Writing Opportunities
Building Fantastical Worlds with Nafiza Azad
The final FOLD Academy workshop of the season, Building Fantastical Worlds with Nafiza Azad, is this Saturday!
In this workshop, Nafiza—our Teen-Writer-in-Residence—will deconstruct fictional worlds, identify the essential components of fantasy and provide world-building wisdom for emerging and established writers.
See you virtually Saturday, April 13 at 12 p.m. ET!
You can register for FREE today on Eventbrite!
The FOLD Free Online Writing Workshops
We are excited to announce our FOLD Academy Winter Sessions! ❄️
Join us for these enlightening webinars hosted by three incredible authors: Kern Carter, TCspades, and Sharon Bala.
Free registration for Writing Commercial Fiction with Kern Carter is now open!
The First Page student writing challenge is coming back!
The First Page is a national writing competition for Grades 7 to 12 students in Canada. Students are invited to write the first page of a novel, imagining how present-day issues and trends have played out 150 years in the future.
The 2024 challenge will be open for submissions starting in February 2024. At the beginning of 2024, we'll announce the official entry period and who will be the judge and readers for this year's competition. Past judges include New York Times bestselling author Courtney Summers, Sarah Raughley, author of the YA Effigies series, and Governor General's Literary Award-winning author David A. Robertson.
How will the world leaders of today impact the world of tomorrow? Who will be the biggest name in pop culture in the future? How will climate change impact the protagonist's life?
The story could be from any literary genre, from mystery or thriller to literary fiction, from adventure or romance to satire or science fiction.
Last year's winners were Christian A. Yiouroukis for his story Where the Maple Leaf Grows and Bee Lang for their story One Question.
WHAT YOU CAN WRITE: Your entry can be 300-400 words in length. Your entry also needs a title, but the title is not included in the word limit. Your entry can be written in any genre.
WHO CAN ENTER: This contest is open to all Canadian residents who are full-time students enrolled in Grades 7 to 12. Entries will be judged in two age categories: Grades 7 to 9 and Grades 10 to 12.
PRIZES: The winner of each category will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which delivers monthly boxes of books and literary-related goodies. The school library of each winner will also receive a donation of 50 books.
HOW TO SUBMIT: During the submission period, a link to an online entry form will be available on this page. We'll share more details about when and how to submit in early 2024.
Writing Prompt #1 for The First Page student writing challenge
Every other Wednesday, we'll share writing advice from former First Page readers and winners.
This week we have a tip from Toronto author Kern Carter.
Hone your craft.
"One of the first pieces of advice I received when I started writing was not to be afraid of revisions because that’s where the real story is. Anyone can write a story, but to make it compelling, you have to know how to revise and polish your work.
"The good thing is there are so many resources out there available for writers, and just dedicating enough time to learn and improve your craft really goes a long way."
Kern Carter is a Toronto author and freelance writer. CBC Books named him a Black writer to watch in 2023. He is the author of the YA novel Boys and Girls Screaming.
The 2024 challenge will be open for submissions starting in February.
Head to cbc.ca/thefirstpage for more details.
Writing Tip #2 for The First Page student writing challenge
This week we have a tip from YA author Andre Fenton.
Andre says: "Try new things, take risks. The words will always land on the page, and worst case scenario: you get to try again."
Andre Fenton is an award-winning African Nova Scotian author, spoken-word artist, and arts educator who has represented Halifax at seven national poetry festivals across Canada. He was a reader for the 2023 First Page Student writing challenge.
His latest book is the YA novel The Summer Between Us.
The 2024 challenge will be open for submissions starting in February 2024.
Head to cbc.ca/thefirstpage for more information.
Writing Tip #3 for The First Page student writing challenge
With the new year quickly approaching, we're only a bit more than a month away from the opening of the First Page student writing challenge.
If you're thinking of entering or have students who might want to take part, we've got some writing tips to help along the way.
This week's tip is from YA author Michael Hutchinson.
"First, read! When you read, you consume sentences that you like and don't like, paragraphs you like and don't like and dialogue that you like and don't like.
When you read, what you are really doing is filling the palette inside your head with 'colours' to use when you sit down to write."
Michael Hutchinson is a novelist and member of the Misipawistik Cree Nation. He currently lives in Ottawa and works at the Assembly of First Nations.
He is the author of The Mighty Muskrats Mystery series which is about four cousins from the fictional Windy Lake First Nation who solve mysteries and learn more about themselves and their Indigenous community along the way.
The latest book in the series is The Case of the Rigged Race.
Head to cbc.ca/thefirstpage for more information.
Writing Tip #4 for The First Page student writing challenge
This week we have a tip from YA fantasy author Caryn Lix.
"Publication is key so the more eyes you can get on your work the better. Take those hurtful critiques — and those gushing reviews — and dissect them for the kernels of truth inside."
Caryn Lix is a YA fantasy writer based in Alberta. She is the author of the Sanctuary sci-fi YA trilogy, which includes the books Sanctuary, Containment and Salvation.
The 2024 challenge will be open for submissions the whole month of February.
Head to cbc.ca/thefirstpage for more information.
Poetry in Voice Competitions
Hey Poets!
Get Published
YOU CAN NOW SUBMIT TO ENTER OUR JOURNAL AND WIN ONE OF OUR MONTHLY PRIZES! OUR SUBMISSION PERIOD IS AUGUST 15 – FEB 15. STARTING AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER WE WILL ANNOUNCE A MONTHLY $100 WINNER EVERY MONTH UNTIL THE END OF FEBRUARY.
For more details check out the link below:
Paper Crane Journal Open for Submissions
Please read the submission guidelines carefully: https://www.papercranejournal.com/
A Guide to Canadian Literary Magazines and Journals Open to Submissions
CBC Books has compiled a list of Canadian print and online magazines and journals. Information is subject to change — so check the publications' websites for updated guidelines before you submit.
"1960s Advertising - Magazine Ad - Ford Exploring Inner Space (USA)" by ChowKaiDeng is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Guides to Youth Writing Contests
CBC has curated A Guide to Writing Prizes for Young Canadians. That's you! See their list via this link.
Image: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/764674 (public domain)
50 Word Fiction
For prompts, examples and conditions, consult: https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/50-word-fiction
CC0 Public Domain photo from: "Keys" by mmarchin is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Emoji Writing Prompts
Image credit: "Emoji" by Chris Blakeley is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
#vss365
From the About section of #vss365today.com:
#vss365 is a tweet-sized writing game based on a specific daily word prompt. Entries must incorporate the word into a story or poem.
To get started with #vss365, all you need is a Twitter account. Once the prompt is posted, write a story using the prompt. Make sure you include the #vss365 hashtag and the prompt word as a hashtag so everyone can find it. That's all there is to it! For some writing tips, check out this excellent blog post from Sal Page.
What if I don't have a Twitter account?
A Twitter account is not required to participate. You can still write a story from the prompt, use the prompt as inspiration, or incorporate the prompt into something else.
Image credit: "Stories" by Elias Ruiz Monserrat is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0