Investors & Partners

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia recognizes the support of the Province of Nova Scotia in our efforts to develop and promote our cultural resources for all Nova Scotians: we are pleased to work in partnership with the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage and with funding from Support4Culture, a designated lottery program of the Nova Scotia Provincial Lotteries and Casino Corporation.

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia operates with additional support from the Halifax Regional Municipality.

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia gratefully acknowledges the Canada Council for the Arts for its ongoing investment in our Alistair MacLeod Mentorship Program.

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia gratefully acknowledges the Nova Scotia Department of Justice and BMO Financial Group for its foundational investment in the endowment for the Senator Don Oliver Black Voices Prize.

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia gratefully acknowledges the Jampolis Living Trust; the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage; the Raddall family of Liverpool, Nova Scotia; and the Municipality of the County of Kings for their foundational investments in our Jampolis Cottage Residency Program—as well as AfterWords Literary Festival, Amanda Peters; Hon. Don Oliver; The Craig Foundation; the Delmore “Buddy” Daye Learning Institute; the Robert Pope Foundation; and RBC Emerging Artists for their investments in Sponsored Residencies and Retreats during the inaugural year of the program.

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia recognizes the Province of Nova Scotia’s support for our Writers in the Schools (WITS) program. We are pleased to offer this program with investments by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and Arts Nova Scotia.

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia gratefully acknowledges the investments of the Nova Scotia Creative Industries Fund in our Unbound audiobook series; of the Robert Pope Foundation in numerous free writers’ panels and special events in fall of 2020 and spring of 2021; of the League of Canadian Poets and the Canada Council for the Arts in our The League Reads reading series; of BoyneClarke LLP and Gordon Stirrett Wealth Management in our Gather ‘Round fundraiser; and of Gordon Stirrett Wealth Management in our One Night Only workshop series.

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia operates with additional support from the Halifax Regional Municipality.

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia thanks the Dartmouth Book Awards, the Society for the Nova Scotia Book Awards, and the Atlantic Book Awards Society for their partnership in delivering the five book awards we administer. We also extend deep gratitude to Halifax Public Libraries for their long-term partnership in realizing several WFNS projects and hosting many public events.

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Simultaneous Submissions

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) administers some programs (and special projects) that involve print and/or digital publication of ‘selected’ or ‘winning’ entries. In most cases, writing submitted to these programs and projects must not be previously published and must not be simultaneously under consideration for publication by another organization. Why? Because our assessment and selection processes depends on all submitted writing being available for first publication. If writing selected for publication by WFNS has already been published or is published by another organization firstcopyright issues will likely make it impossible for WFNS to (re-)publish that writing.

When simultaneous submissions to a WFNS program are not permitted, it means the following:

  • You may not submit writing that has been accepted for future publication by another organization.
  • You may not submit writing that is currently being considered for publication by another organization—or for another prize that includes publication.
  • The writing submitted to WFNS may not be submitted for publication to another organization until the WFNS program results are communicated. Results will be communicated directly to you by email and often also through the public announcement of a shortlist or list of winners. Once your writing is no longer being considered for the WFNS program, you are free to submit it elsewhere.
    • If you wish to submit your entry elsewhere before WFNS program results have been announced, you must first contact WFNS to withdraw your entry. Any entry fee cannot be refunded.

Prohibitions on simultaneous submission do not apply to multiple WFNS programs. You are always permitted to submit the same unpublished writing to multiple WFNS programs (and special projects) at the same time, such as the Alistair MacLeod Mentorship Program, the Emerging Writers Prizes, the Jampolis Cottage Residency Program, the Message on a Bottle contest, the Nova Writes Competition, and any WFNS projects involving one-time or recurring special publications.

Recommended Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) recommends that participants in any given workshop have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with information, strategies, and skills that suit their career stage. The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the following definitions used by WFNS.

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and writing for children and young adults) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

For “intensive” and “masterclass” creative writing workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If you’re uncertain of your experience level with regard to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca