WESTPORT — The deadline to submit entries in this year’s Teen Diversity Essay Contest, sponsored by TEAM Westport, has been extended.

The original deadline — Friday, Feb. 25 — has been extended to Wednesday, March 2, according to an announcement from the multicultural committee. 

The timeframe to submit essays is being lengthened because an email glitch caused electronic submissions to be rejected from last Thursday until Friday evening, and inclement weather conditions Friday inhibited hand deliveries to Town Hall, the TEAM announcement said.

Essays submitted before the affected timeframe were received without problem, the committee said.

The topic of this year’s essay contest, co-sponsored by the Westport Library, is “Why It Can Be So Difficult to Talk About Race.”

The contest, now in its ninth year, is open to students who attend high school in Westport or residents who attend high schools out of town.

Winners will be announced at a ceremony planned for 7 p.m. April 4 at the library.