The 2022-23 NB Writing Competition is closed

The New Brunswick Writing Competition began in 1985, the same year as the WFNB's date of incorporation. We’ve held it annually ever since, awarding hundreds of prizes over the decades. Many past winners have since achieved national and international publishing fame. It opens every year on December 1. The competition is open to all residents of New Brunswick, Canada, and all WFNB members. See the guidelines below, and click the titles on the right for a description of each category.

If you are a WFNB member, make sure you log into this website with your username and password first, before you pay for your submission, in order to receive the member price.

Submitting to the competition is easy!

1) Pay for your submission here on this page, by clicking your category below (If you're a member, remember to log in with your account prior to purchasing a competition submission, so that you can pay the member price).

2) Email your blind submission and a separate cover letter to info@wfnb.ca. In your cover letter, be sure to include your name, address, email, phone number, submission category, title of your submission, and a brief bio. We'll acknowledge receipt of your submission. Good luck!


The Kyle Family, in honour of the late Viola and Douglas Kyle of Bathurst, NB
Gwen Martin, Yoho Lake NB, in honour of the late Dawn Watson
Go And Write!

Guidelines

Entries will not be considered until both the manuscript and payment have been received.

  • The entry fee will not be refunded if your submission is ineligible. 
  • All submissions are final
  • Entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

WHEN: The 2022-23 season will run from December 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023. The competition has been extended to March 18, 2023.

WHO: 

  • Open to New Brunswick residents, and all WFNB members, including those living outside the province of NB. 
  • WFNB members pay a reduced entry fee. 
  • WFNB directors and executive are not eligible.

WHAT:

  • All entries must be original, unpublished works. 
  • Entries must not have been accepted for publication, or previously published in magazines, online magazines, blogs, other online publications, or in self-published works. 
  • For detailed guidelines, see the specific category under "Submission Categories" above

HOW:

  1. Review the submission category guidelines before submitting (word limits are strict in each category)
  2. Prepare your submission (see Writing Competition Format)
  3. Wait for the competition to open on December 1
  4. Go to the WFNB Writing Competition page (this one!)
  5. Select the category you're submitting to
  6. Click the "Add to Cart" button
  7. Complete the checkout process
  8. Reply to your payment receipt email and attach your submission and cover letter, or send your attachments in a separate email to info@wfnb.ca

WINNERS:

  • We notify all winners in early May. 
  • All winners will be invited to read from their submission at the Literary Soirée during WordSpring, where the prizes will be awarded. 
  • Judges will provide brief comments for the first-, second-, and third-place winner.

NOTES:

  • Submit as many texts as you wish in one or all categories. 
  • Each text may be submitted to only one category. 
  • You must complete a separate entry and pay the entry fee for each manuscript entered.
  • Judging is blind. Prizes will be awarded (or not) at the discretion of the judges.


© 2021 Writers' Federation of New Brunswick

Territorial Acknowledgement

The Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick acknowledges that the land on which we live, work and gather is the traditional unceded territory of the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) and Mi’kmaq Peoples, and we honour the spirit of our ancestors’ Treaties of Peace and Friendship.

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