Stories, poems, or comics of any genre are welcome at TEC if they are written in English, if they are written by a single student, and if they follow the theme of TEC.
Stories/poems/comics must be between 250 and 1000 words long, and they must not violate copyright.
Stories must be submitted three months before TEC if a pre-selection takes place, or two months before TEC if there is no pre-selection. No stories will be accepted after the deadline. All stories must be sent by e-mail in a PDF format. No other format will be accepted. All submitted materials should be anonymised; nowhere should there be any mention of the names of students/participants and/or their school. To avoid any technical problems, please send the stories before the deadline, as we will otherwise not be able to advise you on how to resolve them.
In the case of a pre-selection due to a large number of submitted stories, the judges will decide which stories will be invited to TEC. All invited students will receive an invitation two months before TEC.
All stories invited to TEC will be published on this website so that the audience can vote and select the winner according to the audience vote. Online voting will take place one month before TEC.
The judges will read all the stories, and the invited student-authors will be able to read excerpts from their stories at TEC and talk about their creative process. The judges will provide feedback on all student works and finally select the winner of the Story Challenge based on the following criteria:
- relevance to the theme of TEC
- writing and composition: plot structure and coherence, characterization, originality of ideas, proficient language use
- creativity and expression: inventive ideas, world-building, or narrative approach; voice and tone; emotional impact
- presentation (when reading excerpts): clarity and expressiveness, engagement with the audience.
