CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
*UPDATE! The submission deadline has been extended. Entries are being accepted until May 8 for the 2017 What’s Your Story? Short Prose and Poetry Competition for Emerging Writers.
The Ontario Book Publishers Organization invites submissions until May 8, 2017 for the What’s Your Story? Short Prose and Poetry Competition for Emerging Writers.
This writing competition is part of What’s Your Story?, a series of events that celebrates the literary communities in four different community hubs: Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, and East Toronto. In the fall of 2017, literary events will be held in each of these neighbourhoods featuring one winning emerging author and their works (along with three established writers). There will be a total of four winning emerging authors who have written works inspired by one of the four community hubs Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, and East Toronto. Short prose submissions must be between 1,300 and 1,500 words and poetry submissions must be a maximum of two pages.
PRIZE
There is a $1,000 prize for each winning author. The author will be featured at one of the What’s Your Story? literary events in the fall of 2017, published on www.open-book.ca, and published in an anthology of all winning works.
ELIGIBILTY
The competition is open to writers who are over 16 years-old, are Toronto residents, and have not had a book published. Authors must be available to participate in the literary events that will be scheduled for the fall of 2017, the dates of which will soon be determined. What’s Your Story? 2016 winning authors are not eligible.
HOW TO ENTER
- Submissions will be accepted by email only. Please put “What’s Your Story? Emerging Writers Competition” in the subject line.
- Short prose submissions must be between 1,300 and 1,500 words and poetry submissions must be a maximum of two pages. Entries should be typed, double-spaced, in a clear twelve-point font on a 8.5″ x 11″ sized document, saved as a Word document with your last name in the document name and neighbourhood identified. Please put the neighbourhood you are writing about in the upper left hand corner of the first page. (The boundaries of the neighbourhoods are below.) Do not include author name on the writing sample. This is a blind competition.
- Please provide a cover page stating your name, include a 50-word bio, and title it with your first and last name.
- Entries must be received electronically by May 8, 2017 at 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time by email to: jury@obpo.ca
- Winning entries will be notified by email in early July 2017
NEIGHBOURHOOD BOUNDARIES
- East Toronto – O’Connor Drive to Lake Ontario, and DVP to Victoria Park Avenue
- Etobicoke – Steeles Avenue West south to Lake Ontario, and Mill Road East to the Humber River
- North York – Steeles Avenue to Eglinton Avenue, and Victoria Park Avenue to Jane Street/Hwy 400
- Scarborough – Steeles Avenue to Lake Ontario, and Victoria Park Avenue to the Scarborough-Pickering Townline
Be sure to check out last year’s winners! You can read the winning texts from each neighbourhood: East York, Etobicoke, North York, and Scarborough.