Student Contests
Stay tuned . . . for our 19th annual student contests
for Canadian students in kindergarten through grade twelve.
2024/2025 National Student Contests
Poetry Deadline: November 31, 2024
Short-Story Deadline: November 31, 2024
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Each year we hold two contests, which are open to Canadian students in kindergarten through grade twelve. Over $5,000 is awarded in cash prizes to schools and students who participate!
There is no entry fee and no obligation to purchase anything.
Educators may wish to use one or both of these contests as a project in coordination with their English curriculum, or students may enter on their own (though school information and a contact must be provided so we can verify they are a student and keep the contest fair).
Poster announcements are sent to schools across the country in September. Educators may directly request a copy of the poster and entry form or a complimentary copy of one of our collections from a previous contest by sending us an information request.
The top group of entrants in each contest (approx. 25-45%) will receive the opportunity to be published in a soft-cover, keepsake collection to be released in early June of each year. Schools that send in at least five complete entries per contest will automatically receive one free copy of any collection containing their student(s) work. We gave away more than $10,000 worth of these books to schools in our last contests!
Prizes
Bonus prizes: Schools will receive one bonus entry for each student entry they submit. |
|||
| Each contest: | First Prize (school) |
Second Prize (school) |
Third Prize (school) |
$300 |
$200 |
$100 |
|
Every participant will receive a bookmark gift once all of the entries have been short-listed. Teachers will be mailed a list of students who were successful in the first round in early to mid February.
Students who are selected for publication will receive a letter of congratulations and an author's release they need to have their parent/guardian sign and return in order to be published. Once we receive permission to publish their work, they will then be published in the appropriate collection for their grade and move forward to the final round of judging to possibly win one of the three prizes for their grade listed below.
| Each contest: | First Prize |
Second Prize |
Third Prize |
|||
Student |
School |
Student |
School |
Student |
School |
|
| Kindergarten | $60 |
$60 |
$40 |
$40 |
$20 |
$20 |
| Grade One | $60 |
$60 |
$40 |
$40 |
$20 |
$20 |
| Grade Two | $60 |
$60 |
$40 |
$40 |
$20 |
$20 |
| Grade Three | $60 |
$60 |
$40 |
$40 |
$20 |
$20 |
| Grade Four | $60 |
$60 |
$40 |
$40 |
$20 |
$20 |
| Grade Five | $80 |
$80 |
$50 |
$50 |
$25 |
$25 |
| Grade Six | $80 |
$80
|
$50 |
$50 |
$25 |
$25 |
| Grade Seven | $80
|
$80
|
$50 |
$50 |
$25 |
$25 |
| Grade Eight | $80
|
$80
|
$50 |
$50 |
$25 |
$25 |
| Grade Nine | $100 |
$100 |
$60 |
$60 |
$30 |
$30 |
| Grade Ten | $100 |
$100 |
$60 |
$60 |
$30 |
$30 |
| Grade Eleven | $100 |
$100 |
$60 |
$60 |
$30 |
$30 |
| Grade Twelve | $100 |
$100 |
$60 |
$60 |
$30 |
$30 |
All first-, second-, and third-prize winners will receive a free copy of the collection featuring their entry.
Rules
- All work must be original and will be checked for plagiarism. Please visit our PLAGIARISM and FAQs page to ensure you properly understand what plagiarism is and how to properly cite anything you have borrowed.
- Entries should not have been previously published (online postings should be removed prior to submission).
- Please do not submit work already sent to other contests or publishers for consideration (aka no simultaneous submissions).
- Students may submit one entry to each contest (one poem AND one story).
- We prefer entries to be submitted online. If mailing entries, each entry should be typed on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of white paper using using black ink, 11-pt Arial (or another plain font) without graphics.
- Peer editing is allowed (in the same grade or younger).
- Parents/teachers/older siblings are welcome to type out the work of younger writers, but should not make corrections other than spelling necessary for comprehension as they do so. (All accepted entries will be copyedited prior to publication. We expect to see errors.
- Poems must be 32 lines or less.
- Short stories must be 450 words or less. They should be fiction or fictionalized (change the names of real characters). No essays, reports, or fanfiction please.
- At this time, entries should be in English.
- All mailed entries should be accompanied by an entry form or reasonable facsimile.
- Please retain a copy of all work submitted as we are not able to return anything.
- Any style or subject is welcome, though we remind students the audience should always be considered and the books will be found in elementary school libraries.
- Homeschooled students are welcome to participate and are eligible for any student awards; however, home schools will not receive the educator/school portion of any award.
- If you are entering through a tutor or extracurricular program rather than your regular school, please put the tutor or program's contact information rather than your regular school. The teacher contact should be reachable at the school address you provide.
Topic Ideas
If you are having trouble thinking of something to write about, here are some short-story topics you may wish to explore:
- Think about life as someone or something else. Try writing from that person’s or thing’s point of view and what you imagine life may be like for them.
- Give life to a mysterious person. You see a man/woman/child across the street. Why are they there? What is their secret? . . .
- You see a scratch on the floor, the broken window across the street, the dent in your dad’s car—how did it get there? Is there a logical explanation or something more fantastic?
- Think about a close friend or family member. Take them on an adventure.
- Think about fables and fairy tales. Try to create one of your own.
- Look at a photograph in a newspaper or magazine. Invent a completely new story to go with it.
- Write about funny things that happen when you least expect them.
Here are some poetry topics you may wish to consider:
- The seasons.
- Family members and their adventures.
- Favourite sports or hobbies.
- School: homework, subjects, teachers, peers, etc.
- Emotions: describe a sad day, a happy day, etc.
- Animals: your pets or wild beasts!
- An inanimate object’s perspective.
- Holidays and other special events.
There are a lot of great websites out there containing tips on writing, further information on different types of poems, as well as rhyming dictionaries. Below are a few links we recommend to get you started:
Children’s author Corey Green: Advice for Writing Stories
http://www.coreygreen.com/storytips.html
Poetry Foundation: Poetry News and Education for Older Students
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/
http://www.kathimitchell.com/poemtypes.html
Rhymezone: Rhyming Dictionary
http://www.rhymezone.com/
Rhymer: Rhyming Dictionary
https://www.rhymer.com/
Ways to Enter
| Send entries |
||
by web form: |
SUBMIT ENTRY ONLINE | |
| by mail: | Entry Form Polar Expressions Publishing |
|
| PO Box 500 Stn Main | ||
| Maple Ridge BC V2X 3P2 | ||