Writing competitions by deadline date

 

 

 

January 31: Prism Fiction Contest

      Maximum length – 25 pages

      Current UBC creative writing students cannot enter

      Fee – $25 for one story, $7 for each additional story

      More info – http://prism.arts.ubc.ca/contests/fiction.htm

 

 

January 31: Short Grain Contest

      Genres – Dramatic monologue, postcard prose, prose poem

      Fee – $28 for up to two entries per category

      Prizes – 12 prizes of $500 each

      More info – http://www.grainmagazine.ca/contest.htm

 

 

February 14: Writers Union Postcard Story Competition

      Maximum length – 250 words

      Prizes – $500 first prize

      Entry fee – $5

      More info – http://www.writersunion.ca/

 

 

 

April 15: Event Creative Non-Fiction Contest

Maximum length – 5000 words

Fee – $25 per entry; multiple entries are allowed

Prizes – $500 each for top three entries

More info – http://event.douglas.bc.ca/contest.html

Recent winners – Nancy Mauro’s The Griller’s Guide to Love and Loss and Susan Olding’s At Lingyin Si won in 2004

 

 

May 1: Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (UK)

Maximum length – 600 words

Fee – none

Prizes – first prize is $5000; 25 runners-up have their stories recorded on a CD distributed throughout the Commonwealth

More info – http://www.cba.org.uk/competitions/short_story_rules.htm

 

    

May 1: Malahat Review "Far Horizons" Fiction (emerging writers only)

Maximum length – 3500 words

Fee –  $25 per story:

Prizes  $500

More info: http://web.uvic.ca/malahat/farhorizonsfiction.htm

 

 

May 20: Subterrain Lush Triumphant Contest

Maximum length – fiction (3,000 words), poetry (3 poems per entry, max 45 lines each), creative non-fiction (4,000 words)

Fee – $20 per entry (no limit)

Recent winners: Nancy Mauro’s story, Lost, was runner-up in the fiction category, 2004

More info – http://www.subterrain.ca/subterrain/contests/Lush%20guidelines.htm

 

 

May 16: Writers Digest annual writing competition (US)

Genres – fiction and non-fiction

Maximum length – 4,000 words

Fee – $15

Prizes – $1000, $500 and $250 for top three in each category; grand prize winner gets $2500 and free trip to NYC and meetings with agents and editors

More info – http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/annual/74th/

 

 

May 31: Antigonish Review "Sheldon Currie prize" Fiction

Maximum length – 3500 words

Fee – $25

Prizes  $600, $400 and $200 for top three stories

More info – http://www.antigonishreview.com/contest.html

 

 

June 30: Arc “Poem of the Year” contest

Enter up to 4 poems

Fee: $21

Prizes: $1000, $750 and $500 for top 3 poems

More info – http://www.arcpoetry.ca/contests/

 

 

July 1: Federation of BC Writers literary competition

Genres – fiction

Maximum length – 2500 words

Fee – $15 for federation members, $20 for non-members

Prizes – $500, $300 and $150 for top three stories

Notes – Winners announced in September 2005

More info – http://bcwriters.com/literarywrites/

 

 

July 1: This Magazine Great Canadian Literary Hunt

Genres – fiction and poetry

More info – http://www.thismagazine.ca/fictionandpoetry/

 

 

September 8: Surrey Writers Conference Contest

Genres – fiction, non-fiction, poetry

Maximum length – 5,000 words (fiction), 1500 words (non-fiction)

Fee – $15 per story

Prizes – $1000

Notes – winners informed October 15

More info – http://siwc.ca/contest/guidelines.php

 

 

October 1: Zoetrope All-Story Short Fiction Contest (US)

Maximum length – 5,000 words

Fee – $15 US per story

Prizes – $1000, $500 and $250 for top three stories

Notes – winners announced December 1 on the web site

More info – http://www.all-story.com/contests.cgi

 

 

October 15: Geist Literal Literary Postcard Short Story Contest

Maximum length – 500 words

Prizes – First prize $500; top three stories published in Geist

Fee – $20 for first entry; $5 for each additional entry

More info – http://www.geist.com//contest.php

 

 

October: Vancouver Writers Festival Poetry and Short Story Contest

Maximum length – fiction 1500 words; poetry 500 words

Fee – $10/entry

Prizes  – $350 first prize, $250 second prize, plus publication in SubTERRAIN

More info – http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/index.htm

 

 

Nov 3: Writers Union Short Prose Competition for Developing Writers

Genres – fiction and non-fiction

Maximum length – 2500 words

Fee – $25 per entry

Prizes – $2500 in prize money

Notes – writers must not be published in book form and not have contract with a publisher

More info – http://www.writersunion.ca/spc.html

 

 

Nov 15: CBC literary competition

Genres – travel, fiction and poetry (up to 2500 words)

Fee – $20/entry

Prizes – first prize $6,000, second prize, $4,000

More info – http://www.cbc.ca/literaryawards/english/index.html

 

 

Nov 30: Prairie Fire

Genres: poetry (up to 3 poems), fiction (up to 15,000 words), creative non-fiction (up to 5,000 words)

Fee: $27

Prizes: $1,000 (first), $500 (second), $250 (third)

More info: http://www.prairiefire.mb.ca/contests.html

Recent winners – Susan Olding, non-fiction, Brenda Leifso, poetry (2004)

 

 

Dec 31: Toronto Star Short Story Contest

Maximum length – 2500 words

Fee – $5

More info – http://www.thestar.com (click on Contests)

 

 

Dec 31: Fiddlehead Annual Writing Contest

      Genres: poetry (up to 5 poems), fiction (up to 25 pages, 1 story)

      Fee: $24

      Prizes: $1000 for fiction and poetry, two $100 runners-up

      More info: http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/Fiddlehead/contest.html