submission calendar
2023 Canadian Writing Contests
Submission Deadlines & Important Dates
Every January I mark my calendar with the deadlines of some big Canadian fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry writing contests.
Ideally, this reminds me to submit to them. But even if I don’t, the deadlines remind me that “oh, right, I’m supposed to be writing.”
I recommend marking the deadlines, as well as a reminder 30 days beforehand.
**Please confirm the deadlines and guidelines yourself before submitting.**
January 2023
1st: CBC Nonfiction Prize contest opens. Max. 2,000 words.
16th: RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Poetry & Short Fiction Writers deadline. **As of 2021: no age limit.
20th: NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge‘s 1st round begins. (Writers need to pre-register for this.)
February 2023
1st: The Malahat Review‘s Long Poem Prize (or Novella Prize in 2024) contest closes.
2nd: Writing Battle‘s Winter Battle registration deadline. You’ll have 3 days to write up to 1,000 words.
17th: The Writers’ Union of Canada’s Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers deadline. Max. 2,500 words.
28th: CBC Nonfiction contest deadline. Max. 2,000 words.
28th: The New Quarterly‘s Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest deadline.
March 2023
1st: The Fiddlehead‘s 2023 creative nonfiction essay contest is open to submissions. (This contest is open to fiction and poetry is other years.)
1st: CANSCAIP & the Writers’ Union of Canada’s Writing for Children Competition opens. **Details TBC for 2023.**
28th: The New Quarterly‘s Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest deadline. (No word limit.)
April 2023
1st: CBC Poetry Prize contest opens. Max. 600 words.
22nd: NYC Midnight 100-word Microfiction Challenge‘s 1st round begins. (Writers need to pre-register for this.)
May 2023
1st: The Malahat Review‘s Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction (or Far Horizons Award for Poetry in 2024) contest closes.
28th: The New Quarterly‘s Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award deadline. (No word limit.)
31st: CBC Poetry Prize contest deadline.
31st: CANSCAIP & the Writers’ Union of Canada’s Writing for Children Competition deadline. **2023 info hasn’t been posted yet: click the link for updated information.
June 2023
1st: The Fiddlehead‘s 2023 creative nonfiction essay contest deadline. (This contest is open to fiction and poetry is other years.)
10th: NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge‘s 1st round begins. (Writers need to pre-register for this.)
August 2023
1st: The Malahat Review‘s annual Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize contest deadline. 2,000-3,000 words.
31st: deadline for the Federation of BC Writers’ literary contests. Categories include: Flash Fiction, Short Fiction, Creative Non-fiction & Poetry. Submissions are welcome from all genres & styles, not just literary.
September 2023
1st: CBC Short Story Prize contest opens. Max. 2,500 words.
October 2023
31st: CBC Short Story Prize contest deadline.
November 2023
1st: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) begins! Challenge yourself to write a novel in only a month (or accomplish another lofty writing goal). Participation is FREE. NaNoWriMo is a fantastic way to connect with other writers.
1st: The Malahat Review‘s Open Season Awards annual deadline. Short fiction & creative non-fiction: max. 2,500 words. Poetry: max. 3 poems @ 100 lines each.
4th: Writing Battle‘s Autumn Battle registration deadline. You’ll have 5 days to write up to 2,000 words.
18th: NYC Midnight 250-word Microfiction Challenge‘s 1st round begins. (Writers need to pre-register for this.)
December 2023
5th?: RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Poetry & Short Fiction Writers is now open to submissions. **As of 2021: no age limit.
Heather McLeod & her cheerleaders at the Crime Writers of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Awards gala in Toronto, 2019. (Now called the Awards of Excellence.)
Heather’s draft manucript for One for the Raven made the top five shortlist for “Best Unpublished First Crime Novel.”