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The Micro-Anthology Series provides publication opportunities and encourages Nova Scotian readers to discover local genre fiction authors. Micro-anthologies are distributed for free in print and digital formats.

For questions about this program, contact program lead Andy Verboom at communications@writers.ns.ca.

Published each May, Terra Nova Scotia is WFNS’s micro-anthology of speculative fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and related genres) by Nova Scotian writers.

To be first published in 2026, Terra Nova Scotia expands on the work of WFNS’s 2024 and 2025 Hal-Con Zines, which were available only in print and only to attendees of the Hal-Con Sci-Fi & Fantasy Convention.

When submissions are accepted, we welcome speculative micro-fiction and excerpts from longer speculative fiction (up to 750 words) written by emerging writers and established authors who currently live in Nova Scotia. Submissions may be previously published.

Submissions accepted Feb 26 to Mar 26, 2026

For the inaugural (2026) edition of Terra Nova Scotia

The inaugural Terra Nova Scotia micro-anthology will be published in partnership with The Trident Conference for Speculative Fiction (Tri-Con) and with support from Trident Booksellers & Cafe.

We welcome submissions of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and other speculative micro-fiction (up to 750 words) and excerpts from longer sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and other speculative fiction (up to 750 words) written by current residents of Nova Scotia, regardless of their writing or publication experience.

Submissions will be anonymized and considered by a volunteer selection committee composed of WFNS staff and Tri-Con Board members.

Thanks to the sponsorship of an author who has chosen to remain nameless, each of the thirteen selected contributors will be compensated $15.

To submit to the Micro-Anthology Series, 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 submission.
    • 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.
  • You must be 19 years of age or older by the current submission deadline.
  • You must submit only one micro-fiction work or fiction excerpt for each micro-anthology title each year. In other words, in a given year, you may submit one work each for possible inclusion in Nova Swoons, Terra Nova Scotia, and Blue Lobster Detective Agency.

To be eligible for publication, submissions must meet the following criteria.

  • Your submission must be no more than 750 words. The submission title does not count toward word length.
    • Add a very brief postscript (up to 50 words) if your submission is an excerpt (in which case include the title and synopsis of the longer work) and/or if your submission is previously published (in which case include the publisher or periodical and the year of previous publication).
  • Your submission must be submitted via the form below.
  • Your submission must not include your name anywhere in the text or file name.
  • You may submit (or excerpt from) your writing that has been published in the past, but you must either hold the rights to reprint the work or obtain permission from the rights holder (i.e., the publisher) prior to submission.
  • You may not submit writing that is currently being considered—or has been accepted—for future publication by another organization.
  • 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 to you by email. 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.

Entry form

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

Declarations of eligibility

By submitting to the Micro-Anthology Series, you make each of the following declarations:

• I am a current resident of Nova Scotia.
• I am 19 years of age or older.
• My submission is 100% human-created. No part of my submission 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 submission will be ineligible.
If the name you commonly use or publish under differs from your legal name, please include your legal name in parentheses—i.e., "Common Name (Legal Name)." If you are selected for inclusion, your legal name may be required for contributor payment.
Must include city/town, province, and postal code.
Please write in the third person (using they, she, he, etc.).

If your submission is selected, this bio will also be published in the anthology. 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 submission is selected, this URL will be published alongside your bio.
Exclude the submission title and any postscript.
Drag & Drop Files, Choose Files to Upload
Upload a single submission of no more than 750 words (excluding title) as a single digital file (in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format).

Add a very brief postscript (up to 50 words) if your submission is an excerpt (in which case include the title and synopsis of the longer work) and/or if your submission is previously published (in which case include the publisher and year of the previous publication). If your submission is selected, this postscript will be published alongside your bio.

Ensure your name does not appear within the submission file or in the submission file name.

Nova Swoons 2026

Digital download available for free

Print copies (limited in number) available to order at cost of shipping

Contributors: V.J. Allison, Tina Capalbo, Grace Costa, Margaret Hastings-James, Deanna Foster, Cathryn Fox, Sophia Lindfield, Lex Lynn, Erin MacKinnon, Kaarina Mikalson, Heidi Tattrie, Christina Isabel Tellez, and Chris Turner

Published in partnership with the Association of Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada and with support from Dartmouth Book Exchange

Order print or digital for free

Published each February, Nova Swoons is WFNS’s micro-anthology of romance fiction by Nova Scotian writers.

First published in 2026, Nova Swoons expands on the work of WFNS’s Nova Swoons event, a special edition of our Nova Reads series that was co-presented by the Association of Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada and that shone a light on eight established and professional Nova Scotian authors of romance fiction.

When submissions are accepted, we welcome romance micro-fiction and excerpts from longer romance fiction (up to 750 words) written by emerging writers and established authors who currently live in Nova Scotia. Submissions my be previously published.

Submissions accepted starting in Nov, 2026

For the 2027 edition of Nova Swoons

Published each September, Blue Lobster Detective Agency is WFNS’s micro-anthology of crime & mystery fiction by Nova Scotian writers.

To be first published in 2026, Blue Lobster Detective Agency expands on the work of Crime Will Tell, an annual celebration of Nova Scotian crime writing organized by Crime Writers of Canada in partnership with WFNS and Halifax Public Libraries.

When submissions are accepted, we welcome crime & mystery micro-fiction and excerpts from longer crime & mystery fiction (up to 750 words) written by emerging writers and established authors who currently live in Nova Scotia. Submissions may be previously published.

Submissions will be accepted in late spring of 2026

For the inaugural (2026) edition of Blue Lobster Detective Agency

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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