Please join us for the last Cover Story contest and live webinar of the school year!
This time around, we want to see your completed magazine! Any student who is currently using the curriculum is eligible to submit their collected works, compiled and formatted into the structure of a magazine, for a chance to win some awesome prizes!
How It Works
- Any student using Cover Story this school year is eligible to submit their magazine.
- The magazine must be submitted by the parent/teacher of the student.
- To be eligible for prizes, all of the written content inside the magazine must come from the student’s own mind, with no outside input from family, friends, or teachers.
- It’s okay if a parent or teacher helped with layout and design; if this is the case, please give credit to that person (or those people) in the ONLINE ENTRY FORM.
- The shipping address should be accompanied by a first and last name, but only the student’s first name, age, and state/province will be listed next to his or her entry.
You are free to omit one or more creative pieces if you feel they do not fit the overall tone of the magazine.
Submissions will be judged based on coherence (how well the magazine incorporates the theme), the quality of the written content, the creativity of the execution, and the design (format, layout, images, etc.).
However, while we will take layout and design into consideration, we are more concerned with well-executed stories, creative concepts, and clever theme integration, so please don’t be deterred from entering if you and your student are unfamiliar with design principles.
HOW TO ENTER
All entrants must fill out the ONLINE ENTRY FORM.
You MUST upload a PDF File directly to the entry form.
Please compile all the pages of the magazine into one document or file, with the pages in order, and export that document as a PDF. Do NOT send several individual pages or attach every assignment separately.
When saving or exporting as a PDF, if you are given a choice, please set the image quality to “High,” “Best,” or “Print Quality.” (The options given will differ based on the program.) If your program allows you to set the dpi, please select 300 dpi.
2026 Contest Is Now Open!
Entry Deadline: May 6, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Central Time
Prizes
“Best in Show” will receive a $25 Bookshop.org gift card (or equivalent book retailer)!
We will also award a few $10-$15 prizes to select pieces—individual articles, stories, poems, and the like—that we feel are particularly skillful, so please send in your magazine even if the layout and design are rudimentary!
Contest Results
The results of the Finish Line contest will be announced via our e-newsletter, on or before Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
Prize winners can expect to receive an additional email from us with their digital gift certificate.
PLEASE NOTE:
- We will only share your student’s submissions using their first name, age, and state/province of residence. No last names will be mentioned.
- Parents/family members: Only students are eligible to receive prizes. Again, please make sure that magazines credited to students originated with the students themselves without input from the parent or other outside sources.