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Nova Writes Competition

The Nova Writes Competition supports emerging writers in Nova Scotia—and more established writers exploring new forms—by providing developmental and publication opportunities. All entrants receive feedback from competition readers; shortlisted entrants receive additional feedback from judges; and winning entrants receive publication in the annual Nova Writes anthology.

Established in 2017, the Nova Writes Competition currently accepts original, unpublished entries from emerging writers in four short-form categories: short story, essay, poetry, and middle-grade / young adult fiction. Standalone excerpts from long-form works are permitted in all categories.

  • Budge Wilson Short Story Prize (2,500 to 5,000 words)
  • Nova Essay Prize (2,500 to 5,000 words)
  • Rita Joe Poetry Prize (1,250 to 2,500 words, or 10 to 20 pages)
  • Joyce Barkhouse Middle-Grade & YA Fiction Prize (2,500 to 5,000 words)

Each Nova Writes entrant receives ~100 words of developmental feedback from a volunteer reader (valued at $25).

Volunteer readers are recruited by WFNS for their literary skills and professional experiences as writers, editors, booksellers, librarians, or teachers. The team of readers in each prize category collectively selects a prize shortlist of up to four entrants. Feedback is returned by email after the shortlist is announced.

Each entrant shortlisted for a prize receives an additional ~200 words of developmental feedback from that year’s judge for the prize (valued at $50).

Judges are recruited by WFNS for their literary expertise as authors. The judge in each prize category assesses shortlisted entries for their originality, creativity, and quality of writing, and the comments returned to entrants may appraise form, structure, plot, and a wide range of literary techniques. Feedback is returned by email after the winner is announced.

The winning entrant for each prize receives a full manuscript review (~500 words of developmental feedback) and a one-hour advisory session with that year’s judge (together valued at $245), as well as compensated publication in the annual Nova Writes anthology ($50) and a compensated reading opportunity at the annual Celebration of Emerging Writers ($75), where the anthology is launched.

Each shortlisted and winning entrant also receives one contributor copy of the annual Nova Writes anthology and may purchase additional copies at cost.

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The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia is based in Kjipuktuk, in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship,” which Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1725. The treaties do not deal with surrender of lands and resources but in fact recognize Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) title and establish the rules for an ongoing relationship between nations.

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Recommended Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) recommends that participants in any given workshop have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with information, strategies, and skills that suit their career stage. The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the following definitions used by WFNS.

  • 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, and writing for children and young adults) 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.

For “intensive” and “masterclass” creative writing 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 you’re uncertain of your experience level with regard to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca