Writing Competitions in Canada: A Quarterly Short Story Contest From Coast to Coast to Coast
Quick answer: Writing competitions in Canada run mostly on annual deadlines; Writory's short story contest adds a quarterly one. Entry is $8 for one story of 100 to 6,000 words in any genre. Judging is blind against a published rubric, every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 on 5 December 2026, and writers keep all rights.
Entry is $8 for one story of 100 to 6,000 words in English, French or any other language. The deadline is 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, early afternoon in Toronto, and every entrant receives a certificate and a five-part score out of 100 on 5 December 2026.
The Canadian calendar, and the gap in it
Canada's writing competitions are good and slow. The CBC Literary Prizes take short fiction in the autumn, nonfiction in winter and poetry in spring, with a French-language twin in the Prix de la création Radio-Canada. The Malahat Review's Open Season Awards, PRISM international's contests out of UBC, The Fiddlehead's annual contest from Fredericton and Room's contests from Vancouver fill the rest of the year. The Writers' Union of Canada runs a Short Prose Competition for writers who have not yet published a book.
Almost all of them close once and answer months later, and almost none of them tell a non-winner anything. Writory's short story contest is the quarterly fixture underneath that calendar: entries close on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, results arrive on 5 December 2026, and every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 against a rubric you can read before you enter. Keep aiming at the Giller shortlist; use this to find out what the current draft is doing.
The terms, in either official language or any other
Stories run from 100 to 6,000 words, in any genre, entered online at /submit-story by anyone aged 13 or over. Write in English or French, or in Cree, Punjabi, Mandarin, Ukrainian or Inuktitut; each story is read in the language it was written in and judged in one pool. The panel never sees your name. Five parts make the score: Storytelling & Structure 25, Character & Emotional Impact 25, Language & Craft 20, Originality & Voice 20, Impact & Resonance 10.
The top prize each round is $100, winners enter the next round free, and there is no open free entry; free rounds are earned. You keep all rights, including first publication, and nothing is published without your permission, so a story entered here remains eligible for The Malahat Review, Grain or the CBC prize afterwards. The first contest runs from 1 September 2026 to 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, with results and certificates on 5 December 2026 at 8:00 PM IST. Story rounds run every three months, closing on the last day of February, May, August and November. Results follow on the 5th of the next month. The next round opens on the 1st, before the previous round's results.
One deadline, six time zones
The round closes on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Local deadline: Toronto and Montréal: 30 November 2026 at 13:29 GMT-5; Vancouver: 30 November 2026 at 11:29 GMT-7; St. John’s: 30 November 2026 at 14:59 GMT-3:30. These dates include the local clock change for this round. Results and certificates follow on 5 December 2026.
Use the local deadline above when planning your entry. Allow time to upload, complete payment and check that the story appears in your account; submitting a day early avoids a last-minute rush. The first contest runs from 1 September 2026 to 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, with results and certificates on 5 December 2026 at 8:00 PM IST. Story rounds run every three months, closing on the last day of February, May, August and November. Results follow on the 5th of the next month. The next round opens on the 1st, before the previous round's results.
Paying in US dollars from Canada, and how the prize is paid
Writory is based in India and prices entry for everyone outside India in US dollars: $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five. Pay by Visa or Mastercard, or through PayPal, at /submit-story. Your bank converts at the day's rate, which puts a single entry at roughly C$11 at the time of writing. Some Canadian cards add a foreign transaction fee of around 2.5 percent; on $8 that is cents, but it is worth knowing.
The $100 prize is paid by PayPal, which works with Canadian bank accounts and pays out in Canadian dollars if you prefer. Written feedback on a story is an optional extra at entry, priced separately; the certificate and score come with every entry. The Story Craft course at /academy/story-craft requires a paid unlock and is worth an evening before you submit. Its lessons are short and built around the same five rubric parts the judges score.
The published rubric, 100 points
- Storytelling & Structure (25 points): Does every scene cause the next, and does the ending pay off the opening?
- Character & Emotional Impact (25 points): Do we want something with your character, and does the story make us feel it?
- Language & Craft (20 points): Clean, deliberate prose: rhythm, precision, and nothing wasted.
- Originality & Voice (20 points): The angle only you could write, told in a voice that sounds like nobody else.
- Impact & Resonance (10 points): What the story leaves behind after the last line.
How it works
Submit an original story of 100 to 6,000 words by 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Every story is judged blind against the rubric above, and results arrive on 5 December 2026: every entrant receives a certificate with their name and a score out of 100. Writers keep all rights. Winners earn free entry to the next round. Enter at https://writoryofficial.com/submit-story.
Common questions
Can I enter from any province or territory?
Yes. Writers in all ten provinces and three territories enter on the same terms as everyone else, with no Canadian quota and no residency check beyond your account. Judging is blind, so the panel sees no name or location. Writory's sister poetry contest has drawn entrants from 40 countries, Canada among them.
What does entry cost in Canadian dollars?
Entry is charged in US dollars: $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five. Your card converts at the day's rate, roughly C$11 for a single entry at the time of writing, plus whatever foreign transaction fee your card carries. Winning a round makes the next entry free.
Can I write in French?
Yes. A story in French is read in French, not translated, and judged in one pool against the same five-part rubric as every English entry. Language & Craft is scored on precision and rhythm within the language you chose. The same holds for Indigenous languages and every other language spoken in Canada.
What is the deadline in my time zone?
The round closes on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Local deadline: Toronto and Montréal: 30 November 2026 at 13:29 GMT-5; Vancouver: 30 November 2026 at 11:29 GMT-7; St. John’s: 30 November 2026 at 14:59 GMT-3:30. These dates include the local clock change for this round. Results and certificates follow on 5 December 2026.
What do I get for entering if I do not place?
A certificate in your name and a score out of 100 broken into the five rubric parts, delivered on 5 December 2026, the same day as the winners. Your rank and the size of the field are not disclosed; the score is about your story, not the competition around it.
Does entering affect my eligibility for the CBC Short Story Prize?
Entering here is not publication. You keep all rights, the story stays unpublished, and it is not posted anywhere unless you win and give permission. The CBC prizes require unpublished work, so a story entered at Writory remains eligible; check their current rules on simultaneous submission before you send it.
More story contest pages
About Writory
Writory (writoryofficial.com) is an international monthly poetry contest founded in 2025 by Shivay Mehra. Poets from 40 countries have entered, readers come from more than 150 countries, and every submitted poem is judged and scored out of 100 across five criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance. Every entrant receives a certificate; winners receive cash prizes and are published by name. Entries close on the 25th of each month and results are announced on the 30th. Writory is listed by Duotrope, Poetry Kit, Christopher Fielden's competition list and Creative Writing NZ, among other organisations. Past results are public at past winners and the leaderboard.