A World of Stories — Participation Rules

These rules apply to all six A World of Stories exhibitions in 2027 (Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America, and Oceania). Please read them before submitting artwork.

1. Who can participate

Children and teens ages 6–17, in three age groups: 6–9, 10–13, and 14–17 (age when the submission is received).
The child must live in the United States.
A parent or legal guardian aged 18 or older submits the artwork.
Participation is free. No purchase is ever necessary.

2. The artwork

The artwork must be an illustration inspired by one of the stories published on the page of that continent.
It must be the child’s original work, made by hand with traditional art materials such as pencil, crayon, marker, watercolor, acrylic, or collage.
Adults may offer reasonable help, but the idea and the work must be the child’s.
It must be suitable for a children’s educational exhibition.

3. What cannot be accepted

AI-generated images, or images made substantially with AI tools.
Copied or traced illustrations, or downloaded, stock, or internet images.
Artwork made mostly by an adult.
Artwork that infringes someone else’s copyright, privacy, trademark, or other rights.
Hidden advertising or commercial promotion.
Content that is inappropriate for children, including violent, hateful, threatening, or sexual content.
Incomplete submissions, or submissions with inaccurate information or without the required permissions.

4. One artwork per exhibition

Each child may submit one artwork per exhibition. A child may take part in all six exhibitions. Organizations may submit artwork from several children, one artwork per child.

5. Not a contest — first 500 eligible submissions

There are no winners, rankings, or prizes for individual artworks. Recognition through Story Passport (section 11) is based on participation only.
For each exhibition, the first 500 complete submissions that meet these rules are accepted, in the order they are received.
A submission is complete only when all required information, a usable photo, and all required confirmations have been received.
Submissions may close before the deadline if 500 eligible submissions are received.

6. Deadlines and exhibition dates

Submissions for a continent open when its stories are published and close at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on its deadline. Each virtual exhibition runs for the whole exhibition month. Details are on the A World of Stories page.

7. What we publish

With every accepted artwork we publish only: the child’s first name or a nickname (with last initial, if provided), age group, city (if provided), state, and the story and country illustrated.
We never publish full names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, or school names.
Parent contact information is used only to administer the program and, if you choose, to send updates.

8. Permissions

Required: display in the online gallery on 365forkids.com and in the virtual exhibition.
Optional: inclusion in the digital and printed exhibition catalog.
Optional: use as an illustration in the digital and printed illustrated story book, if selected (including copies offered through Amazon). Selection for the book is an editorial decision based on how well an illustration fits a story and the book layout. It is not an award and does not affect participation in the exhibition.
Optional: sharing an image of the artwork on social media, our website, and promotional materials for A World of Stories. Only the artwork itself is shown — no name or other information about the child.
Declining the optional permissions does not affect participation in the exhibition.

9. Copyright

The child keeps the copyright to the original artwork. By submitting, the parent or guardian grants 365 for Kids a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use the submitted image only in the ways they selected in the form. Catalogs and books may be offered for sale to support our nonprofit educational mission. Participation does not include royalties or any other payment. The license covers only the image; 365 for Kids never sells the original physical artwork.

10. Certificate of Participation

Every accepted participant receives a personalized digital Certificate of Participation by email. Each certificate carries the Story Passport stamp of that exhibition’s continent.

11. Story Passport

Story Passport celebrates children who keep exploring. Each time a child takes part in an A World of Stories exhibition, they collect that continent’s stamp.

Every accepted artwork earns the child the Story Passport stamp of that exhibition’s continent. The stamp appears on the child’s Certificate of Participation. Every accepted artwork counts, whenever it is received while its exhibition is open for submissions.
Story Traveler: 1 stamp. Story Explorer: stamps from 3 exhibitions. World Storyteller: a stamp from every A World of Stories exhibition held in 2027.
After the last 2027 exhibition closes, every World Storyteller receives a special World Storyteller certificate showing all of their stamps, plus surprise creative keepsakes from 365 for Kids. Every World Storyteller receives the same recognition. The surprises are not cash, gift cards, electronics, or merchandise, and have no cash value.
To match stamps, please use the same parent or guardian email address and the same child’s name or nickname for every submission. If needed, we may email you to confirm.
Story Passport is not a contest. Stamps are earned through participation only; artworks are never judged, ranked, or compared.
With the parent’s or guardian’s separate permission, a World Storyteller’s artworks may be shown together in an online gallery and in the year-end catalog, using only the child’s first name or nickname and last initial. Without that permission, the child still receives the certificate and the surprises.
Story Passport is free. No purchase is ever necessary.

12. Group submissions (schools, art studios, and programs)

Teachers, art studios, homeschool groups, libraries, and youth programs may submit artwork from several children at once, using the group option on each exhibition’s submission page.

Coordinator: one adult, authorized by the organization, submits the group and is our contact for it.
Parent permission: before the artwork is submitted, a parent or legal guardian of each child completes the online Parent Permission form for that organization (or signs the paper permission slip, which the organization keeps on file and provides if we reasonably request it). One permission covers all A World of Stories exhibitions in 2027 for that child and organization. Only the permissions the parent selects apply.
Name and story on the artwork: each child writes, in a corner of the artwork, their display name (the same as on the permission form) and the story and country illustrated. We use this to match each artwork with its permission. An artwork without a matching permission cannot be accepted until the permission is completed.
The usual rules apply to every child in a group: ages 6–17, living in the United States, one original handmade artwork per child per exhibition, and each child counts individually toward the 500-submission limit, in the order received.
Certificates and Story Passport: certificates are emailed directly to the parent email on the permission form, and Story Passport stamps are matched by that email (or, if no parent email was given, by organization and display name).
Privacy: the name of the school, studio, or program is never shown with a child’s artwork.

13. Changes

365 for Kids may adjust dates for technical, administrative, safety, or legal reasons. Any change will be published on the A World of Stories pages.

14. About us and contact

A World of Stories is a program of 365 for Kids, a brand of 365 Mosaic Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Questions? Email us at info@365forkids.com. Learn how we handle personal information in our Privacy Policy.