Creative Writing

Department of English

Writing Contests

Camera Lucia Essay Submissions - Mosaic Journal

Deadline - April 30, 2019

Mosaic invites innovative and interdisciplinary submissions for a special issue on the 40th anniversary of Roland Barthes’s Camera Lucida. We invite close readings informed by feminist and queer theory, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, deconstruction, postcolonial theory, critical race theory, and aesthetics. We are especially interested in essays focussing on memory; chiasms; mourning; singularity; the archive; time; allegory; analytics of life/death; genetics and genealogy; the relationship between image and text; comparative analysis between Walter Benjamin and Barthes; analysis that plays between Barthes’s book and his critical corpus; the influence of the book on specific moments in contemporary photography (i.e., New York, Vancouver, or Paris); and the question of what Camera Lucida leaves out of the equation. Finally, we invite artists to submit photo-based projects that extend, complicate, and enrich our understanding of Camera Lucida.

Mosaic follows an electronic submission process. If you would like to contribute an essay for review, please visit our website for details: www.umanitoba.ca/mosaic/submit. Email any submission questions to mosasub@umanitoba.ca. Submissions must be received by: April 30, 2019

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: We welcome submissions that conform to our mandate.

Essays may be in English or French and must represent innovative thought (either in the form of extending or challenging current critical positions). Mosaic does not publish fiction, poetry, or book reviews.
Mosaic publishes only original work. We will not consider essays that are part of a thesis or dissertation, have been published previously, or are being considered for publication in another journal or medium.
Preferred length of essays is 7,000 words, to a maximum of 7,500 words. Parenthetical citations and works cited must follow the conventions of the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.) or MLA Handbook (7th ed.). Essays may feature illustrations.
Mosaic’s anonymous peer-review process requires that no identifying information appear on the electronic version of the essay itself. Submissions that meet our requirements are sent to specialists in the specific and general area that an essay addresses. Anonymous but complete transcripts of the readers’ reports are sent to the author.

Flash Fiction Photography Contest - Engen Books

Deadline - April 30, 2019

Engen Books is proud to team with the imaginative and creative people of Kit Sora Photography to bring you the “Flash Fiction Photography Contest”!

Every month we’re going to upload one of the photos from the amazingly talented Kit Sora, a local Newfoundland artist known for her stunning work with props, lighting, and imaginative designs. Kit uses her art in a variety of fantastical settings, so we’re tasking the authors and creative minds of the Atlantic Provinces to write short fiction based on the subjects!

Entries must be short - upto 250 words only. In order to be eligible, entrants must be currently residing in Canada and the work must not have been previously published. No more than two entries per photo, per author.

Send entries to: submissions@engenbooks.com with the subject: 'Kit Sora April'

Visit the Engen Books contest page for more information

The Malahat Review's - Short Story Prize

Far Horizon's Award for Short Fiction

Deadline: May 1, 2019 (Midnight, PST)

The Malahat Review invites emerging short-story writers to enter the Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction, for which one prize of $CAN 1,000 is awarded. Eligible authors have yet to publish their fiction in book form (a book is defined to have a length of 48 pages or more). Publication in literary magazines is acceptable. The contest is open to Canadian and international writers anywhere in the world, with a final deadline of midnight (PST) on 1 May 2019. All entries are judged anonymously, and the winning story will be published in the magazine's fall 2019 issue. As a complement to the Novella and Long Poem prizes, the Far Horizons Awards are short-form contests, with the Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction given during odd years and the Far Horizons Award for Poetry in even years.

*Mailed or emailed contest submissions are no longer accepted. Please read the instructions below to find out how to submit your contest entries through Submittable

For more information on entry fees, visit the Malahat Review website

The Fieldstone Review

Deadline - May 15, 2019

The University of Saskatchewan's online literary journal, The Fieldstone Review, is now accepting submissions of creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and reviews for its 2019 issue. The Fieldstone Review welcomes original, previously unpublished work of quality in a variety of styles and genres.

The theme of this year’s edition is Borders, however the contributors might interpret that term in whatever way they choose. Though we welcome all submissions, preference will be given to those works that engage with this theme. We are proud to announce that this year we are able to offer a literary prize of $100.00 for the best submission as chosen by our executive!

Finally, we are also calling for artist’s submissions for this edition’s banner (preferred dimensions 889 x 600). Please submit your work as a .JPG to the following address with the subject line “Banner Competition”: fsr.editorinchief@usask.ca

We accept electronic submissions only, in Word, ODT, or RTF format. The deadline for submissions is May 15, 2019. Be sure to include, with your entry:

Your contact information
A 50-100 word biography
The title(s) of the work(s) submitted
Indication of the work being a simultaneous submission

Please send submissions to the editor of the appropriate section, as listed here or on our Contact page:
Fiction Editor: fsr.fictioneditor@usask.ca
Poetry Editor: fsr.poetryeditor@usask.ca
Creative Nonfiction Editor: fsr.reviewseditor@usask.ca

For full guidelines, refer to the Submissions section on our website: http://www.thefieldstonereview.ca/submissions.html

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

The Grouse Grind Lit Prize for V. Short Forms - PRISM International

Deadline: May 15, 2019

$500 Grand Prize, $150 runner-up, $50 2nd runner-up

Entry fee: $15 for all entries, regardless of place of residence. There is also an option to pay an additional fee to include a subscription (or an extension of an existing subscription) with your contest entry. $5 for additional entries, regardless of place of residence. If you only submit under the additional entry $5 category without submitting to the main entry 15$ category your entry will be automatically disqualified.

Max. word count: 300 words. Please submit only ONE piece per submission.

Judged by the PRISM Editorial Board. Our third annual short forms contest is open to writers from Canada and around the world. Send us your flash fiction and nonfiction, your hybrid forms and experimental work. There are no form limitations for this contest, save for those above that refer to word count. We want it all (so long as it’s short)!

All submissions will be considered for print publication. The winner and runners-up will receive the prize money and be published on our website at the contest’s conclusion.

Read the Rules and Regulations on PRISM International to submit!

The Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award - The New Quarterly

Deadline: May 28, 2019

Prize: $1000 and a one-year Duotrope Gift Certificate

Entry Fee: $40

Length: No word limit!

This contest honours distinguished St Jerome’s University lecturer, Peter Hinchcliffe, who was instrumental in founding The New Quarterly and who served for many years as co-editor. His approach to teaching, as well as his personal charm and endearing sense of humour, had an enduring influence on both students and colleagues; this award recognizes Peter’s outstanding contributions to his home department.

Entry & Eligibility Details

One top prize including $1000 and a one-year Duotrope Gift Certificate (a USD $50 value) will be awarded for one work of short fiction (no word limit).
Entry fee: $40 per piece (includes a 1-year Canadian subscription or renewal to The New Quarterly).
Submissions must be unpublished, nor can they have been accepted for publication elsewhere.
Submissions are accepted online only.
Entrants must be Canadian (citizen or resident).
Entrants must not have published either a first novel or short story collection.
Ensure that the entrant’s name does not appear on the submission document.
All entries will be considered for publication in The New Quarterly($250 paid upon publication).
Entrants’ anonymity will be preserved throughout the judging process.
Decisions will be made by August 31st. Finalists will be notified by email.

More details at The New Quarterly for submission guidelines.

CBC Poetry Prize - Canada Writes

Deadline - May 31, 2019

The CBC Poetry Prize is closed for submissions. The 2019 CBC Poetry Prize will open for submissions in April.

WHAT: You can submit an original, unpublished poem or collection of poems, up to 600 words in length. There is no minimum word requirement.

WHEN: The competition is open for submissions from April 1 to May 31, 2019.

WHO: All Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.

HOW: While the competition is active, submit online through Submittable. A fee of $25.00 (taxes included) for administration purposes is required for each entry.

WHAT YOU CAN WIN: The winner will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and will have the opportunity to attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Their winning submission will be published on CBC Books. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their poetry published on CBC Books.

WHO IS JUDGING: A team of readers from across Canada will read the entries and determine the longlist. The shortlist and winner will be decided by a jury comprised of three prominent Canadian writers.

For more information, visit the CBC Books page.

Clare Murray Fooshee Literary Prizes

Submissions for this year's Fooshee Literary Prizes are now closed. Check back here in February 2020!

For a poem or group of poems (maximum 5)

First prize - $350
Second prize - $200
Third prize - $100

For a short story (maximum 1500 words)