlife conservation and water quality are important issues affecting the world we live in, the 2019 theme draws attention to the future of Oregon’s natural resources and how we can conserve and protect them. We encourage students to express they think our state’s ecosystems will look like in the future. Incorporating the them is encouraged, but not required.
Eligibility
All students from kindergarten through college are invited to submit. Students outside of Oregon are welcomed to submit!
Important: Every submission must include a completed, signed submission form. Parents/Guardians need to sign the form if the student is under 18 years old. To submit art, writing or photography for consideration, you will need to download the paper submission form, complete it, and do one of the following:
1. Mail it with your original artwork, high-quality printed photograph, or writing hard copy.
2. Email it as an attachment, along with with a digital copy of your writing or high-resolution photography (see details below).
Submissions must be original work by the student.
Please do not email a scan of your artwork. This year, only original artwork can be accepted.
What We Accept
Students may submit one written piece and/or one visual art piece per year. Unless they are clearly linked together, they will be judged separately.
Original 2-D Artwork (drawing, painting, photography, mixed-media, etc.). Artwork can measure up to 9 x 12 inches. High-quality photographs of sculpture, carvings, masks and other art with raised surfaces or 3-D elements will be accepted. Please do not submit original 3-D artwork.
Creative Writing: poetry, fiction, nonfiction/prose (500 words or less, typed). We love to see written entries in foreign languages, too. Just make sure you include an English translation. Please see our previous anthologies for examples of creative bilingual entries. Writing and foreign language entries should be typed in a Word document.
Send one art and/or one writing entry per student, per year. Questions? Contact the staff at Straub Outdoors at 503-779-5227 or at Info@StraubOutdoors.org. For detailed instructions on how to submit art and writing, visit www.HonoringOurRivers.org/submit.
All art and writing will be returned directly to each student at the address provided on this form
How to Submit
Choose the following option that works best for you:
For art submissions, place your original artwork or photograph in a 9” x 12” or 10” x 13” envelope with a piece of cardboard, card stock or poster board on either side to protect it.
For writing submissions, type and print on letter-sized paper. Fold and place in a #10 envelope.
Complete the submission form on the next page, print, and enclose it with your art or writing.
Address the envelope to: Straub Outdoors, P.O. Box 12363, Salem, Oregon 97309.
Artwork will be returned unless it is selected for the traveling exhibition.
Please do not email or mail photocopies of 2-D artwork. High-quality photographs of 3-D art will be accepted. Please do not send original sculpture, or any artwork with raised surfaces.
Entries will be juried by a panel of writers, teachers, artists and students. Selected entries will be published in the print edition. All accepted submissions will appear in the online publication.
Teacher's Note
We appreciate you integrating Honoring Our Rivers into your lesson plans! Teachers who submit student entries will receive a copy of the anthology and be recognized in the publication.
This year, we are asking students and parents/guardians to submit art and writing directly to us for jury consideration and publication. If you are a teacher who has submitted entries on behalf of your students in previous years, please have each student and parent/guardian complete a submission form, paperclip it to the art or writing entry, and mail your students’ original entries (no photocopies, no digital files) together in a large envelope with cardboard or poster board on either side to protect it. If the artwork from your students won’t fit in a 9” x 12” or 10” x 13” envelope, you can slide them into a flat cardboard box (don’t make it into a box, keep it flat). Tape the seams and edges with shipping tape and mail to: Straub Outdoors, P.O Box 12363, Salem, Oregon 97309. Artwork will be returned to each individual student at the address provided on the submission form. Questions? Give us a call at 503-779-5227.
We are constantly looking for feedback on how to improve the ease of the submission process on your behalf. If you have a suggestion, please email our program coordinator at info@honoringourrivers.org.
Security
We take the security of students' information seriously, which is why published work is only accompanied by the student's name and grade level. We'll list the representing teachers and schools elsewhere in the anthology. We promise that the information you provide in the submissions form is never distributed, shared, or sold.
Judging
Submissions are judged by a panel of artists, writers, educators, and partners. Each piece is viewed and rated by three separate judges. No identifying information is included on the student submission. Criteria for judging is dependent on age group.