WFNS logo ltrmark sticky 100px
WFNS logo ltrmark sticky 100px

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) administers three prizes for emerging and early-career writers, each of which recognizes a unique set of barriers to literary creation and supports writers as they advance book-length works-in-progress.

For questions about this program, contact program lead Linda Hudson at wits@writers.ns.ca.

Submission Guidelines for all Emerging Writers Prizes

Writers prepare a single submission package, which is considered for all prizes whose eligibility requirements they meet.

The Charles R. Saunders Prize recognizes the barriers to literary creation & recognition faced by speculative fiction writers—particularly those from equity-deserving communities.

The Elizabeth Venart Prize recognizes the barriers to literary creation & recognition faced by women and other marginalized genders—particularly the lack of time and space imposed by systems of gendered labour and childrearing.

The Senator Don Oliver Black Voices Prize recognizes the barriers to literary creation & recognition faced by Black and African Nova Scotian writers—who have faced and continue to face systemic inequity within Canadian publishing.

Investors

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia thanks the following for their generous contributions to the the endowments for the Emerging Writers Prizes: the former colleagues, literary friends, and readers of Charles R. Saunders (Charles R. Saunders Prize); Sarah Venart and the Venart family (Elizabeth Venart Prize); and the Nova Scotia Department of Justice and BMO Financial Group (Senator Don Oliver Black Voices Prize).

Scroll to Top
WFNS logo ltrmark sticky 100px

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