Writing for Children Competition 2016 

Deadline July 31, 2016

CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers), in partnership with The Writers' Union of Canada, is pleased to accept submissions by unpublished writers for the 19th annual Writing for Children Competition. 

The deadline for submissions is July 31, 2016.

Two winners will be awarded $1,000 for a picture book/early reader entry and for a chapter book/middle grade/young adult entry. Eight additional finalists in these categories will also be selected. 

CANSCAIP will submit the entries of the winners and finalists to three Canadian children's publishers for consideration. Some winners and finalists in the Writing for Children Competition have had their entries published.

All entrants will receive feedback from the readers who evaluate the entries. This feedback is a unique, useful and potentially important benefit of entering the Writing for Children Competition. 

A goal of the Writing for Children Competition is to discover, encourage, and promote new writers of children's literature across Canada. The Writers' Union of Canada initiated the Competition in 1996, and in 2014 CANSCAIP took on this initiative.  

ELIGIBLE WRITERS

• Writers who have not been published* in book format in any genre including e-book and self-published** 
• Writers who do not have a contract with a book publisher
• Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada

ELIGIBLE ENTRIES

• Up to 1,500 words, fiction or non-fiction, English text*
• Submit text only; no illustrations 
• Submission in 12-point font, double-spaced (cover letter can be single-spaced)
• Entries that were submitted for a previous Writing for Children Competition can be re-submitted 
• Select a reading age category for each entry: 

ENTRY FEE

• The entry fee is $30 for one entry, $50 for two entries, and $75 for three entries.
• Entry fee must be paid before emailing your entry

• Online payment is by Visa or MasterCard. Although online payments are processed through PayPal, entrants don’t need to have their own PayPal account.

• Although you don't have to be a member of CANSCAIP to enter, we invite you to join as a first-time Friend for $35 (regular $45). (This offer only for those who haven't previously been members of CANSCAIP.)              

• Each entry is a writing submission up to 1,500 words PLUS a one-page cover letter

• In the cover letter include: 
  

1. your name, e-mail, phone, address
   
2. title and reading age category (e.g., Picture Book)
   
3. one paragraph synopsis of the story 
   
4. submission's place in the story (e.g., chapter 1 and excerpt from chapter 4) OR if submission is entire text 
   
5. summary of your writing experience

• Save the entry as a single PDF or Word document, with the cover letter first, followed by the writing submission

• NAME YOUR DOCUMENT in this order: 
  Reading Age Category (e.g., Picture Book) - Your Name - Title of Submission

• EMAIL SUBJECT LINE in this order: 
  Reading Age Category (e.g., Picture Book) - Your Name - Title of Submission

• Attach your entry to the email
  
• For multiple entries, send each entry in a separate email
• Email your entry to office@canscaip.org

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES

• The deadline for entries is midnight on July 31, 2016

HOW ENTRIES ARE EVALUATED 

• First-round readers evaluate a large group of entries in a reading age category, and select a smaller group of entries to proceed to the second-round readers. The first-round readers are published writers with experience in the reading age category they are evaluating. 
• Second-round readers evaluate a smaller group of entries and select entries to proceed to the jury. The second-round readers are published writers with experience in the reading age category they are evaluating.
• There is a jury for Picture Book/Early Reader and a jury for Chapter Book/Middle Grade/Young Adult. Each jury has three published authors who evaluate and select the finalists and winners. 
• The finalists and winners selected by the juries will be submitted to three Canadian children's publishers for consideration.
  

TIMELINE FOR 2016 COMPETITION

• JULY 31: Deadline for submissions
  
• AUGUST: Submissions evaluated by first-round readers
  
• SEPTEMBER: Submissions evaluated by second-round readers
  
• OCTOBER:  Winners and finalists selected by jury
  
• NOVEMBER: Press release announcing winners and finalists sent to all entrants
  
• DECEMBER: Feedback from first-round readers sent to all entrants; feedback from second-round readers sent to selected entrants