Beyond Borders is open to children and young people from anywhere in the world up to the age of 18. We welcome submissions from individuals, schools, libraries, community groups and youth organisations.

We welcome original:

• Short stories

• Poetry

• Artwork

• Creative writing

All work should celebrate culture, heritage, community, traditions or life where you live.

No. Taking part in Beyond Borders is completely free.

The child always keeps the copyright to their work.

By submitting, you simply give Big Thinking Publishing permission to consider the work for publication as part of the Beyond Borders project. Full details can be found in our Submission Terms & Conditions.

Unfortunately not.

We expect to receive many wonderful submissions, so publication in the anthology cannot be guaranteed. Every submission will be read and carefully considered by our editorial team.

As a guide:

• Stories: up to 1,000 words

• Poems: any length

• Artwork: one piece per submission

If you're unsure, please get in touch before submitting.

Submissions for the first Beyond Borders anthology will be accepted until 31 January 2027.

We encourage you to submit your work as early as possible rather than waiting until the closing date. If there are any changes to the deadline, they will be announced on our website and social media channels.

If your work is chosen for publication, we'll contact the parent, guardian or teacher using the email address provided on the submission form.

There are lots of ways to help!

You can donate, sponsor a school, become a project partner, volunteer or simply share the project with others. Every bit of support helps more children's voices reach the world.

Yes! You're welcome to submit more than one piece of work. Each submission should be completed separately so we can keep everything organised.

Absolutely!

We would love to receive submissions from schools around the world. Teachers are welcome to submit work on behalf of their pupils.