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The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) will celebrate its 50th anniversary in September, 2026. As a part of this celebration, the 50 for 50 Contest Series encourages Nova Scotians to reflect on the rich legacy of creative writing in our province—and to contribute to that legacy by creating and sharing new work.

For questions about this program, contact program lead Oriana Duinker at director@writers.ns.ca

WFNS will hold four 50 for 50 contests throughout 2026. Each contest will prompt Nova Scotian writers to respond—in very short-form fiction, nonfiction, or poetry—to one of two short passages by notable Nova Scotian authors.

Writers may submit up to two entries to each contest. Excluding titles, entries must be no more than 50 words, a limit celebrating both WFNS’s anniversary and the Nova Scotian tradition of doing very much with very little. There are no limitations with respect to genre or style.

The winning entrant of each contest will receive a $50 gift card for a Nova Scotian independent bookseller and digital publication of their winning entry on WFNS’s social media channels and website.

There is no entry fee.

Entries will be anonymized and assessed by a volunteer selection committee composed of WFNS staff, board, and/or committee members.

The first 50 for 50 Contest invites fiction, nonfiction, and poetry responses to one of the following prompts. First prize is digital publication and a $50 gift card to the King’s Co-op Bookstore (Halifax), which offers free pick-up and $5 flat-rate shipping on orders.

Prompt A

“We still believe freedom is more than a word”

—from “Emancipation Day Poem” by El Jones

El Jones is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Politics and Cultural Studies at Mount Saint University in Halifax. She was the Nancy’s Chair in Women’s Studies at MSVU from 2017-2019, and was the fifth Poet Laureate of Halifax. El is a journalist and poet who performs internationally and whose work has been featured on CBC, the Globe and Mail, and the Washington Post. Her book, Abolitionist Intimacies (Fernwood Press, 2022) was the winner of the Evelyn Richardson prize for non-fiction. El works with prisoners and refugees, and works in the areas of justice studies, animal ethics, and human rights.

Prompt B

“Even warrior women sometimes have to don
dresses of green silk
and put away, for a while at least, their martial garb…”

—from Copper Woman and Other Poems by Afua Cooper

Dr. Afua Cooper is a leading scholar, author, and poet whose groundbreaking work has redefined the study of Black Canadian history. Her book The Hanging of Angélique—nominated for a Governor General’s Award—exposed the story of an enslaved Black woman executed in 1734 Montreal. A founder of the Black Canadian Studies Association, Dr. Cooper also established Dalhousie University’s Black and African Diaspora Studies Minor. She served as the seventh Poet Laureate of Halifax and was awarded the Portia White Prize in 2020 in recognition of her body of work. Dr. Cooper continues to champion historical truth, social justice, and creative expression through her scholarship and art.

Entries accepted Jan 30 to Feb 26, 2026

For 50 for 50 Contest #1

To enter the current 50 for 50 contest, writers must meet the following criteria.

  • You must be a current resident of Nova Scotia, meaning that you live in Nova Scotia on the date of entry.
    • Seasonal residents are eligible, including any post-secondary student from another province or country who is a current student of a Nova Scotian institution and a current resident of Nova Scotia (as defined above).
  • You must be 19 years of age or older by the current entry deadline.

To be eligible for contest consideration, each entry must meet the following criteria.

  • Your entry must respond to one of the two prompt passages selected for the contest.
  • Your entry must be no more than 50 words in length, excluding the name of the prompt author name and the title of the piece.
  • Your entry must be submitted via the form at the bottom of this page as .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.
  • Your entry must include, at the very top of the page, the author of the prompt passage it responds to. (E.g., “El Jones” or “Afua Coooper.”) If your entry responds in some way to both prompts, select the author whose passage your entry responds to best.
  • Your entry must not include your name anywhere in the text or file name.

Multiple submissions are permitted.

  • You may submit up to two distinct entries to each 50 for 50 contest. Each entry may respond to different prompt passages or the same prompt passage. Each entry must be submitted as a separate file.
  • 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 submissions do not apply to multiple WFNS programs. You are always permitted to submit the same unpublished writing to multiple WFNS programs and special publications at the same time.

  • No explicit sexuality.
  • No graphic violence.
  • No racist, xenophobic, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, and/or other discriminatory language.

Submission form

When the below form is successfully submitted, it will be replaced with a confirmation message.

Declarations of eligibility

By entering a 50 for 50 Contest, you make each of the following declarations:

• I am a current resident of Nova Scotia.
• I am 19 years of age or older.
• My entry or entries are my sole, original work and unpublished in any format—whether traditionally, partner-/hybrid-, or indie-/self-published, whether in part or in whole, whether in print or digitally.
• My entry or entries are 100% human-created. No part of my entry or entries has been generated or modified by so called "AI," including LLMs (large language models) and other exploitative, copyright-violating algorithmic technologies.

If it is discovered that any of the above declarations is false, your entry or entries will be ineligible.
Please enter the name you commonly use or under which you publish. Your legal name is not required.
Must include city/town, province, and postal code.
Please write in the third person write in third person (i.e., using your name and pronouns rather than "I").

If your entry is selected, this bio will be published alongside it. This bio may be edited for clarity, brevity, or formatting (e.g., italicization of book titles).
Please enter a URL where readers can find more information about you, more of your writing, or a social media profile. If your entry is selected, this URL will be published alongside it.

Before uploading your entry file(s):

  1. Ensure each entry is in a separate .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.
  2. Ensure each entry includes, at the top of the page, the author of the prompt passage it responds to.
  3. Ensure your name does not appear within the entry file(s) or in the entry file name(s).
Drag & Drop Files, Choose Files to Upload You can upload up to 2 files.

Partners

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia is grateful to King’s Co-op Bookstore for its partnership in realizing the 50 for 50 Contest Series.

King's Co-op Bookstore logo
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Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) uses the following terms to describe writers’ experience levels:

  • 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, writing for children, writing for young adults, and others) 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.

Occasionally, WFNS uses the phrase “emerging and established writers/authors” to mean ‘writers and authors of all experience levels.’

The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the above definitions. A workshop’s participants should usually have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with info, strategies, and skills that suit their experience. 

For “intensive” and “masterclass” 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 uncertain about your experience level with respect to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca