We are eager to get new readers for our stories and have created ways to make that easy to do. However, because of the great cost and effort involved in creating our stories, we are also very protective of them. Unless you fall into the category of people who can use stories for free (see below), please do not reprint our copyrighted stories without getting written permission and paying appropriate fees. All fees go to support our teen writing program.

Using Our Stories for Free
There are a few instances when you can use our stories for free.

If you want to print a story or lesson for yourself or to give to a colleague or a teen, you can do so for free, and do not need permission.

If you want to print a story or lesson for one-time use in a small group (for example, a middle school advisory, a high school English class, or an after-school workshop) please request permission here. If you are making fewer than 30 copies of a story and/or lesson for use in a nonprofit educational setting, we will automatically grant you permission to do so for free. We only ask that you complete the permissions form telling us how you will use the story. This information helps us raise the money we need to produce these stories and make them available for free.

If you want to reprint the story in a curriculum or coursepack that you use in many classes or year after year, or in a training manual, agency newsletter, or other publication, then you must request permission and will be charged a small fee (see details below).

Standard Reprint Fees

A. Commercial Organizations and Large Nonprofits
Our standard reprint fee for one-time, non-exclusive North American rights for commercial organizations and publishers is your standard rate, or $300 per story, whichever is higher. The fee for reprinting illustrations is $100. Please request permission here.

B. Small Nonprofit Organizations
Our standard reprint fee for small nonprofit organizations for one-time, non-exclusive North American rights is $50 per story and $25 per illustration.

If your nonprofit organization ever pays other staff or consultants for reprint rights or writing services, or it is a large agency with a budget of over $500,000, then you should propose to us your standard payment (no less than $50). Please request permission here.

C. Attribution
If we grant you permission to reprint the stories (and we almost always do) it is important to us that you properly attribute the story when it appears in your publication.

Please use this credit line:

Reprinted/excerpted/condensed with permission from [name of magazine or book where the story appeared], Copyright 20XX by Youth Communication/New York Center, Inc. (www.youthcomm.org).

Use "Reprinted from..." if the story appears intact, except for minor copy editing to conform to your publication's style, or very slight cutting for space reasons.

Use "Excerpted from..." if you are reprinting an intact, unedited portion of a longer essay.

Use "Condensed from..." if you cut many complete sentences or paragraphs to fit your space requirements.

If you are adapting or condensing a story, you must send us a copy for review prior to publication. Email Erica Wong at EWong@youthcomm.org, or fax to 212-279-8856, attn: Erica Wong.

Please send us two copies of the publication in which the story appears. If the reprint is on a website, send us an e-mail with the URL when the story is posted.