NPR announced that their Student Podcast Challenge is back. It is a chance for students to compete with young people all over the country for the grand prize: their story appearing on NPR’s Morning Edition or All Things Considered.

Last school year, we received nearly 6,000 entries from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with more than 25,000 students participating. The contest was a big success – we heard from so many teachers about how much fun they had and how their students got fired up by the project.

This year’s contest will follow the same basic parameters: Beginning in January, teachers or qualified educators can submit student entries in two basic categories: grades 5-8 and grades 9-12. Entries can be as short as 3 minutes and as long as 12 minutes.

NPR says that they are still finalizing and updating the rules for this year and will post them soon. As before, they have guidance on who can enter, how to submit your entry, and updated information about their no-music policy and other key rules. You can find them on the NPR Student Podcast Challenge website.

In Year Two (which NPR is calling SPC2), their goal is to build in more support for teachers and students, based on feedback from teachers and the lessons NPR drew from listening to all those podcasts. NPR will have more training materials and advice on audio reporting, writing, and sound editing production.