Submission Guidelines
Adult (18+) Award Categories
- Unless otherwise indicated, the entry fee for each submission is $25; cash prizes will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize categories. The ILAs are open to Prince Edward Island residents only (six-month resident minimum prior to submission date).
- All submissions must be original and unpublished prior to the awards ceremony (note: self-published and blogging COUNTS as being published).
- These awards are open to those age 18+ who are not in the K-12 school system.
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Please read all eligibility criteria and formatting notes outlined below prior to submitting your work.
Literature for Children Awards
Submissions must be a story written for children (max 5,000 words). Illustrations may be submitted with the story but are not necessary.
Please read all eligibility criteria and formatting notes outlined below prior to submitting your work.
Poetry Awards
- One entry consists of 8 (minimum) to 10 pages (maximum) of poetry.
- Please read all eligibility criteria and formatting notes outlined below prior to submitting your work.
Short Story Awards
- A short story, maximum 2,500 words, will constitute as an entry.
- Please read all eligibility criteria and formatting notes outlined below prior to submitting your work.
Creative Non-Fiction Awards
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This category includes humour writing, memoir, biography, personal essay, travel writing, and feature articles.
It involves writing about real events, people, or ideas, conveying a message through the use of literary techniques.
The work should be accessible to a general reading audience (not written for a specialized or academic audience).
Maximum length: 2,500 words.
Please read all eligibility criteria and formatting notes outlined below prior to submitting your work.
Marie Coyoteblanc Award for Indigenous Writing
- The Marie Coyoteblanc Award for Indigenous Writing acknowledges the contribution made to the PEI literary culture by Indigenous writers.
- This prize is open to Prince Edward Island residents who identify as Indigenous.
- This prize is designed to recognize literary merit and promote works in all categories, including: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, writing for children and young adults, plays, and scriptwriting.
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Please read all eligibility criteria and formatting notes outlined below prior to submitting your work.
Prince Edward Island Association for Newcomers to Canada Award
- This award recognizes and acknowledges the contributions made to the PEI literary culture by writers new to Canada.
- This prize is open to anyone who has immigrated to Canada and made PEI their new home within the past five (5) years.
- Submissions can be in any category (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, writing for children and young adults, plays and scriptwriting).
- Please read all the eligibility criteria and formatting notes outlined below prior to submitting your work.
Maximum length: 2,500 words.
The Scott Parsons Literary Award
- The Scott Parsons Literary Award is presented in recognition and in celebration of the outstanding literary merit of a Black, Island writer.
- Scott Parsons, co-founder and first President of the Black Cultural Society of PEI, is a multi-disciplined Island singer/songwriter who has consistently used his voice, through a variety of mediums including music, theatre, film, radio, and television, to deepen and enrich our understanding of our Island's history, sparking a new generation of artistic creativity.
- This prize is designed to recognize literary merit and promote works in all categories including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, writing for children and young adults, plays and scriptwriting.
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Please read all eligibility criteria and formatting notes outlined below prior to submitting your work.
Maximum length: 2,500 words.
The 2SLGBTQ+ Award
The 2SLGBTQ+ Award is presented in recognition and celebration of the outstanding literary merit of a 2SLGBTQ+ Island writer.
This prize is designed to recognize literary merit and promote works in all categories including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, writing for children and young adults, plays and scriptwriting.
This prize is open to PEI residents who identify as 2SLGBTQ+.
Please read all the eligibility criteria and formatting notes outlined below prior to submitting your work.
Maximum length: 2,500 words.
The Francophone Award
The Francophone Award is presented in recognition and celebration of the outstanding literary merit of a Francophone Prince Edward Island writer.
- This prize is designed to recognize literary merit and promote works in all categories including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, writing for children and young adults, plays and scriptwriting.
- This prize is open to Prince Edward Island residents who identify as Francophone.
- The work must be submitted in French.
- Please read all eligibility criteria and formatting notes outlined below prior to submitting your work.
Maximum length: 2,500 words.
Rotary Club of Charlottetown Royalty
Creative Writing Awards for Young People
Submission Guidelines for Student Awards
Students (K-12) may write on the topic on their choice and submit in one (1) of four (4) sub-categories:
- Early Elementary (Grades 1-3)
- Late Elementary (Grades 4-6)
- Junior High (Grades 7-9)
- Senior High (Grades 10-12)
- There is no entry fee. A maximum of five (5) pages of poetry or a ten (10) page short story will constitute as an entry. Longer submissions will NOT be accepted.
- Cash prizes will be awarded in each sub-category of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Students can submit one (1) entry in one (1) category. Multiple submissions are not permitted.
- Please read all eligibility criteria and formatting notes outlined below prior to submitting your work.
School Participation Award
The school with the highest number of student submissions will be recognized with a certificate at the awards ceremony and will receive a special gift.
For more information, contact the ILA coordinator, at
peiliteraryawards@gmail.com
Eligibility
- These awards are open to individuals who have been residents of PEI for at least six (6) months preceding the submission deadline date (Friday, March 11th, 2022, at 9:00pm).
- Authors who have published a book are NOT ELIGIBLE to submit in the genres(s) in which they have been previously published. A book is defined as having at least forty-eight (48) printed pages with the exception of children's books, which must contain at least twenty-four (24) printed pages. This includes self-published works.
- Since 2012, previous adult winners of five (5) ILA awards (including first, second and/or third place) are no longer eligible to enter the ILAs.
- Adult winners who have won first prize in a specific category are not eligible to enter that category in the subsequent year.
- The work must be previously original and unpublished (note: self-published and blogging counts as being published).
- Any student in K-12 must submit to the Creative Writing Awards for Young People—you are not eligible to submit to the adult categories.
- Anyone 18+ who is no longer in the K-12 system is eligible to submit to the adult categories.
- Prize-winning work from any other competition is not eligible for entry (please notify us if your submission becomes published or wins a contest).
General Rules
- Entries must be submitted using the online platform by Friday, March 11th, 2022, at 9:00pm.
- If you are not able to submit your entry using the online platform, please contact the ILA Coordinator at peiliteraryawards@gmail.com (minimum of 48 hours prior to the submission deadline).
- A $25 entry fee is required for each adult entry. No fee is required to enter the Creative Writing Awards for Young People.
- Each participant submitting to the adult awards can submit one (1) entry per category.
- Payment is part of the online submission process for the adult awards.
- Please read all formatting notes below prior to submitting your work.
*FORMATTING NOTES*EACH entry must include the following:
NOTE:
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How to submit online:
Submissions may be made by clicking on the link below and following the online submission form.
