Writing for Children Competition
CANSCAIP announces long list for 2020 Writing for Children Competition CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers) is pleased to announce the long list for the 23rd annual Writing for Children Competition. More than 600 entries were received for the 2020 Competition--as always, the Picture Book category had the highest number of entries. The entries in all categories were evaluated by first-round readers who selected which entries would proceed to second-round readers. The second-round readers selected the entries that will now proceed to the juries: the long list. From the long list, the juries will select finalists and winners, to be announced in October. CANSCAIP congratulates all the writers whose entries were selected for the long list: CHAPTER BOOK MIDDLE GRADE PICTURE BOOK YOUNG ADULT Reader feedback for each entry is a unique and potentially very beneficial element for writers who enter CANSCAIP’s Writing for Children Competition. In November, all the writers will receive the evaluation comments of the readers who evaluated their entries. The Competition readers are published CANSCAIP Members who volunteered for the 2020 Competition: Lana Button, Lena Coakley, Pam Edwards, Kathryn Ellis, Loretta Garbutt, Linda Granfield, Theo Heras, Michelle Kadarusman, Monica Kulling, Tanya Kyi, Marla Lesage, Alison Lohans, Carol L. MacKay, Patsy MacKinnon, Maureen McGowan, Ishta Mercurio, Mireille Messier, Jean Mills, Jennifer Mook-Sang, Mahtab Narsimhan, Monica Nawrocki, Colleen Nelson, Deb Patz, Karen J. Rankin, Gillian Richardson, Jocelyn Shipley, Margaret Springer, Kevin Sylvester, Rebecca Upjohn, and Susan White. CANSCAIP is very grateful to these readers--many of them have volunteered as readers for several years. The Writers' Union of Canada initiated the Writing for Children Competition in 1996, and in 2014 CANSCAIP took on this initiative as a partnership with TWUC. A goal of the Competition is to discover, encourage, and promote not-yet-published writers of children's literature across Canada. CANSCAIP was founded in 1977. We’re a national membership-based, volunteer-run organization, offering opportunities for professional development with our community of Canadian authors and illustrators of children's books, and children’s performers. | COMPETITION TIMELINEMARCH: Competition opensMAY 31: Deadline for submissions JUNE: First-round readers evaluate all entries, and select those entries that proceed to second-round JULY: Second-round readers evaluate that smaller group of entries, and select those entries that proceed to the longlist AUGUST: Announcement of longlist SEPTEMBER: Juries evaluate entries on longlist, and select winners and finalists OCTOBER: Announcement of winners and finalists NOVEMBER: Evaluations of all the entries sent to all the writers DECEMBER: Finalists and winners entries sent to Annick Press, Kids Can Press, and Scholastic Canada FEBRUARY / MARCH: Publisher evaluations sent to finalists and winners ABOUT THE ANNUAL COMPETITION CANSCAIP's Writing for Children Competition opens in March and has a deadline of May 31. The entry registration fee is $30 for 1 entry, $50 for 2 and $75 for 3. Only unpublished writers are eligible to enter. The Competition's goal is to discover, encourage, and promote not-yet-published kid lit writers across Canada. Entries for the Competition are by reading age: Picture Book, Chapter Book, Middle Grade or Young Adult. Previously submitted entries can be re-submitted. Maximum length of an entry is 1,500 words. Written feedback for every entry is a unique benefit of the Competition. Every entry gets a paragraph of written evaluation, and sometimes more. All entries get evaluations from the first round of reading. Entries that proceed to second round also get evaluations from those readers. Entries proceeding to the longlist get evaluations from each jury member. The Competition's volunteer readers and juries are published CANSCAIP Members. The readers and jurors evaluate entries in the categories of their books; e.g., picture book authors evaluate picture book entries. The evaluation comments and suggestions can be very helpful for writers working on their craft. Many writers enter the Competition every year for feedback on the stories they're working on. Four writers receive $500 for the winning entry of a Picture Book, Chapter Book, Middle Grade, and Young Adult; two finalists in each of these categories are also selected. The winners and finalists are sent to Annick Press, Kids Can Press, and Scholastic Canada for consideration. These entries also get the publishers evaluations. Although over the years writers have had their work published, being a finalist or winner is not a direct path to publication. The Writers' Union of Canada initiated the Writing for Children Competition in 1996, and in 2014 CANSCAIP took on this initiative. |
