The National Media Awards Foundation has compiled a comprehensive list of national and international writing contests that are open to Canadian writers, poets, and creators. There are competitions for everyone— from seasoned, published writers to up-and-coming writers who are just getting started in the industry. Contests cover genres such as poetry, non-fiction, fiction, and line art. For more information on each contest, please click on the contest you’re interested in below.
Would you like your publication’s writing contest included in our guide? Send us an email today indicating the name of your contest, the deadline, entry fee and prizes, and who’s eligible to compete. Publications from around the world can be included in our guide, as long as Canadian creators are eligible to submit to your publication’s contest.
Dave Williamson Canadian National Short Story Competition
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
First Place: $1,000
Second Place: $600
Third Place: $400
Short prose in English, 2,500-5,000 words in any fiction genre
Entry Fee: $20
The Vallum Award for Poetry
Deadline: July 15th, 2023
First Place Prize: $750 and publication in Vallum
Finalist: $250 and publication in Vallum
Entry fee: $25 for Canadian entrants, includes a 1-year subscription to Vallum Magazine
PRISM International Jacob Wilber Prize for Short Fiction
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Grand Prize: $1,500
Second Prize: $600
Second runner-up: $400
Entry fee: $35 for Canadian entries, includes a one-year subscription
Additional entry: $5 per entry
Max. word count: 4,000 (including title)
Judge: Waubgeshig Rice
PRISM International IBPOC Fiction & Poetry
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Compensation: $40 per printed page of prose, $45 per printed page of poetry, and publication in PRISM international
Entry fee: Free
The Malahat Review Long Poem Prize
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Prize: $2,500 and publication in The Malahat Review
Entry fee: $35 for Canadian entries
Additional entry: $15 per entry
The Malahat Review Novella Prize
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Prize: $2,000 and publication in The Malahat Review
Entry fee: $35 for Canadian entries
Additional entry: $15 per entry
The Malahat Review Far Horizons Award for Poetry
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Prize: $1,250 and publication in The Malahat Review
Entry fee: $25 for Canadian entries
Additional entry: $15 per entry
The Malahat Review Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction
Deadline: May 1st, 2023
Prize: $1,250 and publication in The Malahat Review
Entry fee: $25 for Canadian entries
Additional entry: $15 per entry
The Malahat Review Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize
Deadline: Every August 1st— closed for now, check back in mid-May 2023
Prize: $1,250 and publication in The Malahat Review
Entry Fee: $35 for entries from Canada, $15 per every additional entry
The Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize is awarded to the best work submitted to the magazine’s annual contest for a genre that embraces, but is not limited to, the personal essay, memoir, narrative nonfiction, social commentary, travel writing, historical accounts, and biography, all enhanced by such elements as description, dramatic scenes, dialogue, and characterization.
League of Canadian Poets Lesley Strutt Poetry Contest
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Prize: $500
Eligibility: Canadian poets, poets living and working in Canada, as well as Indigenous, Inuit and Métis poets who may not identify as Canadian but live in the region known colonially as Canada
Entry fee: $5
The Fiddlehead Fiction Contest
Deadline: Not yet announced for 2023
Prize: $2,000 and publication in The Fiddlehead
Judge: Yasuko Thanh
Submission Guidelines
Arc Poetry Poem of the Year
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Grand prize: $5,000
Honourable Mention: $500
Shortlist winner: $250
Entry fee: $35, includes one-year subscription to Arc
Arc Poetry Magazine Diana Brebner Prize
Deadline: September 4th, 2023
Prize: $500
Eligibility: Residents of the National Capital Region
Entry fee: $25 for one or two poems, includes one-year subscription to Arc
Surrey International Writers’ Conference writing contest
Deadline: September 15th, 2023
First Prize: $1,000 and publication
Honourable mention: $150 and publication
Eligibility: International
Entry fee: $15
Dreamers Creative Writing
STORIES OF MIGRATION, SENSE OF PLACE AND HOME
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Prize: $250
Entry Fee: $20 USD (Approx. $25 CAD), includes 1-year electronic subscription for Dreamers Magazine
HAIKU CONTEST
Deadline: May 31st, 2023
Prize: $120
Entry Fee: $10 USD (Approx. $13 CAD), includes an e-copy of the next issue of Dreamers Magazine
Submit up to 3 Haiku per entry!
FLASH FICTION AND NONFICTION CONTEST
Deadline: Sept. 30th, 2023
Prize: $150
Entry Fee: $12.50 USD (Approx. $15 CAD), includes an e-copy of the next issue of Dreamers Magazine
Length: Between 300 and 1,000 words
Portal Magazine‘s Portent Contest
Deadline: October 15th, 2023
Prize: $500 and publication in Portal Magazine
Eligibility: Canadian citizens and residents
Entry fee: $25, includes one-year print subscription to Portal
Length: Maximum 2,000 words
Pulp Literature
The Hummingbird Flash Fiction Prize
Deadline: Closed for now, check back later
Prize: $300 and publication in Pulp Literature
Entry fee: $20, includes a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature
Editorial critique: $25
Length: Under 1,000 words
The Magpie Award For Poetry
Deadline: April 15th, 2023
First Prize: $300 and publication in Pulp Literature
Runners Up: $50 and publication in Pulp Literature
Entry fee: $25, $10 for each subsequent entry, includes a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature
Length: Up to 100 lines
The Bumblebee Flash Fiction Contest
Deadline: February 15th, 2024
Prize: $300 and publication in Pulp Literature
Entry fee: $15, includes a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature
Editorial critique: $20
Length: Up to 750 words
The Raven Short Story Contest
Deadline: October 15th, 2023
Winner notified: November 15, 2023
Prize: $300 and publication in Pulp Literature
Judge: Leo X Robertson
Entry fee: $20, includes a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature
Editorial critique: $25
Length: Between 250 and 2,500 words
Prairie Fire
McNally Robinson Booksellers Poetry Award, Short Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction Contests
Deadline: November 30th, 2023
1st prize: $750 and publication in Prairie Fire
2nd prize: $350 and publication in Prairie Fire
3rd prize: $150 and publication in Prairie Fire
Entry fee: $32, including a one-year subscription to Prairie Fire
Length: One fiction entry consists of one story, maximum 5,000 words; one poetry entry consists of 1, 2, or 3 poems, maximum 150 lines; one creative non-fiction entry consists of one article, maximum 5,000 words.
The Writers Union of Canada
Danuta Gleed Literary Award
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Prize: $10,000 to a Canadian writer for the best first collection of published short fiction in the English language. Two finalists are also awarded $1,000 each.
Short Prose Competition
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Prize: $2,500
Eligibility: Writers must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada
Length: Up to 2,500 words
Jurors: Doretta Lau, Tāriq Malik, and Ann Shortell
FreeFall Annual Prose & Poetry Contest
Deadline: April 30th, 2023
1st Prize: $500
2nd Prize: $250
3rd Prize: $125
Honourable Mention: $75
Entry fee: $25, additional entries $5 (at the time of original entry), includes one-year subscription
Length: 3,000 words prose, or 3 poems per entry
Writing Battle
Last Chance to Join Microfiction Battle : May 5th, 2023
Prize: Ranging from $4,000 to $8,000 depending on how many people join
Entry fee: $25 for Flash Fiction, $20 for Microfiction
EXILE Quarterly Short Fiction Competition and Award
Deadline: June 30th, 2023
Prize: $500 and publication in EXILE Quarterly
Entry fee: $35, includes one-year subscription to EXILE Quarterly
Length: Maximum 6,000 words
EXILE Quarterly Poetry Competition and Award
Deadline: June 30th, 2023
Prize: $1,500 and publication in EXILE Quarterly
Entry fee: $35, includes one-year subscription to EXILE Quarterly
Length: Maximum 16 pages
Canthius PRISCILA UPPAL MEMORIAL AWARD FOR POETRY
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
First Prize: $500 + publication in Canthius
Runner-up: $250 + publication in Canthius
Entry fee: $25, includes a one-year subscription to Canthius
Contemporary Verse 2 Two-Day Poem Contest
Registration Deadline: April 10th, 2023
Deadline: April 23rd, 2023
First Prize: $500 plus a one-year subscription and publication in CV2
Second Prize: $300 plus a one-year subscription and publication in CV2
Third Prize: $150 plus a one-year subscription and publication in CV2
Editor’s Choice: one-year subscription and publication in CV2
Editor’s Mom’s Choice: one-year subscription and publication in CV2
People’s Choice: one-year subscription and publication in CV2
Registration fee: $16
Length: Maximum 48 lines of text not including the title
Contemporary Verse 2 Foster Poetry Prize
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Prize: $1,000 and publications in CV2
Entry fee: $26, subsequent entries $16, includes one-year subscription
Postcard Fiction Contest
Deadline: May 31st, 2023
1st Prize: $300 and publication in Counterflow Magazine
2nd Prize: $200 and publication in Counterflow Magazine
3rd Prize: $100 and publication in Counterflow Magazine
Entry fee: $25, $5 for Wordstorm members
Length: 250 words or less
Geist Annual Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest
Deadline: April 17th, 2023
First Prize: $500 and publication in Geist and on geist.com
Second Prize: $250 and publication in Geist and on geist.com
Third Prize: $150 and publication in Geist and on geist.com
Entry fee: $25, $5 for additional entires, includes a one-year subscription to Geist
Length: Maximum 500 words
Grain’s Short Grain Contest
Deadline: April 1st, 2023
First Prize: $1,000 and publication in Grain
Second Prize: $750 and publication in Grain
Third Prize: $500 and publication in Grain
Entry fee: $40 for Canadian entrants for a maximum of two entries in one category
The New Quarterly’s Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
Prize: $1,000 and publication in Grain
Entry fee: $40 for up to 3 poems, includes a 1-year Canadian subscription or renewal to The New Quarterly. Additional poems are $5 each.
The New Quarterly’s Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest
Deadline: April 10th, 2023
Prize: $1,000
Entry fee: $40 per essay, includes a 1-year Canadian subscription or renewal to The New Quarterly
The New Quarterly’s Peter Hinchcliffe Short Fiction Award
Deadline: May 28th, 2023
Prize: $1,000
Entry fee: $40 per work of short fiction, includes a 1-year Canadian subscription or renewal to The New Quarterly
Open Minds Quarterly’s Annual BrainStorm Poetry Contest
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
First Prize: $250, publication, and a contributor copy
Second Prize: $150, publication, and a contributor copy
Third Prize: $75, publication, and a contributor copy
Entry fee: $12 for up to three poems
Length: 30 lines or less
Room’s Fiction Contest
Deadline: April 15th, 2023
First Prize: $1,000 + possibility of publication in Room
Second Prize: $250 + possibility of publication in Room
Honourable Mention: $100 + publication on Room’s website
Entry fee: $39 for Canadian entry, includes a one-year subscription to Room
Length: Up to 3,500 words
Room’s Non-Fiction Contest
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
First Prize: $1,000 + possibility of publication in Room
Second Prize: $250 + possibility of publication in Room
Honourable Mention: $100 + publication on Room’s website
Entry fee: $39 for Canadian entry, includes a one-year subscription to Room
Length: Up to 3,500 words
Room’s Poetry Contest
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
First Prize: $1,000 + possibility of publication in Room
Second Prize: $250 + possibility of publication in Room
Honourable Mention: $100 + publication on Room’s website
Entry fee: $39 for Canadian entry, includes a one-year subscription to Room
Length: Up to 3,500 words
Room’s Short Forms Contest
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
First Prize: $500 + possibility of publication in Room
Second Prize: $500 + possibility of publication in Room
Honourable Mention: $50 + publication on Room’s website
Entry fee: $39 for Canadian entry, includes a one-year subscription to Room
Length: Up to 3,500 words
Riddle Fence’s Fiction and Poetry Contests
Deadline: Submissions are closed for this year
First Prize: $1,000 + possibility of publication in Room
Second Prize: $250 + possibility of publication in Room
Honourable Mention: $100 + publication on Room’s website
Entry fee: $25 for an entry from Canada, fee includes a one-year subscription to Riddle Fence
Length: Up to 5,000 words for a short story; no more than 100 lines per poem (up to three poems per submission)
Did we miss one? Send us a note or grab us on Twitter @MagAwards. We’ll update this post as more contests are announced.