Canadian Authors Association—Toronto presents

The 3rd Annual National Writing Contest

Fiction and Poetry Writing Competition open to all Canadian authors with $700 in prizes and the chance to work with a professional editor and be published in a contest anthology book!

Timeline:

  • Contest opens October 23, 2024, and closes at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, March 31, 2025. (EXTENDED)

Entry Fee: 

  • $20 Canadian per contest entry of either fiction or poetry for all Canadian Authors Association (CAA) members
  • Or $25 Canadian per contest entry of either fiction or poetry for non-CAA members
  • Payment method: via entry form (one step submission of uploading entry and payment)

Awards: 

  • Cash prizes for first ($200), second ($100), and third-place ($50) will be awarded in each category. 
  • All winners and runner ups will work with a professional editor to be published in a contest anthology book as well as participate in a future book launch event featuring author readings.
  • All entries will receive a copy of the contest anthology eBook as a mini prize!

How to Enter:

Contact for questions:

  • Please email “caatocontest at gmail.com” with any questions.
  • Please do not send in any entries to this email address, they will be ignored.

Rules for Fiction Entries

  • Submissions can be in any genre (literary, horror, speculative, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, etc.). There is no theme; all we ask is that you surprise and delight us! 
  • Formatting: All entries will be read blind. Please do not include identifying information such as your name or email in your story. Please use 11 pt. Arial or Calibri or 12 pt. font Times New Roman, double-spaced. 
  • Word count: 2,500 (minimum) to 3,000 (maximum), not including your title.
  • File type accepted: Word file (doc, docx)

Rules for Poetry Entries

  • We’re accepting all forms of poetry for this contest, including lyrical, formal, free verse, visual, experimental, concrete, haiku and other micro poetic forms, and spoken word, etc.
  • Formatting: All entries will be read blind. Please do not include identifying information such as your name or email in your story. Please use 11 pt. Arial or Calibri or 12 pt. font Times New Roman, double-spaced. 
  • Word count: Poems should be no more than 50 lines, including line breaks (but not including the title).
  • For spoken word entries, please submit an audio file (mp3) along with a written (typed) version of the poem. As with all submissions, spoken word poems should be 50 lines total including line breaks. The total length of the recording of each poem should be less than two minutes. Spoken word submissions can include up to two poems per entry.
  • File types accepted: Word (doc, docx), pdf or mp3

Additional Rules for the competition:

  • No previously published work or AI generated work! 
  • Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please let us know as soon as possible if your story has been accepted elsewhere.
  • Submissions containing harmful stereotypes and perspectives, including racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, islamophobia, xenophobia, antisemitism or ableism, or any other discriminatory content, will be disqualified.
  • Open to Canadian citizens and residents only.

For additional information, contact: caatocontest at gmail.com