Contests for Canadian Writers
A stack of books in a window with colourful bookmarks.
Welcome to the world of literary contests!
There are a ton of awards for both emerging and published writers in Canada. With almost every literary magazine running open contests, there are so many opportunities for getting your work out there.
If publishing is what revs your engine (and it doesn’t have to be), dive in deep. Explore this list. Send your work out to anthologies. Stand in bookstores looking for magazines that feel like a fit for your voice and content. Find places to read your work out loud and to share your writing online. Believe in yourself relentlessly.
But also? Don’t lose the joy of this. The deep satisfaction of writing is the very best kind of award.
Have fun!
~ The Firefly Team
P.S. Is this list not up to date? We’d love to know!
P.P.S. If you’re looking to fund your writing, visit our Grants for Canadian Writers resource.
Awards for Emerging Writers
Alice Munro Short Story CoNTEST
Awards:
$1,500 prize for adults; two additional $250 prizes
$500 prize for youth; two additional $250 prizes
Eligibility: Canadian citizens or landed immigrants / refugees and those living in Canada; entry fee of $25 for adults or $10 for youth
ARC Poem of the Year
Awards: $5,000 grand prize; $500 honourable mention prize and $250 reader’s choice prize. All shortlisted poems received paid publication in Arc and online.
Eligibility: Open internationally; entry fee depends on number of submissions and includes an Arc subscription.
Canadian Jewish Playwriting competition
Award: The winning playwright will receive $1,000 and an 8-hour CAEA workshop with a director and up to six actors that concludes with a public reading.
Website: mnjcc.org/theatre
CBC Nonfiction Prize
Awards: Winner will receive $6,000, a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and have their work published on CBC Books. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 and have their story published on CBC Books.
Eligibility: Canadian citizens and permanent residents; entry fee of $25
Website: cbc.ca/books/literaryprizes/cbc-nonfiction-prize-1.4090951
cbc poetry prize
Awards: The winner will receive $6,000, a two-week writing residency at Artscape Gibraltar Point, and have their work published on CBC Books. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 and have their story published on CBC Books.
Eligibility: Canadian citizens and permanent residents; entry fee of $25
Website: cbc.ca/books/literaryprizes/cbc-poetry-prize-1.4090929
CBC Short Story Prize
Awards: Winner will receive $6,000, a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and have their work published on CBC Books. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 and have their story published on CBC Books.
Eligibility: Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada; entry fee of $25
Website: cbc.ca/books/literaryprizes/cbc-short-story-prize-1.4090935
Crime Writers of Canada — Best Unpublished Manuscript
Award: $500
Eligibility: Canadian citizens, permanent residents and Canadian citizens living abroad; entry fee of $30 per manuscript ($15 for CWC members)
Website: crimewriterscanada.com/index.php/en/page/page-content/awards-of-excellence
CV2 contests & awards
Awards:
2-Day Poem Contest: $500 first prize; $300 second prize; $150 third prize
The Foster Poetry Prize: $1,000 to the winning entry; cash prizes to four Honourable Mentions
Eligibility: International; entry fee of $16-26.
Creative Nonfiction Collective Contest
Award: $1,000 first prize; $300 second prize; $200 third prize
Eligibility: Canadian citizens and permanent residents; entry fee of $20 ($15 for CNFC members)
Do Wha(TS) Write
Award: $200 for the winning entry.
Eligibility: Flash fiction or short stories, 1000 word limit; international; entry fee of $3
Website: dowhatswrite.com
dreamers creative writing contests
Awards:
$250 prize for Stories of Migration, Sense of Place and Home
$120 prize for Micro Nonfiction Story Contest
$120 prize for Haiku Contest
$150 prize for Flash Fiction and Nonfiction Contest
Eligibility: International; entry fees dependent on the contest.
Website: dreamerswriting.com/submit
Eden Mills Writers’ Festival — Read at The Fringe Literary Contest
Award: One winner in each category (fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry) will be invited to read at the festival. The prize also includes $150, and inclusion in a chapbook.
Eligibility: Ontario residents; $20 entry fee
Website: edenmillswritersfestival.ca/the-fringe-literary-contest
EVENT magazine — Non-Fiction Contest
Awards: $1,500 first place; $1,000 second place; $500 third place
Eligibility: International; fee of $34.95 per entry (includes magazine subscription)
Website: eventmagazine.ca/contest-nf
Exile Quarterly — poetryand Fiction competitions
Awards:
The $15,000 Nona Heaslip Best Canadian Short Fiction Competition; $2000 for runner-up
The Ruth and David Lampe Poetry Competition awards; $1,500 for Emerging Writer category; $1,500 for Any Career Point category
Eligibility: Canadian residents; fee of $35 per entry (includes magazine subscription)
The EX-Puritan — Austin CLarke Prize in literary excellence
Awards: $1,000 first prize; $200 runner-up
Eligibility: International; fee of $20 per entry
Website: ex-puritan.ca/austin-clarke-prize
Federation of BC Writers Literary contests
Awards: $350 for each genre (Flash Fiction, Short Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Poetry), publication in anthology, free copies of anthology
Eligibility: Canadian residents; entry fee of $15 FBCW members, $25 non-members
Website: bcwriters.ca
Feme sole Awards
Award: $1000 scholarship for creative writing
Eligibility: Canadian citizens over 21 years old, living in Canada, who are not receiving funding for their work
Website: zoechilco.ca/feme-sole-awards
The Fiddlehead Annual contest
Award: $2,000; type of submission changes each year
Eligibility: International; entry fee varies by country of residence
Website: thefiddlehead.ca/contest
Freefall ANNUAL PROSE & POETRY CONTEST
Awards:
$500 First Prize
$250 Second Prize
$125 Third Prize
$75 Honourable Mention Prize
Contest entries are also automatically entered into the Lynn Fraser Memorial contest for a chance to win $100
Eligibility: International; entry fee of $25 (includes magazine subscription)
Website: freefallmagazine.ca/contest
Geist writing contests
Awards: Poltergeist Writing Contest, Erasure Poetry Contest, Annual Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest
Eligibility: International; entry fee of $20 (includes magazine subscription)
Website: geist.com/contests
The Great Big Northern Ontario Story Contest
Awards:
$1,000 for first prize, $250 for second prize
Eligibility: For a non-fiction travel story set in or showcasing the beauty of Northern Ontario, between 800-1600 words in English or French. Open to Canadian residents over 18.
Website: northernontario.travel/best/great-big-northern-ontario-story-contest
GritLit Short Story Contest
Awards: For fiction or creative non-fiction, 2000 words or less
$500 for first place
$150 for two honourable mentions
Eligibility: Piece that is previously unpublished; entry fee of $25
Website: gritlit.ca/contest
League of canadian poets - Lesley Strutt Poetry contest
Award: $500
Eligibility: Canadian poets, poets living and working in Canada, as well as Indigenous, Inuit and Métis poets who live in the region known colonially as Canada; entry fee of $5
Website: poets.ca/offerings/awards/
The Malahat Review
Award: Various contests including the Long Poem Prize, Novella Prize, Far Horizons Award for Poetry/Short Fiction and the Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize.
Eligibility: International; varies.
Montreal International Poetry Prize
Awards: $20,000
Eligibility: International; entry fee of $20-25 depending on submission date
Website: montrealpoetryprize.com
northshore Annual Writing contest
Awards: $100 first prize; $75 second prize, $50 third prize in each category (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and writing for children and young adults). First prize for a separate division for youth (grades 8-12) is $50 cash and $25 gift certificate.
Eligibility: Canadian youth & adults
Website: nswriters.org/annual-contest
Northwestern Ontario writers workshop - annual WRITING contest
Awards: $150 first prize; $100 second prize; $50 third prize in each category.
Eligibility: International; ages 18 and over; $10 entry fee (free for NOWW members)
Website: nowwwriters.ca
THE ONTARIO POETRY SOCIETY - ELLEN S.JAFFE HUMANIST AWARD FOR POETRY
Awards: $500 first prize
Eligibility: Canada and the US; entry fee of $20
Website: theontariopoetrysociety.ca/contest_Ellen_S_Jaffe_Humanist_Award.html
Open Minds Quarterly - Brainstorm Poetry Contest
Awards: $250 first prize, $150 second prize, $75 third prize, Honourable Mentions receive an honorarium
Eligibility: International; people with lived experience of madness, mental health challenges, mental illness and/or neurodivergence; entry fee of $12
Website: openmindsquarterly.com
portal magazine - portent FICTION contest
Awards: $500 and publication
Eligibility: Canadian citizens and residents; entry fee $25
Website: portalmagazine.ca/index.php/portent
pottersfield press - prize for creative non-fiction
Awards: The First Prize winner will receive a contract for the publication of the winning book along with a $1000 advance on 10% royalty for all sales. The Second Prize winner will also see the publication of the book and a $800 advance on 10% royalties
Eligibility: Canadian residents with unpublished manuscripts; entry fee of $25
Website: pottersfieldpress.com/creative-prize-for-nonfiction
Prairie Fire Annual Writing Contests
Awards: $1250 first prize in each of three categories: McNally Robinson Booksellers Poetry Award, Short Fiction, and Creative Non-Fiction.
Eligibility: International; entry fee of $32 (includes magazine subscription)
Website: www.prairiefire.ca/contests
PRISM international recurring contests
Awards: Various contests including Creative Non-Fiction, The Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize, The Jacob Zilber Prize for Short Fiction, The Grouse Grind Prize for V. Short Forms, and the Annual Earle Birney Prize for Poetry.
Eligibility: International; entry fee varies by contest and country of residence; free entries for self-identifying Black and Indigenous writers for all our contests; limited number of free entries offered to low-income writers
Website: prismmagazine.ca/contests
pulp literature contests
Awards: $300 Bumblebee Flash Fiction Contest; $500 Magpie Award for Poetry; $300 The Hummingbird Flash Fiction Contest; $300 The Raven Short Story Contest; $300 Kingfisher Poetry Prize
Eligibility: International; entry fee varies by contest
Website: pulpliterature.com/contests
ROOM Magazine contests
Awards: Varies by contest (Poetry, Short Forms, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction)
Eligibility: Open to women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people; entry fee varies by contest and country of residence; 10 free entries offered to low-income writers
Website: roommagazine.com/contests
subterrain — ANNUAL Lush Triumphant Literary Awards
Awards: $1,000 plus publication for the winning entry in each of three categories (fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction)
Eligibility: Entry fee of $30 (includes magazine subscription)
Website: subterrain.ca/about/103/lush-2024-awards-open+for+entries
Surrey International Writers’ Conference — writing Contest
Awards: $1,000 plus publication for first prize; $150 plus publication for honorable mention
Eligibility: Entry fee of $15
Website: siwc.ca/writing-contest
tnq contests
Awards: $1,000 for the winning entry in each of three categories (The Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest, The Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest, The Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award)
Eligibility: Canadian citizens or residents; entry fee varies by contest
Website: tnq.ca/contests
Toronto star short story contest
Awards:
First prize: $5,000 plus tuition at the Humber School for Writers
Second prize: $2,000
Third prize: $1,000
Eligibility: Ontario residents only
Vallum Awards
Awards: $300 Chapbook Award, $750 Poetry Award and one finalist will receive $250; as well as publication
Eligibility: International; entry fee varies by country of residence
Website: vallummag.com/submit
Wine Country Writers’ Festival Writing Contest
Awards: Prizes in each of three categories (fiction, non-fiction, poetry)
1st place: $200, free registration for festival, and publication
2nd place: $100 and publication
3rd place: $50 and publication
Eligibility: International; writers and poets over the age of 18; established and emerging writers; entry fee: $15 or two entries for $25
Website: wcwfestival.com/wine-country-writers-festival-writing-contest
word on the lake writing contest
Awards: $200 first place; $150 second place; $100 Honourable Mention awarded in each category (fiction, non-fiction, poetry)
Eligibility: International; entry fee of $15
Website: wordonthelakewritersfestival.com/saw/writing-contest-2024
Writers’ trust of Canada — RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers
Awards: $10,000 for winners; $2,500 for finalists in each category (poetry, short fiction)
Eligibility: Canadian citizens or permanent residents who have been published in a literary magazine or anthology and unpublished in book form.
Website: writerstrust.com/awards/rbc-bronwen-wallace-award-for-emerging-writers
The Writers’ Union of Canada — Short Prose Competition
Awards: $2,500 for the winning entry; winner and 11 other finalists will be submitted to three Canadian magazines and receive feedback on their submissions.
Eligibility: Canadian citizens or permanent residents; entry fee of $29
Writing Battle
Awards: $5000 USD Flash Fiction, $4000 USD Microfiction
Eligibility: International; entry fee varies by contest
Website: writingbattle.com
yolk Montreal Fiction Prize
Award: $2000 first prize; $500 second & third prize
Eligibility: The contest is open to all Canadian writers.
Awards for Young Writers
Alice Munro Short Story CoNTEST
Award: $500 prize for youth; two additional $250 prizes
Eligibility: Canadian citizens and residents; entry fee of $10 for youth
Eden Mills Writer’s Festival — Poetry Contest for Children
Awards: Winners will receive a $25 gift certificate to a bookstore of their choice and a family pass to the festival; three categories: Primary (Grades 1-3), Junior (Grades 4-6) and Senior (Grades 7-8)
Eligibility: Ontario residents only
Website: edenmillswritersfestival.ca/poetry-contest-for-children
Eden Mills Writer’s Festival — Poetry Contest for Teens
Awards: Winners will receive a $50 gift certificate to a bookstore of their choice and a family pass to the festival; two categories: Junior High (Grades 9-10) and Senior High (Grades 11-12)
Eligibility: Ontario residents only
Website: edenmillswritersfestival.ca/poetry-contest-for-teens
The Giller Mantella Scholarship
Awards: Three $10,000 scholarships
Eligibility: Black, Indigenous and racialized students graduating high school in Canada; cumulative average of 75; pursuing a post-secondary degree in literature or creative writing; only the first 35 applications will be accepted for review.
Website: scotiabankgillerprize.ca/giller-mantella-scholarship
James Bartleman Indigenous Youth Creative Writing Awards
Awards: $2,500 awarded to up to six Indigenous students in three categories (fly-in community, on reserve, off reserve).
Eligibility: Indigenous students under the age of 18 enrolled in an Ontario school
Website: ontario.ca/page/honours-and-awards-arts-and-literature
Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize for Canadian Youth
Awards: Three cash prizes awarded in each of two categories — Junior (grades 7 to 9) and Senior (grades 10 to 12)
Eligibility: Young poets all across Canada
Website: poets.ca/offerings/awards/
Kids Write 4 Kids Creative Challenge
Award: Winner becomes a published author, book sale proceeds donated to their charity of choice
Eligibility: Canadian residents in grades 4-8.
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Awards: Scholarships range from $1000 to $10,000 in 29 categories for writers and artists.
Eligibility: Teens in grades 7-12 (ages 13 and up) from Canada and the US
Website: artandwriting.org/awards
Vancouver Writers Fest — Youth Writing Contest (fiction & poetry)
Awards: $200 first prize; $100 second prize
Eligibility: Open to all students enrolled in grades 8-12 in British Columbia
Young Alberta Book Society — Martyn Godfrey Young Writers Award
Award: a curated selection of books by YABS authors and an invitation to a virtual writing workshop
Eligibility: Students enrolled in grade 4-9 in Alberta
Awards for Published Writers
Amy Mathers Teen Book Award
Award: $5,000
Eligibility: Both the author and illustrator (in the case of graphic novels) must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents
Canada council for the arts — Governor General’s Literary Awards
Awards:
Awards of $25,000 to winning books in each of 7 categories (Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Young People’s Literature – Text, Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books, Translation)
$1,000 to each finalist
Eligibility: Books must be submitted by an eligible publisher
Website: ggbooks.ca
Crime Writers of Canada — Awards of Excellence for Published works
Awards: Varies by category — check online for details
Eligibility: Open to permanent residents of Canada and Canadian citizens living abroad
Website: crimewriterscanada.com/index.php/en/page/page-content/awards-of-excellence
The Donner Prize
Awards: $60,000 to the winning entry; $7,500 to each of the shortlisted titles
Eligibility: Books published outside Canada are eligible provided that the author is a Canadian citizen and the book is published in English or French
Website: donnerbookprize.com
Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People
Award: $5,000
Eligibility: Both the author and illustrator (in the case of graphic novels) must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents; Entry fee of $25
Website: bookcentre.ca/geoffrey-bilson-award-for-historical-fiction-for-young-people
Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award
Award: $20,000 for an original work in English, aimed at children ages 3-8
Eligibility: Both the author and illustrator must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents; entry fee of $25
Ontario creates — Trillium Book awards
Awards:
$20,000 for the Trillium Book Award
$10,000 for the Trillium Book Award for Poetry
$10,000 for the Trillium Book Award for Poetry and the Trillium Book Award for Children’s Literature in French
Eligibility: Ontario writers who have lived in Ontario for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. Only book publishers may submit titles for consideration.
Website: ontariocreates.ca/our-sectors/book/trillium-book-award
Scotiabank giller prize
Awards: $140,000 to the winning entry; $10,000 to each of the finalists
Eligibility: Open to Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada
Website: scotiabankgillerprize.ca
TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award
Awards:
Two cash prizes of $50,000 each to an English-language book and French-language book.
$10,000 awarded for honour books ($5,000 in English and $5,000 in French)
Eligibility: Author and illustrator (if applicable) must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents; only books published in Canada are eligible for submission; entry fee of $25
Website: bookcentre.ca/td-canadian-childrens-literature-award
Writers’ trust of Canada — Book awards
Awards:
Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize: $60,000 to the winning entry; $5,000 to each of the finalists
Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction: $75,000 to the winning entry; $5,000 to each of the finalists
Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing: $25,000 to the winning entry; $2,500 to each of the finalists
Dayne Olgilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers: $10,000 to the winning entry; $1,000 to each of the finalists
Eligibility: Open to Canadian citizens or permanent residents; submission by publisher
The Writers’ Union of Canada — Danuta Gleed Literary Award
Awards: $10,000 for the winning entry; $1,000 each to two finalists
Eligibility: Canadian-authored titles in English available through bookstores and libraries