The New Brunswick Writing Competition is Open!

January 1 to March 31 

The program celebrates eight categories of unpublished writing in the genres of novel, short story, single poem, poetry manuscript, books for young people, and stories by teens, as well as unpublished short film script, and narrative non-fiction.

The New Brunswick Writing Competition began in 1985, the same year as the WFNB's date of incorporation. It’s been held annually ever since, awarding thousands of dollars in prizes over the decades. Many past winners have since achieved national and international publishing fame.

Please Note: you must be a New Brunswick resident to participate in the New Brunswick Writing Competition, unless you are a Writers' Federation of New Brunswick member. WFNB members can participate from anywhere.

How to Submit

  • Review the submission category guidelines 
  • Prepare your submission - word counts are strict!
  • Wait for the competition to open on January 1
  • Go to the WFNB Writing Competition page (this one!)
  • Select your category (at right)
  • Click the "Pay Now" button
  • Click the "Add to Cart" button
  • Complete the checkout process
  • Email your submission and your cover letter (two separate documents please) to info@wfnb.ca

The Judges for the 2024 New Brunswick Writing Competition have been announced!

Moncton, NB, November 24, 2023- The 2024 annual New Brunswick Writing Competition judges have been selected, and they will review submitted unpublished manuscripts from New Brunswick writers between January 1 and March 31, 2024. The program celebrates eight categories of unpublished writing in the genre of novel, short story, single poem, poetry manuscript, books for young people, and stories by young people, as well as unpublished short film script, and narrative non-fiction. Check out the bios and photos of our judges by clicking the submission category links below.

The judges for 2024 are as follows:

The David Adams Richards Prize for Fiction Manuscript – Trudy J. Morgan

(15,000 to 30,000 words - Individual stories in a collection can be previously published, but a novella or novel extract must be unpublished. First Prize $400, Second Prize $200, Third Prize 1 year WFNB membership)

The Douglas Kyle Memorial Prize for Short Fiction – Willow Kean

(Single story - 2,000 to 4,000 words. First Prize $250, Second Prize $150, Third Prize 1 year WFNB membership)

The Alfred G. Bailey Prize for Poetry Manuscript – Susan Gillis

(48 to 96 pages - Individual poems can be previously published, but the manuscript must be unpublished. First Prize $350, Second Prize $200, Third Prize one year WFNB membership)


The WeyMedia Books for Young People Award - Lorna Schultz Nicholson

(Short stories or poems written for young people - children’s, middle grade or YA - up to 4,500 words. First Prize $200, Second Prize $100, Third Prize one-year WFNB membership)

The Dawn Watson prize for Single Poem – Jeanette Lynes

(Single poem, up to 100 lines. First Prize $200, Second Prize $100, Third Prize one-year WFNB membership)

The Sheree Fitch Prize for Teen Writers – Jay McGrath

(Short story - 400 words, or poem - up to 100 lines, written by teens age 13 to 18. First Prize $100, Second Prize $50, Third Prize one-year WFNB membership)

The narrative nonfiction prize - Shelly Kawaja

(Narrative nonfiction prose - 1,500 to 3,000 words. First Prize $200, Second Prize $100, Third Prize 1 year WFNB membership)

The Jane LeBlanc Screenwriting Award – Carlos Anthony

(Short Film Scripts (up to 15 minutes in length), Unproduced or produced accepted. Must have been written within the last two years. First Prize $500, Second prize, $150, Third Prize, one-year WFNB membership.)

Guidelines

Entries will not be considered until both the manuscript and payment have been received.
  • The entry fee will not be refunded if your submission is ineligible. 
  • All submissions are final
  • Entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

WHEN: The 2024 season will run from January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2024

WHO: 

  • Open to New Brunswick residents, and all WFNB members, including those living outside the province of NB. 
  • WFNB members pay a reduced entry fee. 
  • WFNB directors and executive are not eligible.

WHAT:

  • All entries must be original, unpublished works. 
  • Entries must not have been accepted for publication, or previously published in magazines, online magazines, blogs, other online publications, or in self-published works. 
  • For detailed guidelines, see the specific category under "Submission Categories" above

HOW:

  1. Review the submission category guidelines before submitting 
  2. Prepare your submission - word counts are strict!
  3. Wait for the competition to open on January 1
  4. Go to the WFNB Writing Competition page (this one!)
  5. Select your category
  6. Click the "Add to Cart" button
  7. Complete the checkout process
  8. Send your submission and cover letter to info@wfnb.ca

WINNERS:

  • We notify all winners in early May. 
  • All winners will be invited to read from their submission at the Literary Soirée during WordSpring, where the prizes will be awarded. 
  • Judges will provide brief comments for the first-, second-, and third-place winner.

NOTES:

  • Submit as many texts as you wish in one or all categories. 
  • Each text may be submitted to only one category. 
  • You must complete a separate entry and pay the entry fee for each manuscript entered.
  • Judging is blind. Prizes will be awarded (or not) at the discretion of the judges.
Questions? Email info@wfnb.ca.

The New Brunswick Writing Competition is generously sponsored by:


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Territorial Acknowledgement

The Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick acknowledges that the land on which we live, work and gather is the traditional unceded territory of the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) and Mi’kmaq Peoples, and we honour the spirit of our ancestors’ Treaties of Peace and Friendship. 

"Writers' Federation of New Brunswick" is a registered non-profit organization. New Brunswick, Canada. 


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