Established in 1993 in honour of the Union’s 20th anniversary, the Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers aims to discover, encourage, and promote new writers of short prose in order to provide opportunity and exposure to developing writers. 

Call for Submissions

The Writers’ Union of Canada invites submissions to its 33rd annual Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers. Unpublished works of fiction and nonfiction up to 2,500 words in English are eligible, and writers may submit multiple entries. A $2,500 prize will be awarded to the winner, and the entries of the winner and eleven finalists will be submitted to three Canadian magazines for consideration. 

This year’s jury comprises authors David Huebert, Shauna Singh Baldwin, and Léa Taranto. The winner and finalists will be announced in late spring 2026. The deadline for entries is February 16, 2026. Eligible entries may be submitted according to submission guidelines. 

The continued success of this competition-fundraiser depends on the generosity of Union members who volunteer as readers and jurors. Submission fees help cover expenses to administer the Competition. Please note: Fees paid can be claimed on taxes.

Eligibility

1) Original, unpublished fiction or nonfiction up to 2,500 words in the English language.
2) Writers who have had no more than one full-length book published (traditionally or self-published) in any genre and who are not currently under contract for a second book.
3) Writers not published in book format are also eligible.
4) Writers must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
5) Co-authored pieces are ineligible.

How to Submit

1) Entries should by typed, double-spaced, in a clear twelve-point font, and the pages numbered on 8.5" x 11" pages, saved as either a Word document or PDF.
2) This competition is judged anonymously. Ensure your entry does not include your name or other identifying information (other than the title).
3) Payment will be made online on Submittable when uploading your entry. Multiple entries are accepted, $29 per entry.
4) Payment may be made through PayPal or by credit card (VISA, MasterCard, or American Express).
5) Entries must be received electronically.
SUBMISSION FORM

ABOUT THE JURY

David Huebert is the author of two award-winning short story collections, Peninsula Sinking and Chemical Valley. In 2024, he published his debut novel, Oil People, which was shortlisted for the Amazon Canada First Novel Award and won the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. David teaches in the MFA program at the University of King’s College in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), Nova Scotia, where he lives with his partner and two children.

Shauna Singh Baldwin’s writing career began with TWUC’s short fiction prize. Her winning story “Jassie” was included in her collection English Lessons and Other Stories. English Lessons won the 1996 Friends of American Writers Award. Another story, “Satya” won the 1997 CBC Literary Award. A second story collection We Are Not in Pakistan was published in 2007. Shauna has written three novels: the best-selling What the Body Remembers which won the 2000 Commonwealth Writer’s Prize (Canada and Caribbean); The Tiger Claw, a finalist for the 2004 Giller Prize; and The Selector of Souls, winner of the 2012 Council for Wisconsin Writers Fiction prize. She is also the coauthor of A Foreign Visitor’s Survival Guide to America. Her seventh book is Reluctant Rebellions: New and Selected Non-fiction (2016). Her poetry collection is forthcoming from Penguin Random House. Shauna’s fiction, poems, and essays have been published in literary and popular magazines, anthologies, and newspapers. Her work has been translated into fourteen languages. Born in Montreal, Shauna holds an undergraduate degree from Delhi University, an MBA from Marquette University, and an MFA from the University of British Columbia.

Léa Taranto is a disabled Chinese Jewish Canadian writer who lives with OCD and comorbid disorders. Her debut novel, A Drop in the Ocean, was short-listed for the Governor General’s Literary Award and Forest of Reading White Pine Award. An MFA graduate of the University of British Columbia, alumnus of Simon Fraser University Writer’s Studio, and member of PRISM International’s poetry board, she resides on traditional, unceded Halkomelem and Squamish territories in BC.

A NOTE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Applicants are welcome to use standard spelling and grammar checks to polish their writing. However, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate, rewrite, or edit written work is not permitted. If you have any questions, please contact soconnor@writersunion.ca.

SHORT PROSE COMPETITION WINNERS