Submit to the Latest Issue! (Deadline: 20 January)

[Prof. Sky Alton]

Welcome to HOL's very own newspaper, The HOwLer!

The theme for our upcoming issue is: Hidden depths.
Deadline for submissions: 11:59 PM HOL time on the 20th of January, 2025

So do you have an idea for an article, or maybe even a column? Perhaps you've got a concept for the perfect ad. Or maybe you are just itching to flex your creative muscles with a spot of writing or by creating a work of art. Well, you are in the right place!

Our theme is ‘Hidden Depths’ so we’re hoping to hear about secrets of all kinds, particularly those hiding in plain sight or in unexpected places. So whether you want to tell us about a celebrity with a surprising second career or hidden talent, a fascinating historical building with a hidden room or the science of optical illusions, we’re here for it.

Remember that regular articles and submissions don’t need to fit the theme, though it’s great if they do!

We’ve also updated our rules a little, so please check the section down below for information on that!

Approval
All ideas for informative articles, Wizarding World News, opinion pieces, ads and puzzles must be approved before they are submitted.

If what you want to write needs to be approved, all you have to do is post your idea(s) below and wait for one of the Howler's editors to approve it. It will then be added to the list below. Please be patient though. We will get to you as quickly as possible, but it may sometimes take a while.

Creative submissions do not need to be approved.

Rule Updates
We made some changes to our rules last year and have another change this time round, so here's a rundown.
New change: We're now limiting ads to two (2) per person as with puzzles. This applies to both hol and wizarding world ads.
Previous changes:
1. We're now specifying that graphics must be no more than 600 by 600 pixels.
2. We've updated the poetry guidance to ask that poems be at least 60 words in length as well as 10 lines and to clarify that if a poem has lines that repeat, there will need to be more than 10 lines.
3. To ensure what we’re publishing is as accurate as we can make it, we’re asking everyone to submit sources along with their articles from now on. All informative articles and factual columns must have sources included or we won’t be able to publish them. The only exception are articles/columns that are purely based on your opinion or that are mostly creative (like Wizarding World news).
4. A lot of people have been forgetting about our requirement to provide puzzle solutions. If you submit a puzzle and don’t also submit a solution along with it, 2 house points will be deducted from the 5 you would usually earn. The only exception to this is jigsaw puzzles.

Idea Bank
If you don't have any ideas, we have curated an Idea Bank where you can go to find ideas for articles and ads. Please remember that even idea bank ideas have to be presented here for approval though (so we don't suddenly have ten articles on the same topic!).

Creative Showcase
For our creative showcase, we invite you to submit artwork or creative writing that fits the theme somehow. You don’t need to get these ideas approved - you can just start working on them.
For every issue, we give you a prompt to help spark your imagination. You don't need to use it, it's just there to help with inspiration.
For this issue, that prompt is: “The secret panel swung open to reveal…” (you can use this as the starting point for a story or the inspiration for an artwork)

Requirements and Submitting
For more information and guidelines on our various sections, what types of submissions you might submit and what the requirements for each one are, please read through the overview thread and then head over to the Guidelines section to learn more.

Once your idea has been approved, you can send your submission through this form.

We are very excited to hear from you all!

Approved Ideas

Informative Articles
Science of Optical Illusions (River Fenwick)
The Hidden Tomb of Cleopatra (River Fenwick)
Famous objects that were hidden somehow (Ivy Grey)
Famous people with surprising second careers + graphic (Janne Halla)
The Myth of Atlantis (Emily Spencer)
Freudian dream interpretation (Galena May)
The Victorian Language of Flora (Skylar Peyton)

Seasonal
Winter related mythology (Ivy Grey)
History of the London frost fairs + graphic (Janne Halla)
How to keep your new years resolutions (Galena May)

Biographies
Edgar Allan Poe (Ivy Grey)

News from the Wizarding World
Known practitioners of Legilimency (Emily Spencer)
New Rooms Found in the Department of Mysteries (Galena May)

HOL Ads
Library Department Ad (Emily Spencer)

Wizarding Ads
Enchanted Trunks with Extra Layers of Storage (Galena May)
Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans (Galena May)

Puzzles (8/8 filled)
Fallen Letters (River Fenwick)
Maze (River Fenwick)
Hashi (Janne Halla)
Word Search (Janne Halla)
Jigsaw (Emily Spencer)*
Nurikabe (Galena May)
Letter Tiles (Galena May)
Sudoku (Skylar Peyton)

[River Fenwick]

I’d like to do:

Informative Articles
Science of Optical Illusions
The Hidden Tomb of Cleopatra

Puzzles
Fallen Letters
Maze

[Emily Spencer]

I would like to do the following Informative Articles :

known practitioners of Legilimency
The Myth of Atlantis

Puzzle:
Undersea Life Jigsaw Puzzle

Ad:
Library Department Ad

I will also do a creative piece of some sort.

[Ivy Grey]

I'd like to do:
1. Informative article: Famous objects that were hidden somehow
2. Seasonal: Winter related mythology
3. Biographies: Edgar Allan Poe

[Janne Halla]

I'd like to do the following, please!

Famous people with surprising second careers + graphic
History of the London frost fairs + graphic
Hashi
word search

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

I’d like to do:

Informative Articles
Science of Optical Illusions
The Hidden Tomb of Cleopatra

Puzzles
Fallen Letters
Maze

I'd like to do:
1. Informative article: Famous objects that were hidden somehow
2. Seasonal: Winter related mythology
3. Biographies: Edgar Allan Poe

I'd like to do the following, please!

Famous people with surprising second careers + graphic
History of the London frost fairs + graphic
Hashi
word search

All approved!

I would like to do the following Informative Articles :

known practitioners of Legilimency
The Myth of Atlantis

Puzzle:
Undersea Life Jigsaw Puzzle

Ad:
Library Department Ad

I will also do a creative piece of some sort.

Emily, all approved except for that Jigsaw. We can put you down with jigsaw as your puzzle, but since you have already posted this one, we cannot accept it. Please make another one and submit it through the appropriate form, thank you.

[Emily Spencer]

I am a bit confused, to be honest. How am am supposed to submit a jigsaw if I don’t make it first?! I am honestly not trying to be difficult, but this one has me stumped.

My apologies for wasting your time, Professor.

Emily Spencer
Slytherin

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

I am a bit confused, to be honest. How am am supposed to submit a jigsaw if I don’t make it first?! I am honestly not trying to be difficult, but this one has me stumped.

My apologies for wasting your time, Professor.

Emily Spencer
Slytherin

You can of course make it before submitting but the problem here was that you included a link in your reply.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept things that have been posted publicly because it gives people more time to solve them than the other puzzles in the issue and we would like to keep it a level playing field (and for the things included to be exclusive to make the issue more exciting, of course).

Thank you!

[Emily Spencer]

Thank you for the clarification.

[Galena May]

Hello!
I'd like to do the following:

Seasonal
How to keep your new years resolutions

News from the Wizarding World
New Rooms Found in the Department of Mysteries

Wizarding Ads
Enchanted Trunks with Extra Layers of Storage
Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans

Puzzles
Nurikabe
Letter Tiles

I'd also like to do a creative submission with the given prompt, and the same seasonal article on zodiac signs as before, this time named December and January Babies - Sagittarius and Capricorn (I will reach out about this).

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

Hello!
I'd like to do the following:

Seasonal
How to keep your new years resolutions

News from the Wizarding World
New Rooms Found in the Department of Mysteries

Wizarding Ads
Enchanted Trunks with Extra Layers of Storage
Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans

Puzzles
Nurikabe
Letter Tiles

I'd also like to do a creative submission with the given prompt, and the same seasonal article on zodiac signs as before, this time named December and January Babies - Sagittarius and Capricorn (I will reach out about this).

All approved! Thank you for your patience as we were deliberating particulars regarding your submissions.

[Galena May]

Hello Editors!

I would love to also do an article on Freudian dream interpretation since it resonates with the theme of this Howler - "Hidden Depths".

[Prof. Sky Alton]

Hello Editors!

I would love to also do an article on Freudian dream interpretation since it resonates with the theme of this Howler - "Hidden Depths".

That's also approved.

[Skylar Peyton]

I would like to do:

Victorian Language of Flora
Biography of Edgar Allan Poe
Sudoku Puzzle

[Prof. Sky Alton]

I would like to do:

Victorian Language of Flora
Biography of Edgar Allan Poe
Sudoku Puzzle

Hi Skylar, you're approved for the flora article and the puzzle but I'm afraid Edgar Allan Poe has already been reserved by someone else.

[Skylar Peyton]

Oops I guess I should have checked more closely. Thank you