Writing contest

Fourth annual WCWF Writing Contest

Sponsored by The Raven’s Oddities … a store full of eclectic and unique finds located in Okanagan Falls, British Columbia. Pop in and tell them WCWF sent you.

Reedsy.com has listed our WCWF Contest as one of the best writing contests in 2022, 2023, and 2024 – three years in a row! Thank you Reedsy!

2024 Contest

Contest categories

Fiction (click for submission guidelines)

Fiction maximum is 2,000 words. Any genre welcome. Going over the word count will result in disqualification – even if the count is 2,001. No exceptions. Formatting your short story: double-spaced, 12-pt Times New Roman. Include cover page as indicated above. No special fonts or pictures. Blind submissions only – the author’s name MUST NOT appear anywhere on the document except the cover page. Submit as a Word (.docx) file; other formats such as PDFs will not be accepted. All manuscripts must be sent electronically.

Nonfiction (click to open submission guidelines)

Nonfiction submissions up to 2,000 words. This genre includes creative nonfiction, memoir, personal essay. Going over the word count will result in disqualification, no exceptions. Formatting your nonfiction piece: double-spaced, 12-pt Times New Roman. No special fonts or pictures. Include cover page as indicated above. Blind submissions only – the author’s name MUST NOT appear anywhere on the document except the cover page. Submit as a Word (.docx) file; other formats such as PDFs will not be accepted. All manuscripts must be sent electronically.

Poetry (click to open submission guidelines)

Poetry in any style or structure is welcome. Maximum 40 lines including stanza breaks. This means you count any empty breaks between as a line. Going over will result in disqualification. No exceptions. Please title your work – this title is NOT included in the word count. The space between the title and the first line (poetry) does not count as a line. There is no maximum or minimum word count for poetry. Formatting your poetry submission: 12-pt Times New Roman, can be single-spaced. No special fonts or pictures. Include cover page as indicated above. Blind submissions only- the poet’s name MUST NOT appear anywhere on the document except the cover page. Submit as a Word (.docx) file; other formats such as PDFs will not be accepted. All manuscripts need to be sent electronically.

Multiple entries are welcome. Please see details about entry fees.

Prizes

Category winners and honorable mentions will all receive a complimentary copy of WCWF Writing Contest Anthology.

1st place: $200, entry to next year’s WCWF (accommodations and travel not included), publication in anthology
2nd place: $100, anthology, publication in anthology
3rd place: $50, anthology, publication in anthology

Eligibility

This contest is open to writers and poets over the age of 18 worldwide. Established and emerging writers are welcome to submit. Submissions must be in English. You do not need to attend the festival or register for contest eligibility.

Festival organizers, instructors, judges, and close family members of Wine Country Writers Festival Society are ineligible to enter the contest.

Entry fees

$15 per fiction/nonfiction/poetry submission
$25 for two submissions at the same time.

Multiple entries are welcome if accompanied by entry fees at the time of payment/entry only.

Note: no refunds are issued for contest entries.

Judging

Winners are chosen by blind judging (only the Contest Coordinator knows the names of the entrants). Judges’ decisions are final. It is up to the discretion of the judges in each category as to whether or not there will be Honorable Mentions. Winners will be announced at the Wine Country Writers Festival.

The Judges:

Fiction: Steena Holmes is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with nearly 3 million copies of her titles sold worldwide. Named in the Top 20 Women Author to Read by Good Housekeeping for her women fiction novels, she currently writes psychological suspense, destination thrillers as well as friendship driven Christmas novels that tie in with her Sweet Reader Tours she hosts.

Non-Fiction: Jennifer Landels Jennifer Landels (she/they) is the Managing Editor of Pulp Literature Press. She holds a BA in Mediaeval English Literature from UBC and may some day return to her doctorate in Arthurian Romance at University College London. She has been a freelance editor since 2002, and co-founded Pulp Literature Press in 2013. Jennifer is a frequent lecturer, blue penciller, keynote speaker, and workshop facilitator at writing events locally and abroad, and has travelled to France, Germany, the UK, and the US to speak and teach at conferences. As JM Landels she writes fantasy and historical fiction, including the bestselling Allaigna’s Song trilogy. In addition to her literary activities she also teaches swordplay from horseback with Academie Cavallo at Cornwall Ridge Farm in Langley BC.

Poetry: Carol Rose GoldenEagle Carol Rose GoldenEagle is a Saskatchewan Author and Poet. In 2021 GoldenEagle was named the 9th Poet Laureate and in 2022 was named as a member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. Her of award-winning novel BEARSKIN DIARY was chosen as the national Aboriginal Literature Title for 2017. It was shortlisted for 3 Saskatchewan Book Awards. The French language translation of this novel, entitled Peau D’ours won a Saskatchewan Book Award in 2019. Her first book of poetry – entitled Hiraeth was shortlisted for a Saskatchewan Book Award in 2019. Her second novel – Bone Black– was released in the Fall of 2019. Her novel, The Narrows of Fear, was released 2020 and a second collection of poetry, Essential Ingredients, was released 2021.

Submission requirements

Cover/information page: this is to be included with each entry as page one. It will include: Title as it appears on your piece, author’s name, address, email address, phone number, category entered, and word/line count. All contact information is held in strict confidence and will be duly destroyed after the event. Please ensure you keep a copy as nothing will be returned. If a writer feels it is imperative that a disclaimer be attached to their work, it must be short (max 25 words) and will not count in the overall word count.

FICTION short story maximum is 2,000 words. Any genre welcome. Going over the word count will result in disqualification – even if the count is 2,001. No exceptions.

Formatting your short story: double-spaced, 12-pt Times New Roman. Include cover page as indicated above. No special fonts or pictures. Blind submissions only – the author’s name MUST NOT appear anywhere on the document except the cover page. Submit as a Word (.docx) file; other formats such as PDFs will not be accepted. All manuscripts must be sent electronically.

NONFICTION short story maximum 2,000 words. This genre includes creative nonfiction, memoir, personal essay. Going over the word count will result in disqualification. No exceptions.

Formatting your nonfiction piece: double-spaced, 12-pt Times New Roman. No special fonts or pictures. Include cover page as indicated above. Blind submissions only – the author’s name MUST NOT appear anywhere on the document except the cover page. Submit as a Word (.docx) file; other formats such as PDFs will not be accepted. All manuscripts must be sent electronically.

POETRY in any style or structure are welcome. Maximum 40 lines including stanza breaks. This means you count any empty breaks between as a line. Going over will result in disqualification. No exceptions. Please title your work – this title is NOT included in the word count. The space between the title and the first line (poetry) does not count as a line. There is no maximum or minimum word count for poetry.

Formatting your poetry submission: 12-pt Times New Roman, can be single-spaced. No special fonts or pictures. Include cover page as indicated above. Blind submissions only- the poet’s name MUST NOT appear anywhere on the document except the cover page. Submit as a Word (.docx) file; other formats such as PDFs will not be accepted. All manuscripts need to be sent electronically.

Email your entry to WCWFContest@gmail.com. Each entry must include the payment receipt, manuscript and cover page. All entries will be acknowledged by a return email. Check your spam or junk box.

Rights

All submissions must contain original material, and may not have been previously published, accepted for publication, or have been a winner in another contest prior to the deadline.

Please note our internet policy: If a work has been briefly excerpted anywhere on the internet, it is still eligible as an entry; however, if it has been published or posted in its entirety on a blog or any other internet site, it is not eligible for our contest, as we retain right of first publication as a part of our mandate.

Submission implies the author is granting first right of publication to the Wine Country Writers Festival Society on the website and in an anthology. Rights then revert to the author.

Entering the contest, grants the Wine Country Writers Festival Society the right to publish the entrant’s name and entry title on our website (and photo if available).

Deadlines

Contest opens: April 1, 2024
Contest closes: June 1, 2024 at 2359 hrs (11:59 p.m.) Pacific Daylight Time, i.e., the time in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

It is your responsibility to ensure the deadline is met – no refunds are provided.

Note: Writing contest organizers reserve the right to extend the deadline if deemed necessary.

Payment via:

E-Transfer $15 for one entry or $25 for two entries. Note the name of entry. Transfer to:

wcwfestival@gmail.com

One Entry for the WCWFest Writing Contest.

This is payment for ONE entry to the Wine Country Writers’ Fest Writing Contest

CA$15.00

If you want to submit TWO Entries

TWO ENTRIES for Wine Country Writers’ Fest Writing Contest

Submitting TWO entries. Submissions can be different categories (ie: poetry and fiction)… any combo of two. Must be submitted at the same time.

CA$25.00

WCWF Contest Coordinator: Kara Antifeau

Kara is an avid reader, writer and is active within her writing community. She will be your go-to for any contest questions.

All entries will go to Kara. She will sort and code each one, make sure the eligibility rules are followed (pay attention to word count, dates, formatting, etc.) and when the contest closes, she will distribute entries to the judges.

Read the eligibility rules first and if you still have a question email Kara. WCWFContest@gmail.com