The Writers' Union of Canada is pleased to launch its 23rd Annual Short Prose Competition for Developing Writers, which invites writers to submit a piece of fiction or non-fiction of up to 2,500 words in the English language that has not previously been published in any format. A $2,500 prize will be awarded to a Canadian writer, and the entries of the winner and finalists will be submitted to three Canadian magazines for consideration. The deadline for entries is March 1, 2016.
The Union initiated the Short Prose Competition in 1993 in honour of its 20th anniversary. The Competition aims to discover, encourage, and promote new writers of short prose. “The Short Prose Competition always delivers some terrific writing,” notes the Union’s Executive Director, John Degen. “It is a testament to the tremendous amount of talent percolating across Canada.”
The Union is proud to announce an esteemed group of jurors for the Competition. Regina novelist and playwright Gail Bowen, the 2009 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch Award from the Crime Writers of Canada, is best known for her Joanne Kilbourn mystery series, including A Colder Kind of Death, winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for best crime novel. Her sixteenth Joanne Kilbourn novel, What’s Left Behind, will be released in March 2016. Writer, poet, and storyteller Shauntay Grant is the author of several books for young people, including Up Home, winner of the 2009 Best Atlantic-Published Book prize from the Atlantic Book Awards. The third Poet Laureate of Halifax, she is one of four Canadian authors selected by the Writers’ Trust of Canada for its Berton House Writers Retreat (2015-16 cohort). She teaches creative writing at Dalhousie University. Montreal-based author and journalist Eric Siblin’s first book, the bestselling The Cello Suites, received the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction and the McAuslan First Book Prize, and was shortlisted for many awards, including the Governor General’s Award (Non-Fiction). His latest book, Studio Grace, was released earlier this year along with a companion album of original music.
The competition is open to Canadian residents who have not had a book published and who do not have a contract with a book publisher. Submissions are accepted online (along with a $29 entry fee per submission) at www.writersunion.submittable.com/submit by 11:59 pm Pacific Time on March 1, 2016. The winner will be announced in May 2016. For complete rules and regulations, please go to www.writersunion.ca/short-prose-competition.
The Writers' Union of Canada is the national organization representing professional book authors. Founded in 1973, the Union is dedicated to fostering writing in Canada and promoting the rights, freedoms, and economic well-being of all writers. For more information, please visit www.writersunion.ca.
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For additional information:
Nancy MacLeod, Membership Development & Fund Researcher
The Writers’ Union of Canada
416-703-8982 Ext. 226
nmacleod@writersunion.ca
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