Submission Guidelines
To be considered for any of the Emerging Writers Prizes, writers must meet the following criteria.
- You must be a permanent resident of Nova Scotia, meaning that you have lived in Nova Scotia full-time for at least the past twelve (12) months and that you file your personal income taxes in Nova Scotia. (Out-of-province post-secondary students and seasonal residents are ineligible.)
- You must be an emerging or early-career writer who has published no more than one (1) book-length literary project in any form or genre, including traditionally published, partner- or hybrid-published, and self-published projects.
- You must be 19 years of age or older by the current submission deadline.
In addition to the above criteria, you must meet one or more of the following prize-specific criteria.
- Saunders Prize: You must submit a speculative fiction work-in-progress or a nonfiction work-in-progress.
- Venart Prize: You must be a woman and/or another marginalized gender (including but not limited to Two-Spirit, trans, nonbinary, and fluid genders).
- Oliver Prize: You must be Black, African Nova Scotian, and/or African Canadian.
Submission packages must contain all components listed below and must be submitted by the prize deadline. Each submission package must be submitted as a single digital document (in .doc or .pdf format) with a file name as follows: Firstname Lastname – Emerging Writers Prizes (where “Firstname” is your given name or chosen primary name and “Lastname” is your family name or chosen surname). Incomplete, late, non-digital, or misnamed submission packages are ineligible.
A. Personal responses (each roughly one paragraph in length) to the following questions. In these questions, “prize period” refers to the 5-month span running from January through May following the submission deadline, during which time the literary activities associated with each prize will take place.
- How long have you been writing?
- Summarize your writing activity for the past twelve months.
- Describe the literary activities you intend to focus on during the prize period (e.g., completing a chapbook of poems, revising a collection of short stories, or submitting a novel manuscript).
- Outline your work plan/schedule during the prize period.
- What goals have you set yourself to achieve during the prize period? Be specific.
- How will you prioritize writing during the prize period, and how will the prize period fit into your schedule?
B. A 10-page, doubled-spaced writing sample of the work-in-progress in 12-pt Times New Roman or Arial font. (Poetry samples should be single-spaced and may use other fonts only if typeface is integral to the project.)
- You may include up to 1 additional double-spaced page of project description (summarizing the larger work or any relevant plot or context) at the beginning of the writing sample.
All submitters will be notified of the prize results by late January. Due to the volume of submissions, we ask that you not query the office about the status of your submission prior to that time.
After submission packages have been processed to ensure they are complete and eligible, they will be shared with a peer assessment jury of three professional writers contracted by the WFNS to adjudicate all three Emerging Writers Prizes. The jury will assess submission packages based on
- the merit of the writing sample,
- the merit of the proposed writing activities, and
- the submitter’s commitment to the proposed writing activities.
The jury’s selection of the prize recipient will be final.
The cash award will be disbursed at the beginning of the prize period.
Whether submitting to one, two, or all three Emerging Writers Prizes, pay a single submission fee and submit a single submission form.
Submissions are accepted only through the form at the bottom of this page. Please note that completing the submission form is the final step in our recommended submission checklist:
☐ Ensure your eligibility.
☐ Ensure your submission package is complete and correct. In the event of an error, please contact our office to explain the issue before submitting a revised submission package. No submission package or revised submission package can be accepted after the prize deadline, so we encourage you to submit early.
☐ Pay the $53 submission fee. This fee covers only a portion of the administrative and assessment costs for each submission. As such, even in cases of incomplete or ineligible submissions, it cannot be refunded. The submission fee is $38 for WFNS members. If you are a member in good standing, please ensure you log in to your member account before checkout to apply your member discount. WFNS General Membership is open to anyone who writes, regardless of writing experience or place of residence.
To pay fee by phone, call us between 9am and 4pm on weekdays at 902 423 8116 with your credit card details.
To pay fee by mail, send a cheque (payable to “Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia”) post-dated for no later than the submission deadline.
☐ Complete and submit the online submission form, visible at the bottom of this page when submissions are being accepted. After clicking the “Submit” button, please wait until the green confirmation message appears (confirming that your form has been successfully submitted) before exiting this page.
If the submission fee presents a barrier, please contact communications@writers.ns.ca before applying. Funds are available to help underwaged writers with submission fees.
Submissions will open Sept 26 and close Nov 7, 2025
For the 2026 Emerging Writers Prizes
Submission form
For questions or further information, please contact us. Due to the volume of submissions anticipated, we ask that you contact us at least two weeks before the prize deadline.
