The Eden Mills Writers’ Festival (EMWF) is accepting submissions to this year’s literary contest, the Fringe, and teen and children’s poetry competitions. The deadline for all submissions is June 30.
The EWMF has welcomed authors and readers to the village of Eden Mills for a weekend of the best in established and up-and-coming Canadian authors and poets for over 25 years.
This year’s festival takes place Sept. 16 to 18.
Aspiring poets, short story writers and non-fiction writers can apply to the literary competition, the Fringe, or both.
“The Fringe is an important venue, as it gives aspiring writers a voice and an audience, reading at a small but prestigious festival,” said Jane Hastings, Fringe coordinator.
New this year, up and coming authors can also submit to a new, juried creative nonfiction category.
“Give us your best edited work. For stories, catch us right away with the first paragraph, keep up the momentum and end at the just right place. That’s it,” said Melinda Burns, one of this year’s judges.
Former Fringe readers often return to the festival as published authors, including acclaimed authors Alison Pick, Ania Szado, Cathy Marie Buchanan, Julie Wilson and Grace O’Connell.
The teen and children’s poetry competitions increase in popularity by the year, with 60 original submissions in 2015. The children’s poetry contest is open to all school-aged children nationally. One grand prize and one runner-up prize will be awarded in primary (Grades 1 to 3), junior (4 to 6), and intermediate (7 and 8) levels.
The teen poetry contest is awarded in two categories: junior (Grades 9 and 10) and senior (11 and 12). The theme for 2016 youth poetry competitions is “Roads and Journeys.”
For submission details visit Edenmills-writersfestival.ca.
