BC and Yukon Book Prizes

Genre: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Regional, Children’s and Illustrated Children’s Literature
Entry Fee: $40 CAD per book
Deadline: December 1, 2024
Prize: The winners in each of the eight categories receive a prize of $3,000 CAD plus a certificate
Description: The BC and Yukon Book Prizes, established in 1985, celebrates the achievements of British Columbia writers and publishers. The submitted book must have a print run of at least 350 copies within its first twelve months of publication. The book must be at least 48 pages long, unless it is a children’s picture book in which case it must be at least 24 pages long. Seven prizes are presented annually at the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Book Prizes Gala in the spring.
Details: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/how-to-enter/

 

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

Genre: Critical Essay, Dramatic Script, Flash Fiction, Humor, Journalism, Novel Writing, Personal Essay & Memoir, Poetry, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Short Story (Students in Grades 7 – 12, ages 13 and up)
Entry Fee: $5 USD
Deadline: Deadlines vary by region and can be as early as December 1, 2024
Prize: Various scholarship awards, see website for full details
Description: Each year, the Alliance partners with more than 100 visual arts and literary arts organizations across the country to bring the Scholastic Awards to local communities. Teens in grades 7–12 (ages 13 and up) apply in 28 categories of art and writing.
Details:https://www.artandwriting.org/awards/

 

Unleash Press 2025 Book Award

Genre: Manuscript
Entry Fee: $35 CAD
Deadline: December 1, 2024
Prize: $1,000 CAD advance and an optional/standard contract from Unleash Press for one winning manuscript; finalists will be considered for publication
Description: Novels, poetry collections, short story collections, and creative nonfiction manuscripts are accepted. Full-length, completed manuscripts only. The minimum length of a manuscript is 30,000 words for prose or 70 pages for poetry. Genres accepted include fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and experimental/hybrid.
Details: https://unleashpress.submittable.com/submit/247727/2024-book-prize

 

KOBZAR Book Award 2024

Genre: Literary Non-fiction, Fiction, Poetry, Young Readers’ Literature, Play, Screenplay, Musical
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: December 9, 2024
Prize: $25,000 CAD ($20,000 CAD is awarded to the author and $5,000 CAD to the publisher of the winning title)
Description: Presented biennially, the KOBZAR Book Award recognizes outstanding contributions to Canadian literary arts by authors who write on a topic with a tangible connection to the Ukrainian Canadian experience. The Award fills a very important “niche” in the Canadian and North American book and literary awards scene. It impacts the lives of authors by giving them recognition, and providing resources to enable them to continue their work. It also creates a place for the Ukrainian Canadian experience and its stories. In a world where we are bombarded with information, sound bites, and uncurated content, the KOBZAR™ Book Award carves out an avenue to have a record of the stories and history of Ukrainian culture in Canada.
Details: https://www.kobzarbookaward.com/emerging-author-award/

 

Room Magazine’s Short Forms Contest

Genre: Poetry, Flash Fiction, Flash Nonfiction
Entry Fee: $39 CAD if you reside in Canada, $49 CAD if you reside in the US, and $59 CAD if you reside outside of North America, plus $7 CAD for each additional entry (includes a one-year subscription to Room)
Deadline: December 15, 2024
Prize: First prize of $500 CAD; second prize of $350 CAD; honourable mention prize of $150 CAD; all prizes include publication on Room’s website
Description: Room publishes work by people of all marginalized genders, including cis and trans women, trans men, nonbinary, and Two-Spirit people. Your entry can be in any genre up to 500 words, and can be one or two prose poems, flash fictions, flash creative non-fictions, or hybrid pieces.
Details: https://room.submittable.com/submit

 

The Masters Review Chapbook Open for Emerging Writers

Genre: Chapbooks
Entry Fee: $25 USD
Deadline: December 15, 2024
Prize: $3,000 USD, print and digital publication, and 50 contributor copies
Description: This year, The Masters Review is holding an open call for chapbooks. They want to publish your collections of flash, your mini novellas, your 40-page short stories, your braided essays, your eclectic brainchildren, your experiments. However, you want to tell your story, they want to read it. Submissions must be between 25-40 double-spaced pages. The submission window will be open for the final four months of the year, and The Masters Review staff will select a small shortlist of favorites to pass along to the final judge.
Details: https://mastersreview.com/chapbook-contest/

 

RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers

Genre: Poetry, Short Fiction
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: December 16, 2024, at 11:59 pm PT
Prize: Two grand prizes of $10,000 CAD each; two finalist prizes of $2,500 CAD each
Description: Established in memory of writer Bronwen Wallace, this award is for developing writers of poetry and short fiction. Bronwen Wallace felt that writers should have more opportunities for greater recognition early in their careers, and so this annual award is given to a writer who has published poetry or prose in a literary magazine or anthology, but has not yet been published in book form and is without a book contract. By submitting to this award, candidates grant Writers’ Trust of Canada permission to publish their work in print and digital formats should they be shortlisted. All rights reserved by the author. Eligible candidates should send up to 10 pages of previously unpublished poetry. Eligible candidates should send up to 10 pages (maximum 2,500 words) of previously unpublished short fiction.
Details: http://www.writerstrust.com/Awards/RBC-Bronwen-Wallace-Award-for-Emerging-Writers.aspx

 

Boulevard Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers

Genre: Short Story
Entry Fee: $18 USD per story (includes a one-year subscription to Boulevard)
Deadline: December 31, 2024
Prize: $1,500 USD and publication in Boulevard
Description: Awarded to the winning story by a writer who has not yet published a book of fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction with a nationally distributed press. Works up to 8,000 words are accepted.
Details: https://boulevardmagazine.org/short-fiction-contest/

 

Danahy Fiction Prize

Genre: Short Story
Entry Fee: $20 USD (includes a one-year subscription to Tampa Review)
Deadline: December 31, 2024
Prize: $1,000 USD and publication in Tampa Review
Description: The Danahy Fiction Prize is an annual award judged by the editors of Tampa Review, and all entries will be considered for publication. Submissions must be original, previously unpublished short fiction. Manuscripts between 500 and 5,000 words are preferred, but stories falling slightly outside this range will also be considered.
Details: https://tampareview.org/the-danahy-fiction-prize/

 

Leacock Medal for Humour

Genre: Book-length Humour
Entry Fee: $200 CAD
Deadline: December 31, 2024
Prize: First prize of $25,000 CAD; two runner-up prizes of $4,000 CAD each
Description: All entries must have been published in the current year (2024). The author or authors must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants and living at the time of publication.
Details: http://www.leacock.ca/medalaward.php

 

Briarpatch Magazine’s Writing in the Margins Contest

Genre: Creative Nonfiction, Poetry and Photography
Entry Fee: $25 CAD (includes a one-year subscription to Briarpatch Magazine)
Deadline: 2024 contest details to be announced
Prize: One winner from each of three categories will be selected to win first prize of $500 CAD and publication in May/June 2019 issue Briarpatch Magazine; one winner from each of three categories will be selected to win runner-up prizes of $150 CAD and online publication
Description: Briarpatch is accepting submissions of original, unpublished writing and photography for their ninth annual Writing in the Margins contest. The magazine is seeking fresh writing and photography that brings to life issues of political, social, and environmental justice.
Details: https://briarpatchmagazine.com/writinginthemargins

 

Do Wha(TS) Write! Creative Writing Contest

Genre: Flash Fiction, Short Story
Entry Fee: $2 CAD per entry
Deadline: 2024 contest details to be announced
Prize: $200 CAD
Description: Do Wha(TS) Write is based in Canada but open internationally All contest proceeds are donated to Tourette Canada, a national charity. Contest entries should be flash fiction or short stories, with an absolute word limit of 1,000 words. There is no required prompt or topic. Write whatever you’d like! There is no preferred genre or format of story. Poetry is not permitted.
Details: https://www.dowhatswrite.com/rules

 

Orna Ross Green Stories Novel Prize

Genre: Novels with a ‘green’ theme
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: 2024 contest details to be announced
Prize: First prize of £1,000; runner up prize of £500
Description: Organised by the University of Southampton, Green Stories is a ‘free’ writing competition project with a range of categories for novelists and short story writers. Entries should conform with positive visions of more sustainable futures and/or the inclusion of green solutions but needn’t have an explicitly green theme. Typically novels are 60,000 – 95,000 words. Submit three chapters with a minimum of 4,000 words and a maximum 10,000 words.
Details: https://www.greenstories.org.uk/upcoming-competitions/orna-ross-adult-novel-prize/

 

Science Writers and Communicators of Canada (SWCC) 2024 Book Awards

Genre: Book Length Science Writing
Entry Fee: $25 CAD per title
Deadline: 2024 contest details to be announced
Prize: First prize of $1,000 CAD in each of two categories; second prize of $500 CAD to the winner of the Paradigm Prize
Description: For over 20 years, the SWCC has recognized outstanding contributions to science writing with the SWCC Book Awards. Authors must be Canadian citizens or a resident of Canada. Entries can be written in French or English. You do not need to be a member of the SWCC to submit.
Details: https://sciencewriters.ca/bookawards/submissions

 

Joan Betty Stuchner —Oy Vey!— Funniest Children’s Book Award

Genre: Humorous Children’s Books
Entry Fee: $30 CAD
Deadline: 2025 contest details to be announced
Prize: Two prizes of $752.81 CAD each
Description: The Joan Betty Stuchner Funniest Children’s Book Award will be presented biannually to Canadian authors or illustrators of the work of juvenile literature that had the jury most buckled over with guffaws, incapacitated with giggles, and/or rib-ticklingly, side-splittingly, thigh-slappingly entertained. The two categories consist of 1) A board or picture book, and 2) A book with lots more words than pictures. Eligible works are board books, picture books, chapter books, graphic novels and juvenile fiction and non-fiction, and must be suitable for readers up to grade 7.
Details: https://www.vclr.ca/jbs-oy-vey-award/

 

Lives that Make a Difference Essay Contest

Genre: Nonfiction Essay (Students in Grades 5 – 12)
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: 2025 contest details to be announced
Prize: Grand prize of $3,000 CAD for the winning student plus $1,000 CAD for department/classroom of the Teacher; first prize of $2,000 CAD for the winning student plus $1,000 CAD for department/classroom of the Teacher
Description: Students in 5th–12th grades may enter by writing an essay based on someone they think made the biggest impact on Canadian society in 2020. Prizes are awarded in two grade levels: 5th–8th grade and 9th–12th grade. Two winners will be selected in each level.
Details:https://livesthatmakeadifference.com/