Writing Competition: Surrey International Writers' Conference Writing Contest

2015 SiWC Writing Contest Rules and Guidelines
Welcome to the 23rd Annual Writing Contest!

The Surrey International Writers' Conference Writing Contest is open to all writers. Young writers are welcome to enter, but must be aware that their work will be judged blind, among submissions made by adult writers. Surrey International Writers' Conference paid staff, board members, and their immediate families are ineligible to enter.

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 excerpted anywhere on the internet it is still eligible as an entry, but 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.

This year, we are accepting entries for our SIWC Storyteller's Award: fictional short stories of 2,500 — 5,000 words. 

Standard manuscript format — double-spaced, typed, one side only on white 8-1/ 2 x 11" paper (letter-sized), each page to include title and page number only. No staples, please.
Blind submissions — the author's name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript except cover page.
Hard copy submissions will be accepted by surface mail.

Send your entry to:

SiWC Writing Contest
Suite # 544
151 - 10090 152nd Street
Surrey, BC V3R 8X8

Include a cover page listing the writer's name, address, email address, phone number, entry title, and word length [excluding title]. All information is held in strict confidence, and will be destroyed after the contest winners are announced. Manuscripts are not returned. Also include entry fee of $15 per submission. Please make cheques payable to SiWC, and please do not send cash through the mail.

Entries are also accepted by email. Please follow the submission guidelines as noted above and copy your cover page and your submission into the body of your email. Send your email to:

contestATsiwcDOTca (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )

Attachments will be deleted, unread. The contest coordinator will print and format your submission (including a cover page) as per above instructions for consideration by the judges. Submit your entry fee via our PayPal button on the site [available April 1, 2015], or send your cheque or money order for $15 per submission to: 

SiWC Writing Contest
Suite # 544
151 - 10090 152nd Street
Surrey, BC V3R 8X8

Emailed entries will not be considered until the entry fee is received.
In addition to hard copy, all entrants must be able to submit their work by email if requested. (This enables us to forward short-listed work to the final judges.) Short-listed writers will be notified in early October.

No entries will be returned. If you would like receipt of your entry acknowledged, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard. All email entries are acknowledged by return email.
Judges are best-selling writers Diana Gabaldon and Jack Whyte.
Please note, there are TWO options for submission of entries. There is NO drop-off point available for hard copies.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: All entries must be postmarked or emailed by midnight, Friday, September 18, 2015. No late entries will be considered. 

The judges and conference/contest organizers cannot comment on individual entries. 

Entry fees: $15 per submission. You may enter as many pieces as you like, but each entry must be accompanied by the $15 fee. 

Please Note: You can now submit your entry fee online via Credit card, debit card or your Paypal account. Just enter the name of the author of the piece you are submitting, and click the Paypal button in the right sidebar of this page. Paypal will process your payment and send you a receipt by email. Make sure you enter the author's name so we can match the payment to the work submitted. Please note that PayPal payments must be submitted individually, one per entry. Remember to push the button only once for each entry, or you may be charged twice. Refunds are not available. 

Winners will be informed in early October, 2015. Prizes will be awarded at the Awards Ceremony at the conference. Winners will be listed here on the in the week after the conference.

Prizes for this year's Storyteller's Award: 1st Place $1,000; and up to two Honourable Mention(s) $150 each. 

In some cases, prizes may not be awarded exactly as noted, according to the discretion of the judges. All winning entries will be published on the front page of our website, immediately following the announcement of the winners.

Submission implies the author is granting first right of publication to the SiWC, as winners will be published on our site. Rights then revert to the author. Entering the contest also grants the SIWC the right to publish the entrant's name on the SIWC website, should the entrant be short-listed for, or win, a SIWC writing contest prize.