diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index e0444fa..dcdd131 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -1,6 +1,20 @@
 # Contributing riddles
 
-Submit an anonymous workbook through a pull request from your fork. Automated checks validate the intake contract; a maintainer reviews the content before importing it. Passing validation is not content approval and never automatically adds riddles to the canonical corpus.
+You don't need to know GitHub to add riddles for your community. Pick the way that suits you; every route ends with a maintainer reviewing your riddles before they join the dataset.
+
+## Three ways to send your riddles
+
+1. **Send us your workbook (no GitHub needed).** Download the [blank template](data/submissions/submission_template.xlsx), fill it in following [Writing riddles for your community](docs/writing-riddles.md), and email it to a maintainer: Vinod Anbalagan at vinodanbalagan@gmail.com. We run the checks and submit it for you.
+2. **Upload it on the GitHub website (no command line).** Open an [Add my community](https://github.com/Cohere-Labs-Community/CulturalRiddles/issues/new?template=add-community.yml) issue, then fork this repository on github.com, choose **Add file** and then **Upload files**, and put your workbook in `data/submissions/`. GitHub offers to open a pull request, and the checks run on it automatically.
+3. **Use git and run the checks yourself.** Follow the rest of this page.
+
+Whichever route you choose:
+
+- Start with the [writing guide](docs/writing-riddles.md) and check [the list of communities](docs/communities.md) already included.
+- Keep the workbook anonymous: no names in cells, comments, the file name, or the file's author properties. To be credited as a writer, tell a maintainer privately how you'd like your name to appear.
+- New communities join the dataset. The model results published with the paper cover the communities benchmarked for that release.
+
+The rest of this page describes route 3 and how maintainers review and import submissions. Automated checks validate the intake contract; a maintainer reviews the content before importing it. Passing validation is not content approval and never automatically adds riddles to the canonical corpus.
 
 ## Before you begin
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6ed3ae1..2a9fc02 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -24,6 +24,10 @@ The dataset, its schemas, and its terms are available at these locations:
 - **Data contract:** [schemas, score meanings, and snapshot boundaries](data/README.md)
 - **Licenses:** code under [Apache-2.0](LICENSE); data under the separate [data terms](data/LICENSE)
 
+## Contribute riddles
+
+Is your community missing? You can add it, with or without GitHub: send us a filled-in workbook, upload it on the GitHub website, or open a pull request. Start with [Writing riddles for your community](docs/writing-riddles.md), then see [Three ways to send your riddles](CONTRIBUTING.md#three-ways-to-send-your-riddles).
+
 ## Get started
 
 You need [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/) and nothing else. It installs the pinned Python 3.12 environment for you.
diff --git a/docs/writing-riddles.md b/docs/writing-riddles.md
index dfd0870..1dcf63f 100644
--- a/docs/writing-riddles.md
+++ b/docs/writing-riddles.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Writing riddles for your community
 
-This guide is for native speakers who want to add their community to Cultural Riddles. It explains what we look for in a riddle, how to choose your topics, and how to fill in the workbook. When your riddles are ready, [CONTRIBUTING.md](../CONTRIBUTING.md) walks you through checking and submitting them.
+This guide is for native speakers who want to add their community to Cultural Riddles. It explains what we look for in a riddle, how to choose your topics, and how to fill in the workbook. When your riddles are ready, [Three ways to send your riddles](../CONTRIBUTING.md#three-ways-to-send-your-riddles) explains how to submit them, with or without GitHub.
 
 ## What we are looking for
 
@@ -76,4 +76,4 @@ If you would like to be credited as a writer, don't post your name in a public i
 
 - Ask another native speaker to read your riddles. If they can't solve one, or find a second answer that also fits, reword it.
 - Read every answer once more: is it short, fixed, and correct?
-- Then follow [CONTRIBUTING.md](../CONTRIBUTING.md) to check your workbook and open a pull request.
+- Then send your workbook using one of the [three ways to send your riddles](../CONTRIBUTING.md#three-ways-to-send-your-riddles).