Awards, Contests and SubmissionsThe Writer's Circle of Durham Region offers a detailed listing of contests across Canada but here are a few to inspire you! Also check out Book and Magazine Awards & Prizes. Please note that inclusion on our website is not an endorsement of any contest or market. We encourage our readers to thoroughly research all contests or markets before submitting work and it’s recommended that you read one or two copies of the publication in question to make sure your writing "fits" publication requirements and guidelines.
Deadlined submissions:
KISSES & POPSICKLES SPRING POETRY CONTEST
Deadline: May 15, 2008
Web: www.pandorascollective.com/contest.html Sponsored by Pandora's Collective. Winners announced June 1, 2008. Check website for guidelines.
WEST END WRITERS’ WORKSHOP - 2008 WRITING CONTEST
Deadline: May 15, 2008 Web: www.wewriters.org/contest.html
The West End Writers Workshop is happy to announce its 2008 Writing Contest—elongated and more lucrative than before! This year, Poetry and Prose will be judged together.
1st Prize: $200 - 2nd Prize: $100 - 3rd Prize: $50
1000 words maximum for prose or two 1-page poems will be accepted. $10 CN fee per prose entry or up to two poetry entries. Entries must be printed on one side of white paper only. Do not include your name or any identifying information on the submission page. Please include a separate entry sheet with title(s), name, address, phone, email—and please tell us how you heard about the contest. Make cheque payable to “West End Writers.” Short list announcement will be in late May. Awards announcement and ceremony will be at Barclay Manor on Tues., June 17th. Contest results will be emailed to the WEWW membership and contest entrants, and posted on the website. Mail entries and fees to:
West End Writers
#7A - 199 Drake Street
Vancouver BC V6Z 2T9
See The West End Writers' Club under Events tab>Writing Groups.
ROOM MAGAZINE - 2008 ANNUAL FICTION, POETRY, AND CREATIVE NONFICTION CONTEST
Deadline: postmarked no later than May 15, 2008
Web: http://web.uvic.ca/malahat/far_horizons_poetry/info.html
It's that time of year again—sharpen your pencils or fire up your laptop and send us your fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction contest entries. Entry Fee: $27 per entry (includes a complimentary one-year subscription to Room - payment by cheque or money order made out to Room. Non-Canadian entries: $39CDN. More than one entry will be accepted as long as fee is paid for each entry.).
Prizes: 1st prize in each category – $500, 2nd prize – $250. Winners will be published in a 2009 issue of Room. Other manuscripts may be published. Judges: Creative Non-Fiction: Rita Moir. Fiction: Ivan E Coyote. Poetry: Evelyn Lau.
Send entries to: Room Fiction and Poetry Contest PO Box 46160, Station D, Vancouver, BC V6J 5G5, Canada. More No manuscripts will be returned. Only winners will be notified.
Poetry: Max. 3 poems or 150 lines. Fiction: Max. 4,000 words. Blind judging – so do not put your name or address on entry submission; enclose a cover sheet with your name, address, phone number and title(s) of entry. Entries must be typed on 8½x11 white paper. Prose must be double-spaced. Each entry must be original, unpublished, not submitted or accepted elsewhere for publication and not entered simultaneously in any other contest or competition. Check website for all complete rules - and also contests for other genres.
ROCKSALT ANTHOLOGY Deadline: Postdated May 15, 2008
Web: www.mothertonguepublishing.com
Mother Tongue Publishing Limited is “very excited to announce the launch of our new BC trade publishing company: Mother Tongue Publishing Limited. (m)Öthêr Tøñgué Press has changed its name and spread its wings! We are inviting submissions for Rocksalt, an Anthology of Contemporary BC Poetry, the first in 30 years! Rocksalt will be edited by Harold Rhenisch and Mona Fertig. CITY OF VANCOUVER BOOK AWARD NOMINATIONS
Deadline: May 21, 2008
Web: http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/oca/Awards/index.htm
The City of Vancouver invites publishers and authors to submit entries for the 20th annual City of Vancouver Book Award. Books of any genre that demonstrate excellence and contribute to an appreciation and understanding of Vancouver's history, unique character, or residents are eligible to apply for the $2,000 award. Complete information can be found at: http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/oca/Awards/index.htm.
8th ANNUAL BC YOUTH WRITING & DESIGN CONTEST
Deadline: May 31st, 2008
Web: www.rippleeffect.ca
Prizes: Eight $500 Grand Prizes awarded for poetry, short fiction, essay/creative non-fiction, and cover art by Bc youth (2 per genre: 1 junior - Grades 7-10; and 1 senior - Grades 11-12). Winners and additional honourable mentions (HM's receive $100) are published in an upcoming issue of the new Wordscapes youth arts journal. Entry Fee: $15 per entry; $10 per additional entry in any genre. School/Class discounts and Financial Assistance available upon request. All entrants receive a free one year subscription to Wordscapes. Check the website for complete contest guidelines, order forms, and more information about the Wordscapes.
BURNABY WRITERS’ SOCIETY 2008 WRITING CONTEST
Deadline: May 31, 2008
Web: www.bws.bc.ca (Latest News)
Theme: “Green.” Open to all BC residents. Prizes of $200, $100 and $50, as well as honourable mentions, will be awarded for the best one-page submissions of either prose or poetry, freely interpreting the “green” theme in any way you wish. Work can be in any form or genre, as long as it is complete on one page. The entry fee is $5.00 per entry, or 3 entries for $10.00. Results will be announced, and winners will be invited to participate in a public reading, in fall of 2008. For complete guidelines see the website. Blog: burnabywritersnews.blogspot.com - Email: info@bws.bc.ca.
VICTORIA SCHOOL OF WRITING FLASH FICTION CONTEST
Deadline: postmarked before May 31, 2008
Web: http://vswblog.wordpress.com
Prizes: You could win your tuition to the Victoria School of Writing (July 21-25, 2008).
First Prize: Full tuition valued at $610.
Second Prize: An award covering half the cost of tuition. (Approx. value: $305).
Third Prize: An award covering ¼ of the cost of tuition. (Approx. value: $150).
Break out your pen and let your imagination loose. It’s time for the Victoria School of Writing’s spring Flash Fiction contest. What is a postcard story? For the purposes of this contest, it is a super-short work of fiction or non-fiction, not to exceed 300 words. Entrants must be 19 years of age or older. Submit 2 copies of a previously unpublished postcard story. Copies must be printed on 8.5 x 11 paper. If you’d like, you may illustrate or decorate the second entry. We may display them at the Summer School in July 2008.
Name, address, phone number and email address must not appear on the story. Please provide this information on a separate page, along with the title and the first 10 words of your story. (There is no entry form.) You may enter as many times as you wish. $12 entry fee for each story. Cheques payable to "Victoria School of Writing." Mail entries to Victoria School of Writing - Postcard Story Competition, 1027 Pandora Avenue, Victoria, BC V8V 3P6. (No email entries.). If you wish to have your entry returned to you, please submit an SASE. Winners will be notified by phone in June 2008. More info: Shelly Motz shelly.motz@shaw.ca.
SEA TO SKY LITERARY CONTEST
Deadline: June 1, 2008 Web: LAKE’S CREATIVE NON-FICTION CONTEST
Deadline: postmarked on or before June 1, 2008
Web: www.lakejournal.ca
Prize: $250 and publication in issue #3 of Lake. (Lake, a journal of arts and environmet, is a new market, open to all writers.) Submissons length: 2500 words maximum. Entry Fee: $20 (includes a one year subscription to Lake starting with issue #2). Lake invites submissions of creative non-fiction on the topic of “Pines” -- Eastern white pine, jack pine, ponderosa pine, lodge pole pine, red pine, shore pine, Western white pine, black pine, Limber pine, pitch pine, sand pine, Monterey pine, Austrian pine, Scotch pine, Western pine beetle, Mountain pine beetle, to pine for. Check website for submission guidelines. No limit to the number of entries each author can submit, but each one requires a $20 entry fee. Send to:
Lake, Dept of Creative Studies - UBC Okanagan
3333 University Way
Kelowna BC
Canada V1W 2B9
ARC POETRY MAGAZINE – INTERNATIONAL POEM OF THE YEAR CONTEST
Deadline: postmarked no later than June 30, 2008
Web: http://www.arcpoetry.ca/mag/contests/poem_of_the_year_contest.php
1st Prize: $1500 * 2nd Prize: $1000 * 3rd Prize: $750.
Arc's International Poem of the Year Contest is in its thirteenth year; it’s one of the longest running poetry competitions in Canada. For close to thirty years Arc has published some of the finest poets from across the country and abroad. Contest Guidelines are on the website. Entry fee is $23CDN which entitles you to a one-year subscription of Arc mailed to a Canadian postal address, beginning with the Winter 2007 issue. (If already subscribed you can transfer it – see details on website.) You may submit up to two unpublished poems with your $23 fee. To include extra poems, add $5 per poem. No e-mail submissions accepted. Length of each poem must not exceed 100 lines. Judge: to be announced. Winners only will be notified by the end of September 2008. Publication: Winning poems will be published in Arc's Winter 2008 issue (published by November 30, 2008). There are many more specifications, so be sure to check the website for the guidelines.
FEDERATION OF BC WRITERS 20TH ANNUAL LITERARY WRITES COMPETITION
Deadline: July 1, 2008
Web: http://www.bcwriters.com/literary.php
This Year's Category: Short Fiction, any genre –literary, mystery, romance, speculative or science fiction.
First Prize: $500 and publication in WordWorks.
Second Prize: $300.
Third Prize: $150
The Federation of BC Writers is calling upon all creative souls to enter this year's Literary Writes fiction contest. Be it literary or mystery, speculative or science, your short story should grab the reader’s attention, holding them sweet hostage until the very end. Enter now and you could be a winner in Literary Writes 2008! For submission guidelines, check the website.
VANCOUVER POET LAUREATE WANTS YOUR POEMS
Deadline: July 31, 2008
Web: http://vancouverpublicspace.ca/index.php/news/40/18
Vancouver's first Poet Laureate, George McWhirter, invites poetry submissions for an anthology on the features that give Vancouver its identity, such as its streets and place names. This is open to anyone who wishes to help fill the gap in Vancouver's verse geography. No entry fees. Authors whose work is chosen for the anthology (to be published in the Spring of 2009) will be paid $25 per page or poem. Poems should ideally be a two-sonnet length, and cross streets or place names for the poems should be provided. Submissions must be typewritten and sent with a SASE to the publisher at: VPSN - A Verse Map of Vancouver, c/o Anvil Press Publishers, 278 East First Avenue Vancouver, BC, V5T 1A6.
STEAMY POETRY AND FLASH FICTION CONTEST - ASCENT ASPIRATIONS MAGAZINE
Deadline: Open from January 1 to July 31, 2008
Web: http://www.ascentaspirations.ca/ascentfall2008.htm
Special theme for issue: Erotica. "We are looking for ardent, amorous erotica, soft and sensual, full of longing and desire that will titillate our readers. Think of Aphrodite, goddess of beauty, fertility and sexual love--not boring, mundane, graphic pornography. The words should be about the music of love and the steamy imagery of erotica, all tastefully libidinous. We are looking for poetry/flash fiction that is unusual and goes beyond the traditional poetry and story of sensual, sexual love. Send your best work."
Note from publisher: Read guidelines carefully as some significant changes have been made. Submissions will be judged in late August and the anthology will be produced in September with a publishing date hopefully no later than the middle of November, 2008.
Poetry prizes -- 1st: $100; 2nd: $50; 3rd: $25 (each winner also gets one copy of the anthology).Flash fiction prizes -- 1st: $100; 2nd: $50; 3rd: $25 (each winner also gets one copy of the anthology).- Six Honourable Mention awards ($10 + one copy of the anthology)- All additional contributors in the collection will receive one copy of the anthology.Submissions may be sent by email. More information at the website, or email: ascentaspirations@shaw.ca.
THE MALAHAT REVIEW - 2008 CREATIVE NONFICTION PRIZE
Deadline: postmarked no later than August 1, 2008
Web: http://web.uvic.ca/malahat/creative_non-fiction_prize/info.html
Canada’s premier literary magazine, invites entries from Canadian, American, and overseas authors for the inaugural Creative Non-Fiction Prize. One award of $500CDN is given, plus payment at the rate of $40CDN per printed page upon publication.
Entries: must be between 2,000 and 3,000 words. No restrictions as to subject matter or approach apply. For example, the entry may be personal essay, memoir, cultural criticism, nature writing, or literary journalism. Entry fee: $35CDN for Canadian entries; $40USF for U.S. entries; $45US for entries from Mexico or outside North America. See complete details on the website.
THE SUMMER DREAM POETRY CONTEST
Deadline September 15, 2008
Web: www.pandorascollective.com/contest.html
Sponsored by Pandora's Collective. Winners announced Oct 1, 2008.
Check website for guidelines.
THE MALAHAT REVIEW - 2009 LONG POEM PRIZE
Deadline: postmarked no later than February 1, 2009
Web: http://web.uvic.ca/malahat/long_poem_prize/info.html
Canada’s premier literary magazine, invites entries from Canadian, American, and overseas authors for the 2009 Long Poem Prize. Two awards of $500CDN each are given, plus payment at the rate of $40CDN per printed page upon publication. Judges: Margo Button, Brian Bartlett, John Pass.
Guidelines (see website for full details): A single poem or cycle of poems with a minimum of 10 published pages to a maximum of 20 published pages. A published page is up to 32 lines (or less), including breaks between stanzas. No restrictions as to subject matter or aesthetic approach apply. Entry fee: $35CDN for Canadian entries $40USF for American entries $45USF for entries from Mexico or outside North America.
THE MALAHAT REVIEW - 2010 NOVELLA PRIZE
Deadline: postmarked no later than February 1, 2010
Web: http://web.uvic.ca/malahat/novella_contest/info.html Canada’s premier literary magazine, invites entries from Canada, the U.S., and elsewhere for the 2010 Novella Prize. One prize of $500CDN is awarded, plus payment at the rate of $40CDN per printed page upon publication. Previous winning entries have also won or been nominated for National Magazine Awards for Fiction and the O. Henry Prize. The Novella Prize is offered every second year, alternating with The Malahat Review’s Long Poem Prize.
Contest Guidelines: (Check website for complete details). Enter a single work of fiction, with a minimum length of 10,000 words and maximum length 20,000 words. No restrictions as to genre, subject matter, or aesthetic approach apply.
Entry fees: $35CDN for Canadian entries $40USF for American entries $45USF for entries from Mexico or outside North America.
_______________________________________________________ Ongoing submisson (no deadlines): Freehand Books
Web: http://www.broadviewpress.com
Freehand Books is a new literary book publishing operation by Broadview Press of Calgary and Guelph. The new press aims to discover and publish new and established writers of literary fiction, poetry, memoir, biography, and creative non-fiction on a variety of timely topics. Submit manuscripts with SASE to: Freehand Books, #412 - 815--1st Street SW, Calgary T2P 1N3. (posted Dec 7-07) Bloming Tree Press
Chateau Lane Publishing is currently seeking submissions about compelling real-life stories of starving writers and their colourful and dramatic financial struggles. Of particular interest is the subject of student loans and the adversity caused by the harsh and austere 10 year prohibition on bankruptcy discharges for student loan debts. Submissions should not exceed 3,000 words. For further information or you may send your submission by email to: dpwelbanks@shaw.ca, or call at 604-728-0968. Please do not send attachments.
Boxcar Poetry Review
Web: http://www.boxcarpoetry.com/
Seeks top quality poetry, artwork, photography, interviews, and reviews. Chick Lit Review
Web: chicklitreview.org/submissions.aspx
Accepting original chick lit short stories (max. 2500 words) and review of published chick lit novels (max. 500 words). Pays $50 for short stories and $25 for reviews. See Website for full submission details. Ramble Underground
Web: www.rambleunderground.org/underground_winter06_005.htm
Ramble Underground seeks fiction and poetry for that demonstrates "literary bravery and honesty". Include a brief bio. See website for details. Ruined Music
Seeking stories about songs that are now ruined for you
Website: www.ruinedmusic.com/submit
Online biweekly zine Ruined Music seeks witty, heart-wrenching, zesty essays about songs you can no longer stand (because of a breakup, a bad date, a talent show disaster, or other traumatic experience). Submit true stories: 700-1000 words. See Website for details. _______________________________________________________ Disclaimer: It is the sole responsibility of the user to verify the accuracy and authenticity of any contests, awards, submission calls or any other such posting found on this page. After receiving an entry for the list, we check out the website and reject obvious contest scams but please note that the Federation of British Columbia Writers does not claim any responsibility for misleading or inaccurate postings. Incorrect information on postings can be directed to the Fed office at bcwriters@shaw.ca.
Here are several websites with valuable information on contest scams:
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