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Enter the Competition

To enter the Nova Writes Competition, 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 entry and will continue to live in Nova Scotia until at least mid June, when the Nova Writes anthology will be launched.
    • 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 (as defined above).
  • You must be 19 years of age or older by the current entry deadline.
  • You must be “emerging” in the specific form(s) of writing you enter into the competition, meaning that you have not traditionally, partner-/hybrid-, or indie-/self-published a book-length literary project in the same form(s) and that you have not published in a Nova Writes anthology in the same form(s).
    • Winners of the “Nova Writes Competition for Unpublished Manuscripts” (2017 – 2024) or the “Atlantic Writing Competition” (1976 – 2016) are eligible. A winner from 2024 or earlier may re-enter form(s) if they are still “emerging” in the forms(s) (as defined above).

To be eligible for prize consideration and feedback, a manuscript must meet the following criteria.

  • Your entry must be your sole, original work andunpublished in any format—whether traditionally, partner-hybrid-, or indie-/self-published, whether in part or in whole, whether in print or digitally.
  • Your entry must meet the specific entry criteria of the prize category you wish to enter, as detailed below:
    • Budge Wilson Short Story Prize: Each entry (2500 to 5000 words) must be short story or a standalone except from a novella or novel manuscript. It may be in any fiction genre, including but not limited to historical, literary, mystery, romance, and speculative.
    • Nova Essay Prize: Each entry (2500 to 5000 words) must be an essay (i.e., short-form creative nonfiction) or a standalone except from a nonfiction book manuscript. It may be in any creative nonfiction genre, including but not limited to biography, history, journalism, memoir, personal essay, politics, and travel writing. Academic essays are not accepted.
    • Rita Joe Poetry Prize: Each entry (10 to 20 pages) must be a suite of related poems, a long poem, or a standalone except from a book-length poem. All entries written in verse are eligible only for this prize, regardless of their relationship to fiction/nonfiction and regardless of their target age range.
    • Joyce Barkhouse Middle-Grade & YA Fiction Prize: Each entry (2500 to 5000 words) must be a short story or a standalone excerpt from a novella or novel manuscript written for middle-grade readers (ages 8 to 12) and/or young adult readers (ages 13 to 18). It may be in any fiction genre, including but not limited to historical, literary, mystery, romance, and speculative. It may not include illustrations.

Writing ineligible for the Nova Writes Competition includes but is not limited to picture books, graphic novels, and scripts for stage or screen. WFNS staff reserves the right to accept (as eligible) or reject (as ineligible) any entry, and the list of entries deemed eligible and conveyed to readers is final.

Multiple submissions are permitted.

  • You may submit up to three distinct entries in a single prize category in a single competition year. This means it is possible to have multiple entries shortlisted for the same prize.
  • You may submit entries in any or all of the prize categories in a single competition year. This means it is possible to be shortlisted for, or to win, more than one prize.

Simultaneous submissions are not permitted.

Definition of "simultaneous submission"

Entries must be submitted by the competition deadline. Each entry must be submitted as a separate digital document (in .doc or .pdf format) with a file name as follows: Title – Form (where “Title” is the full title of your entry and “Form” is either ‘short story,’ ‘essay,’ ‘poetry,’ ‘middle-grade,’ or ‘young adult’).

To help ensure the impartiality of readers during the initial adjudication process, you must ensure your name does not appear anywhere in your entry document, whether in the text of the document or its file name. At no point in the adjudication process are readers to be made aware of the identity of entrants. Your name must appear only in your online entry form, which is for administrative use.

Each entry document must be formatted as follows:

  • Use double-spaced Times New Roman or Arial 12-point font. (Poetry entries may be single-spaced, and they may use alternative fonts if type design is essential to the work.)
  • Use the A4 (8.5″ x 11″) page size with a minimum 1-inch margin on all sides.
  • Include your entry title and a page number in the header of each page.

Incomplete, late, non-digital, or misnamed entries are ineligible. Please note that no entry is considered complete until we have received a corresponding entry fee.

Due to the volume of Nova Writes entries each year, we cannot personally update entrants on the status of manuscript comments and competition results during the adjudication period. All entrants will be notified of the status of their entries and the results of the competition according to the program timeline below.

  • February & March: Readers in each category assess entries, draft feedback, and determine a shortlist.
    • Mid March: Shortlists are announced and feedback returned by email to all entrants who are not shortlisted.
  • March: Judge in each category assesses shortlisted entries, drafts feedback, and determines a winner.
    • Early April: Winners are announced and feedback returned by email to all shortlisted and winning entrants.
  • April: Judge in each category conducts advisory session with the winner; winner in each category revises their entry for publication in the annual Nova Writes anthology.
    • Late April: Winners submit final versions of winning entries to WFNS.
  • June: Winners in all categories read excerpts from their winning entries at the Celebration of Emerging Writers (Halifax), at which the annual Nova Writes anthology is launched.

Readers have the same prerogative as any reader at a publishing house, which is to stop reading any entry if its first few pages contain spelling and/or grammatical errors that impede comprehension. In this case, feedback will be provided on the portion read.

WFNS reserves the right not to proceed with the awarding of a prize if the entries received in that category (a) are too few to ensure a competitive process or (b) do not meet standards of quality in the opinion of the judge. WFNS’s decision not to award a prize in any particular year is final. In this case, feedback will still be provided on all entries in that category.

Readers decisions in selecting shortlists are final, and judges decisions in selecting winners are final.

By submitting an entry to the Nova Writes Competition, you agree that, if the entry wins a prize, you will grant the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) the right to publish that entry in the Nova Writes anthology. A publication agreement will be provided to each winning entrant, the terms of which are summarized below.

First English-language publication rights: The winning entrant will grant WFNS the right to publish the winning work in English for the first time. This right will be limited to publication within that year’s Nova Writes anthology and will not extend to future years’ anthologies or to other WFNS publications. In other words, the winning entrant will retain copyright of their work but will agree not to publish, it in any format, before the publication date of that year’s Nova Writes anthology.

Continuing, non-exclusive rights: The winning entrant will grant WFNS the right to re-publish the winning work in any re-printings of that year’s Nova Writes anthology. This right will not prohibit the winning entrant from re-publishing the work, in any other format, after the publication date of that year’s Nova Writes anthology. In other words, the winning entrant will retain copyright of their work but will continue allowing WFNS to print new copies of that year’s Nova Writes anthology.

Compensation: WFNS will pay the winning entrant $50 for their contribution to that year’s Nova Writes anthology. No royalties on copies sold will be paid to the winning entrant; rather, all revenue from anthology sales will be used to support the Nova Writes Competition and other WFNS programming. Each winning entrant also receives one contributor copy of the annual Nova Writes anthology and may purchase additional copies at cost.

The annual anthology is integral to the Nova Writes Competition, supporting the professional development and compensation of winners and judges. For this reason, if a winning entrant decides to withdraw their work from publication in the Nova Writes anthology, this will constitute their forfeiture of the associated prize.

Entries are accepted only through the form at the bottom of this page. Please note that completing the entry form is the final step in our recommended entry checklist:

☐ Ensure your eligibility.

☐ Ensure each entry document is complete, is formatted and named correctly, and does contain your name (other than in the file name). In the event of an error, please contact our office to explain the issue before submitting a revised entry package. No entry or revised entry can be accepted after the competition deadline, so we encourage you to submit early.

☐ Pay the entry fee: $26 for a single entry; $23 each for two entries; or $20 each for three or more entries. This entry fee covers only a portion of the administrative and adjudication costs for each entry. As such, even in cases of incomplete or ineligible entries, it cannot be refunded. Current General Members of WFNS get 25% off their entry fees. If you are a General Member, log in to your member account during checkout to access the member rate. WFNS General Membership is open to anyone who writes, regardless of writing experience or place of residence.

Pay Entry Fee Online

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 competition deadline.

☐ Complete and submit the online entry form, visible at the bottom of this page when entries are being accepted. After clicking the “Submit” button, please wait until the confirmation message appears (confirming that your form has been successfully submitted) before exiting this page.

Entries closed on Jan 23, 2025

For the 2025 Nova Writes Competition, the inaugural year of the Nova Writes anthology

Entry form

If it is discovered that any of these declarations is false, all below entries will be deemed 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 your entry wins, your legal name will be required for honorarium payment.
Must include city/town, province, and postal code.
Please include mention of significant previous publications.

Details of entry

To add another entry, click the plus symbol (⊕) to the right of the current entry.
To delete an entry, click the minus symbol (⊖) to its right.
Click or drag files to this area to upload. You can upload up to 12 files.
• Each entry document must be a single digital file (.doc or .pdf format) that contains one complete entry and no more than one complete entry, as detailed in the above tab "3. Entry documents."
• Each entry document must have a file name as follows: Title – Form (where "Title" is the full title of your entry and "Form" is either 'short story,' 'essay,' 'poetry,' 'middle-grade,' or 'young adult').
• Incomplete, misnamed, or file-unreadable entry documents may be deemed ineligible.
Indicate the method by which you paid the Nova Writes entry fee, details of which are given in the above section "5. Entry Checklist & Fee." Fee payment must be sent before you submit your entry/entries.
By submitting an entry to the Nova Writes Competition, you agree that, if the entry wins a prize, you will grant the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) the right to publish that entry in the annual Nova Writes anthology. For details on the publication agreement signed by winning entrants, see the above tab "4. Publication agreement."

For questions or further information, please contact us at least one week prior to the competition deadline.

1113 Marginal Road

Halifax, NS B3H 4P7

902 423 8116

contact@writers.ns.ca

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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.

© Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia, 2025. All rights reserved.

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Simultaneous Submissions

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) administers some programs (and special projects) that involve print and/or digital publication of ‘selected’ or ‘winning’ entries. In most cases, writing submitted to these programs and projects must not be previously published and must not be simultaneously under consideration for publication by another organization. Why? Because our assessment and selection processes depends on all submitted writing being available for first publication. If writing selected for publication by WFNS has already been published or is published by another organization first, copyright issues will likely make it impossible for WFNS to (re-)publish that writing.

When simultaneous submissions to a WFNS program are not permitted, it means the following:

  • You may not submit writing that has been accepted for future publication by another organization.
  • You may not submit writing that is currently being considered for publication by another organization—or for another prize that includes publication.
  • 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 directly to you by email and often also through the public announcement of a shortlist or list of winners. 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 submission do not apply to multiple WFNS programs. You are always permitted to submit the same unpublished writing to multiple WFNS programs (and special projects) at the same time, such as the Alistair MacLeod Mentorship Program, the Emerging Writers Prizes, the Jampolis Cottage Residency Program, the Message on a Bottle contest, the Nova Writes Competition, and any WFNS projects involving one-time or recurring special publications.

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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