Contest for Young Writers - Enter the Write Across Ontario Competition!

As book lovers, it's exciting to us to see the next generation of literary talent begin to flex their writerly muscles. To that end, Open Book is proud to partner with the International Festival of Authors’s touring programme, IFOA Ontario, to announce the return of Write Across Ontario, a creative writing competition for middle grade and high school students across the province.

The competition is now accepting submissions from young writers in Ontario, who are invited to use story prompts provided by acclaimed Canadian authors to begin their short fiction pieces. The contest closes on November 18, 2016, so don't hesitate to spread the word to the young writers in your life!

This year, Susan Perly will provide the story-starter for grades 5–6, Nathan Whitlock will write one for grades 7–8, Andrew Westoll will cover grades 9–10, and Cordelia Strube will create the story-starter for grades 11–12. 

Stories must be between 250–500 words (not including the story-starter), and there is a limit of one submission per student.

Entries will be judged by IFOA in partnership with the editorial team at Open Book. One winner will be chosen from each age group, and each of the four winners will receive $500 and the opportunity to have their work published on Open Book.

Need more information? Check out the complete rules and submission guidelines here. 

If you're looking for more fun for young writers and readers you know, check out Book Bash: Canadian Children’s Literature Festival at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto on October 22, 2016, a full day of free programming for children.