Manitoba Writers’ Guild Dave Williamson National Short Story Competition

Genre: Short Story
Entry Fee: $20 per entry
Deadline: March 1, 2023
Prize: First prize of $1,000 and a three year complimentary membership; second prize of $600 and a two year complimentary membership; third prize of $400 and a one year complimentary membership
Description: Open to writers across Canada who are 18 years of age or older. 2,500 – 5,000 words in any fiction genre. The three prize winners plus up to three honourable mentions will be published in an eBook anthology by the Manitoba Writers’ Guild.
Details: https://www.mbwriter.mb.ca/programs-and-services/dave-williamson-national-short-story-competition/#guidelines

 

Toronto Star Short Story Contest

Genre: Fiction
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: March 1, 2023 at 5:00 pm ET
Prize: First prize of $5,000 and a creative writing course from the Humber School for Writers; second prize of $2,000; third prize of $1,000
Description: Open to Ontario residents. The competition, one of the biggest of its kind in North America, is co-sponsored by the Humber School for Writers and the Toronto Public Library. Stories must be written in English, original and unpublished. Stories must be written on a computer or typewriter, be double-spaced and no longer than 2,500 words.
Details: https://www.thestar.com/shortstory.html

 

The 2023 Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize

Genre: Short Story
Entry Fee: $25 per story
Deadline: March 10, 2023
Prize: $1,000 and a free 10-week course with Gotham Writers
Description: The Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize is a writing competition sponsored by the stage and radio series Selected Shorts. This long-running series at Symphony Space in New York City celebrates the art of the short story by having stars of stage and screen read aloud the works of established and emerging writers. Selected Shorts is recorded for Public Radio and heard nationally on both the radio and its weekly podcast. Entrees should be 750 words or less. Stories can be on any theme.
Details: https://v2.writingclasses.com/contests/stella-kupferberg-memorial-short-story-prize-2022

 

Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story Annual Literary Short Story Contest

Genre: Short Story (Ages 19 years and older)
Entry Fee: $25
Deadline: March 15, 2023
Prize: First prize of $1,500; second prize of $250; third prize of $250
Description: The Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story is an annual three-day festival that features workshops, readings, onstage presentations, and community events that celebrate emerging writers and short fiction. The next Festival takes place where Alice Munro grew up, in Huron County, Ontario, Canada, in June, 2023. The Short Story Competition is an opportunity for writers to explore the short story, a literary art form made popular by 2013 Nobel Laureate Alice Munro. The winning entry will be the Canadian work of up to 2,500 words in the English language, fiction, written by an author not yet published in book format. Winners will be announced at the 2023 Festival with simultaneous social and print media release.
Details: https://www.alicemunrofestival.ca/shortstorycontest

 

Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story Annual Literary Youth Short Story Contest

Genre: Short Story (Up to 19 years of age on or before March 25, 2023)
Entry Fee: $10
Deadline: March 15, 2023
Prize: First prize of $500; second prize of $250; third prize of $250
Description: The Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story is an annual three-day festival that features workshops, readings, onstage presentations, and community events that celebrate emerging writers and short fiction. The next Festival takes place where Alice Munro grew up, in Huron County, Ontario, Canada, in June, 2023. The Short Story Competition is an opportunity for writers to explore the short story, a literary art form made popular by 2013 Nobel Laureate Alice Munro. The winning entry will be the Canadian work of up to 2,500 words in the English language, fiction, written by an author not yet published in book format. Winners will be announced at the 2023 Festival with simultaneous social and print media release.
Details:https://www.alicemunrofestival.ca/shortstorycontest

 

Annual Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picture Book of the Year Award

Genre: Picture Book
Entry Fee: $30 per title
Deadline: March 15, 2023
Prize: First prize of $2,500 (the cash prize will go to the author/illustrator, and in the case of a separate author and illustrator, the prize will be split 50/50)
Description: Administered by the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable, the Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picture Book of the Year Award will be awarded each year at the Annual VCLR Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picture Book of the Year Award Breakfast. The book must exhibit a seamless integration of the verbal and visual modes. In the case of a wordless book then it must be a seamless integration of the unwritten narrative that can be inferred from the well sequenced series of images. The book must be written in English by a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant and must be published by a Canadian publisher during 2022. A three-person jury will select the winning book and four honour books.
Details: https://www.vclr.ca/annual-sheila-barry-best-canadian-picturebook-of-the-year-award/

 

Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense

Genre: Romantic Suspense, Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Entry Fee: $15 USD for The Kiss of Death Chapter of the Romance Writers of America members; $30 USD for non-members
Deadline: March 15, 2023
Prize: Engraved bookmarks and multiple forms of recognition
Description: The Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense is named for Daphne du Maurier, the author of Rebecca, a suspense novel with romantic and gothic overtones and a precursor to today’s romantic suspense. The writing contest is for published and unpublished authors of mystery, suspense, and thrillers with or without romantic subplots. There are 5 romantic suspense categories and 1 mystery/thriller/suspense category.
Details: https://www.rwakissofdeath.org/kodcontest/

 

The Ewart-Daveluy Award for Indexing

Genre: Indexing
Entry Fee: $30
Nomination Deadline: March 15, 2023
Prize: Framed certificate accompanied by a letter; feedback provided for up to three runners-up
Description: The ISC/SCI Ewart-Daveluy Award, inaugurated in 2015, is presented each year to an individual who has created an index that demonstrates outstanding expertise through a combination of skills. No restriction on the subject matter or genre — textbooks, cookbooks, guidebooks, memoirs, art books, how-to books, travel books, all books — it’s your index that will be looked at. This year you can submit indexes published in 2021 and 2022. If you are a Canadian indexer or a Canadian resident, this is the time to do it. If you are not a Canadian citizen or resident, you may submit an index if you were a member of ISC/SCI at the time you wrote the index.
Details: https://indexers.ca/call-for-submissions-isc-sci-ewart-daveluy-award-for-excellence-in-indexing-2022/

 

2023 Taste Canada Awards

Genre: Cookbooks
Entry Fee: $118 per title
Deadline: March 28, 2023, at 11:59 pm EST
Prize: Taste Canada Awards will honour twenty jury-selected books, five Gold and five Silver in English and five Gold and five Silver in French; the privilege to display a Taste Canada Awards Shortlist Seal on shortlisted books and online use, a Gold or Silver Seal for the winning books and online use; winners receive an engraved crystal trophy to commemorate winning a Gold or Silver Award
Description: Taste Canada Awards/Les Lauréats des Saveurs du Canada invites all publishers and authors to submit books published in 2022 to the 2023 Taste Canada Awards. Taste Canada Awards/ Les Lauréats des Saveurs du Canada will honour 20 jury-selected books, five Gold and five Silver winners in English and in French, authored by Canadian citizens, in the categories of General Cookbooks, Single-Subject Cookbooks, Regional/Cultural Cookbooks, Culinary Narratives and Health or Special Diet Cookbooks. The winners will be announced at the Taste Canada Awards/Les Lauréats des Saveurs du Canada Awards Ceremony in the fall of 2023.
Details: https://tastecanada.org/publishers-authors/?mc_cid=9c8dc6af60&mc_eid=a9ae0243ea

 

Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest

Genre: Nonfiction
Entry Fee: $40 (includes a one-year Canadian subscription or renewal to The New Quarterly)
Deadline: March 28, 2023
Prize: $1,000
Description: Edna Staebler was a pioneer in the field of literary journalism and a beloved figure in her home region of Waterloo, Ontario. Edna led by example in other ways as well, founding eponymous writers’ awards, scholarships, and bursaries to nurture writers. She helped to found The New Quarterly in 1981, and in 2005 her generous bequest allowed them to establish this award in her honour. Interested in essays in which the writer’s personal engagement with the subject provides the frame or through-line. While there is no word limit to personal essay contest entries, most essays fall within the range of 2,000 – 5,000 words.
Details: https://tnq.ca/edna-staebler-contest/

 

2023 Canadian Authors Association (CAA) Fred Kerner Book Award

Genre: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry
Entry Fee: $30 per title
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Prize: $400 and a one-year complimentary membership ($175 value)
Description: Open to CAA members only. The Fred Kerner Book Award is awarded annually to a Canadian Authors member who has the best overall book published in the previous calendar year, including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Details: https://canadianauthors.org/national/awards/submit-for-an-award/

 

Kids Write 4 Kids Annual Writing Contest for Grades 4 – 8

Genre: Short Story (Students in grades 4 – 8)
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Prize: Winner will be published at Amazon, Apple iBookstore, Google Play, and Overdrive, have the proceeds from the book sales donated to the charity of their choice and be part of the judging panel for the following year’s contest
Description: Open to Canadian residents who are enrolled as full-time students in a public, private institutional school or home school in grades 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 at the time of their entry. Entries must be made by either the parent or guardian of the minor author of the submission or by the author’s teacher with the permission of the author’s parent or guardian. Stories can be fact or fiction, prose or poetry. Maximum word count of 6,500 words.

 

Martyn Godfrey Young Writers Award

Genre: Short Stories (Albertan Students in Grades 4 – 9)
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Prize: Three winners in each grade receive a prize of books and an invitation to an exclusive online writing workshop
Description: There are a lot of awesome young writers and artists in Alberta who deserve a little extra recognition, and the Martyn Godfrey Award is just the thing! This is an annual, juried short story contest open to all Albertan students in grades 4 through 9. Martyn Godfrey (1949-2000) was born in England and raised in Toronto. Initially a school teacher in Ontario and Alberta, he became a full-time writer for young adult and juvenile fiction in 1985. He had more than 40 books published, and he toured with the Young Alberta Book Society for many years. One of the things he enjoyed most about his career was laughing over the creative and hilarious letters he received from kids. It was his joy in reading those letters that inspired this award in his honor. Recommended short story length is 500 – 2,500 words. Maximum short story length is 5,000 words.
Details: https://www.yabs.ab.ca/abcollection/martyn-godfrey-young-writers-award/

 

The Ontario Poetry Society’s The World Around Us Chapbook Anthology Contest

Genre: Poetry
Entry Fee: $5 for one poem or $10 for three poems
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Prize: First prize of $100; second prize of $75; third prize of $50; 2 Judge’s Choice Awards of $25 each; 22 honorable mention awards; all winning poems receive a certificate, publication in the chapbook anthology and one free chapbook
Description: Open to everyone. Themes wanted on our world including water, wildlife, fish, insects and the inter-relationships of living creatures. Maximum length per poem is 36 lines and the stanza breaks count as lines.
Details: https://www.theontariopoetrysociety.ca/contest_World_Around_Us_2022.html

 

The Word Guild’s Fresh Ink Award

Genre: Short Story, Poetry, Nonfiction
Entry Fee: $10 per entry for members; $20 per entry for non-members
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Prize: $50, recognition for Winner & Finalists at The Word Awards Celebration, and valuable detailed comments and marks on your submission from those in the writing industry (for all entrants)
Description: This contest is designed to encourage student writers in 2 age categories: high school and college/university. Enter original works in 5 categories. Short stories, nonfiction and poetry must be 1,500 words or less, first three chapters of an unpublished novel 15 pages or less and short script (screen or stage) 45 pages or less. The content of eligible entries must be consistent with a Christian worldview and the historic Christian tradition reflected in the Apostles’ Creed.
Details: https://thewordguild.com/contests/fresh-ink-award/

 

Writers’ & Artists’ Pen to Print Short Story Competition 2023

Genre: Short Fiction
Entry Fee: None
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Prize: An Arvon Residential Writing Week (worth £850) and website publication
Description: To enter,  submit a short story (for adults) of no more than 2,000 words on the theme of ‘love’ via the online competition form, and ensure that you have a (free) account through the website. No purchase necessary, but entrants must be registered on https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/.
Details: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/events-and-courses/pen-print-short-story-competition-2023

 

2023 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction

Genre: Fiction, Short Story
Entry Fee: $17 per story and the option to add $10 to receive a one-year subscription to Colorado Review (normally $24)
Deadline: The Nelligan Prize is on hiatus for 2023
Prize: $2,500 and publication
Description: There are no theme restrictions, but stories should be at least 10 pages and under 50 pages. There is no limit on the number of entries you may submit, though each story must be a separate entry.
Details: https://coloradoreview.colostate.edu/nelligan-prize/