Book Awards
Submission Guidelines
Deadline for 2024 Awards: November 1, 2023
Traditionally published, hybrid-/partner-published, and self-published books are eligible for all awards.
Nova Scotia Book Awards
- Evelyn Richardson Non-Fiction Award ($2,000 prize): awarded for a book of creative non-fiction (a narrative non-fiction book, a collection of essays, a biography, a memoir, or a long-form academic publication that offers a complex and reflective narrative about original research) written or co-written by a full-time resident of Nova Scotia* that was published and/or distributed for the first time in Canada in the year prior to and including the submission deadline. For the 2024 award, the eligibility year runs from November 2, 2022, to November 1, 2023.
- Maxine Tynes Nova Scotia Poetry Award ($2,000 prize): awarded for a book of poetry written or co-written by a full-time resident of Nova Scotia* that was published and/or distributed for the first time in Canada in the two years prior to and including the submission deadline. Because this award is biennial, each cycle of the award covers two publication years. This award is on hiatus for 2024. When open again for 2025, the eligibility years will run from November 2, 2022, to November 1, 2024.
* Full-time residents of Nova Scotia are those who have lived in Nova Scotia for at least two consecutive years immediately prior to the submission deadline date. A co-authored book is eligible if at least one co-author meets this residency requirement.
Atlantic Book Awards
- Ann Connor Brimer Award for Atlantic Canadian Children’s Literature ($5,000 prize): awarded for a book of fiction or non-fiction written or co-written by a living, full-time resident of Atlantic Canada** that is readily available in print and that was published and/or distributed for the first time in Canada in the two years prior to and including the submission deadline. Because this award alternates annually between children’s literature (for readers up to 11 years old) and young adult (YA) literature (for readers aged 12 to 17), each cycle of the award covers two publication years; however, books suitable for both age ranges (e.g., middle-grade books) may be submitted only once—to a children’s literature deadline or to a YA literature deadline. For the 2024 award for children’s literature, the eligibility years run from November 2, 2021, to November 1, 2023.
- J.M. Abraham Atlantic Poetry Award ($2,000 prize): awarded for a book of poetry written or co-written by a full-time resident of Atlantic Canada** that was published and/or distributed for the first time in Canada in the year prior to and including the submission deadline. For the 2024 award, the eligibility year runs from November 2, 2022, to November 1, 2023.
- Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award ($30,000 prize): awarded for a novel or a book of short fiction written or co-written by a full-time resident of Atlantic Canada** that was published and/or distributed for the first time in Canada in the year prior to and including the submission deadline. A writer may win the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award a maximum of three times. YA titles are ineligible for this award and should be submitted to the Ann Connor Brimer Award. Plays are ineligible for this award. For the 2024 award, the eligibility year runs from November 2, 2022, to November 1, 2023.
** Full-time residents of Atlantic Canada are those who have lived in one or a combination of the Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island) for at least two consecutive years immediately prior to the submission deadline date. A co-authored book is eligible if at least one co-author meets this residency requirement.
Titles ineligible for submission to any WFNS-administered Book Awards:
- unpublished manuscripts
- titles less than 48 pages in length (with the exception of picture books submitted for the Brimer)
- titles for which more than 25% of the contents have already been published in book form (including most selected works, collected works, and reissued titles from previous submission years)
- titles for which the eligible author has written only an introduction
- reference titles, including dictionaries and textbooks
- literary, academic, and other anthologies
- plays and other scripts for stage or screen
WFNS reserves the right to accept (as eligible) or reject (as ineligible) any submitted title. The list of titles deemed eligible by WFNS and conveyed to the relevant award jury is final. For submissions deemed ineligible (due to title ineligibility, author ineligibility, or the lateness or incompleteness of submission), administrative fees and submitted books cannot be returned.
A traditionally published title should be submitted (and administrative fees paid) by the publisher. A self-published title should be submitted (and administrative fees paid) by the author. For a hybrid-/partner-published title, the author and publisher will need to confer regarding who submits and pays administrative fees.
If you are the author of a traditionally published book and are unsure whether your publisher intends to submit it, please email both WFNS (wits@writers.ns.ca) and your publisher to inquire.
Complete submission packages must include all three components below and must be received by the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia no later than the submission deadline—with the exception of any mailed components, which may be received later but must be postmarked no later than the submission deadline. Early submissions are strongly encouraged; late or incomplete submissions will be rejected as ineligible.
A. Complete submission form (available at the bottom of this page)
- A publisher/author submitting multiple titles must include one submission form per entry per award category.
- A publisher/author submitting any co-authored title must include one submission form per co-author (including both resident authors and non-resident authors) per award category.
B. Five (5) printed and bound copies of the title being submitted
C. Non-refundable $41 administrative fee (available at the bottom of this page) per title per award category
- A publisher/author submitting multiple titles may submit a single payment or cheque in the total of all entry fees.
- A publisher/author submitting eight or more titles may be eligible for discounted administrative fees. The WFNS reserves the right to offer such a discount depending on the resources of the publisher and how many titles the publisher proposes submitting. Please contact wits@writers.ns.ca to enquire.
- A publisher/author submitting any co-authored title is required to submit only one administrative fee for the title per award category.
If a submitted title is shortlisted for a WFNS-administered award, the following two supplementary components must be provided within 30 days of shortlist notification by the publisher, self-publisher author, or hybrid-/partner-published author (if they submitted their own title).
D. Two (2) additional printed and bound copies of the shortlisted title
E. Non-refundable $300 travel-offset and promotional fee per shortlisted title
All eligible titles submitted to the WNFS-administered awards are adjudicated by independent juries with literary expertise appropriate to each award. The juries are recruited and facilitated by WFNS. All decisions made by the WFNS juries are final.
Adjudication process
- Prior to a prize jury meeting, the WFNS sends each member of the prize jury a package containing (A) a copy of each title submitted for the prize, (B) adjudication instructions, and (C) general criteria for assessment.
- Jurors complete individual assessment of all submitted titles.
- Jurors attend a virtual meeting facilitated by a WFNS representative, where the jurors discuss each book (drawing on their notes taken during individual assessment) and reach a consensus on a shortlist of three books and a winning book from that shortlist. (Prior to discussing a title, jurors must disclose any conflicts of interest, determined by whether a juror stands to gain any financial benefit through association with a submitted title; stands to gain from any moral or intellectual rights; or has a significant personal relationship with the author of a submitted title. If there is a conflict of interest, the juror claiming the conflict will be absent during discussion of the book in question.)
- In partnership with the Nova Scotia Book Awards and the Atlantic Book Awards, the WFNS announces award shortlists in the spring following the adjudication period. Award winners are subsequently announced at the Nova Scotia Book Awards Ceremony and the Atlantic Book Awards Gala.
- Publishers of winning titles will be supplied with gold seal stickers to attach to book cover. Digital copies of the seals are be available.
Assessment criteria
Each eligible title submitted to an award is assessed according to the following general criteria, both on its own terms and in relation to all other titles received for the same award.
- Merit of the writing (such as creativity and quality)
- Social and/or cultural merit of the text
- Originality of content, approach, or technique
Eligible titles received for the Ann Connor Brimer Award are also assessed for their appeal to the intended target audience. The quality of any illustration or photography within a title is not considered.
During individual assessment, jury members are asked to read all entries thoughtfully and rigorously, assessing (where appropriate) how the entries may be read and appreciated in response to the following specific questions:
Does the work challenge any assumptions about a genre or form? Is the work cohesive in story, theme, and content? Does the text make use of interesting or unusual structure and/or language? Is the language evocative? Is the work well-organized? Is the work fresh, not imitative? Has the writer been intentional about the use of style and language? Are there any social or cultural considerations that apply? Does the work make a contribution to the literary arts?
Receipt of submissions will be acknowledged via email to the relevant publisher contacts and authors, after which WFNS cannot provide an update until the spring following the adjudication process.
1. Complete submission form(s)
- Online: click the “Submission Form” button at the bottom of this page, complete and sign the form digitally, and email the form to wits@writers.ns.ca (subject line: “Nova Scotia Book Awards” or “Atlantic Book Awards”).
- By mail: click the “Submission Form” button at the bottom of this page, complete and sign the form digitally or manually, and send a hardcopy to WFNS, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS, B3H 4P7 (“ATTN: Nova Scotia Book Awards” or “ATTN: Atlantic Book Awards”).
2. Hardcopies of submitted title(s)
- By mail: send to WFNS, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS, B3H 4P7 (“ATTN: Nova Scotia Book Awards” or “ATTN: Atlantic Book Awards”).
3. Administrative fee(s)
- Online: click the “Add Administrative Fee to Cart” button at the bottom of this page to pay via PayPal account or credit card. You may add multiple administrative fees to your cart prior to checkout.
- By phone: call 902 423 8116 between 10am and 3pm (Atlantic) on a weekday, with your credit card information ready. You may pay multiple administrative fees with a single call.
- By mail: send a cheque payable to “Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia” and address it to WFNS, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS, B3H 4P7 (“ATTN: Nova Scotia Book Awards” or “ATTN: Atlantic Book Awards”). You may pay multiple administrative fees with a single cheque.
For questions about title eligibility or further information, please contact us.
