Contest Guidelines

The 2021 Contests are now CLOSED.

Winners will be announced at the York Writers Conference Oct 22-24, 2021 and notification will be sent in the mail the following Monday along with a digital announcement in the following WCYR Newsletter.

This is an OPEN contest. Anyone from around the world may enter so long as they adhere to the following guidelines. Note: There is a capped limited of 100 total stories for the Short Story Division, and there is a capped limit of 60 total Glimpses combined. This is to ensure that we do not over-tax our volunteers and judges.

Short Story Fee: $20.00

1st Place $200.00; 2nd Place $100.00; 3rd Place $50.00

Glimpses Fee: $8.00

1st Place $50.00; 2nd Place $30.00; 3rd Place $20.00


Short Story Details

One entry per person.

2,000-2,500 words (some wiggle room allowed within the span of a short sentence).

Any genre except Erotica.

Theme: From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary

Formatting: 12 point Times New Roman or Calibri font; double spaced; indented paragraphs; no additional spaces between paragraphs; 1″ margins all around; Word .doc or .docx document only; Title Page is centred, single-spaced with your Division Preference (Short Story), name, email, phone number, word count, genre, title.

Numbered pages in upper right corner with the Title only. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON THE MANUSCRIPT. This contest will have “blind judging.”

Be sure to submit a clean copy of your manuscript – spelling/punctuation/grammar/formatting.

Click HERE to register for the contest.

After registering, send your manuscript entry to writersconference@wcyork.ca.

Contest closes September 1st, 2021 to allow judges time to evaluate the submissions. Winners and honorable mentions will be announced the evening of Friday October 22nd after the conference’s Welcome Speech by our Honorary Patron Terry Fallis. See the conference SCHEDULE for details.

There will be 3 rounds of judging:

1st – pre-approved peer volunteers

2nd – Current/Past Seminar and Workshop Speakers

3rd – Renowned instructor, author, and short story writer Maria Mutch

Each round of judging will follow a rating scale (click HERE for judging criteria). Those stories ranked 80% or above will move on to the 2nd round of judging (or the top 10 for each division) and will receive an honorable mention regardless of placement. The 3 best stories from each division will proceed to the final judging. No prior round rankings will be shown to the next set of judges. All decisions are final. All prizes to be awarded via cheque within 30 days of the close of the 2021 York Writers Conference.

Winners and Honorary Mentions will be contacted regarding their potential inclusion in the not-for-profit anthology to help raise funds for the WCYR. If you are interested, a publishing contract for 6 months of exclusivity to first rights of publication will be sent for your consideration.

All final score sheets will be emailed to participants to review feedback. If you do not wish to receive these scores please advise the Contest Coordinator, MJ Moores, when you submit your emailed entry.

Contests are sponsored by:

BDO Canada (CNW Group/BDO Canada)

Contests are hosted by:

Glimpses Details

Flash Fiction:

One entry per person.

400-500 words (no wiggle room).

Theme: From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary

Any genre except Erotica.

Formatting: 12 point Times New Roman or Calibri font; double spaced; indented paragraphs; no additional spaces between paragraphs; 1″ margins all around; Word .doc or .docx document only; Title Page is centred, single-spaced with your Division Preference (Flash vs. Poetry), name, email, phone number, word count, genre, title.

DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON THE MANUSCRIPT. This contest will have “blind judging.”

Be sure to submit a clean copy of your manuscript – spelling/punctuation/grammar/formatting.

Click HERE to register for the contest.

After registering, send your manuscript entry to writersconference@wcyork.ca.

Contest closes September 1st, 2021 to allow time to build a display of the entrants on our website for the peer judging. Conference attendees will be encouraged to review the entrants from Thursday through Sunday morning (11:59am). See the conference SCHEDULE for details.

Conference attendees will visit each Glimpse’s division webpage to read the top selections (as chosen by the conference committee). They will then have an opportunity to vote for their favourite option.

The winners of the Glimpses writing contests will be announced at the Closing Ceremonies on Sunday October 24th, 2021.

All decisions are final. All prizes to be awarded via cheque within 30 days of the close of the 2021 York Writers Conference. Winners and Honorary Mentions will be contacted regarding their potential inclusion in the not-for-profit anthology to help raise funds for the WCYR. If you are interested, a publishing contract for 6 months of exclusivity to first rights of publication will be sent for your consideration.

Poetry:

One entry per person.

12-16 lines.

Any genre except erotica.

Formatting: Must fit on one page. Design the layout as you (or your muse) choose, just be sure it is readable. Formatting: standard fonts such as Times New Roman and Calibri only but font-size may vary depending on how you choose to say your piece. Save as a PDF if you’re concerned you will lose formatting during the submission process though we prefer .doc or .dox files. Title Page: centred, single-spaced with your Division Preference (Flash vs. Poetry), name, email, phone number, word count, genre, title.

DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON THE MANUSCRIPT. This contest will have “blind judging.”

Click HERE to register for the contest.

After registering, send your poem entry to conference@wcyork.ca.