Celebrate Writing

PEN Canada is now accepting English-language submissions for the 2026 RBC PEN Canada New Voices Award. 

The annual award supports and celebrates emerging talent in Canadian literature. Unpublished writers are encouraged to submit short stories, creative nonfiction, journalism, and poetry. The shortlisted submissions will be judged by a distinguished jury of Canadian writers. 

The winning entry will receive a $3,000 CAD cash prize and mentorship with a Canadian author.

The deadline for entries is Thursday May 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EST. 

Eligibility

• Writer must a Canadian citizen or have Canadian permanent residence status
• Writer must be 17 or over as of Thursday May 7, 2026
• Writers who have worked with a professional publisher to publish their work may NOT enter. However, self-published authors may enter.
• Writers with publishing contracts for forthcoming books may enter, however it must not be published prior to or during the jury selection process (Thursday May 7, 2026 – Wednesday July 15, 2026)
• Writers who have published pamphlets or chapbooks, or whose work has appeared in magazines, anthologies, or journals may enter
• All texts entered must be the work of one author only
• All texts submitted must remain unpublished during the entire duration of the award
• No entry may be altered after submission

How to submit to the New Voices Award

Because all judging will be blind, please ensure your cover sheet and file naming formats follow these instructions. To submit, please prepare two separate Word files and attach to an email, sent to submissions@pencanada.ca. Those two files are:

1. A cover sheet which must:

• use only this file naming format: Title of work_First Name, Last Name
• Within the cover sheet, include your:
  • first and last name
  • contact information (address, phone, email)
  • date of birth
  • title of work

If you are submitting poetry, give a name to your collection of poems and include this name in your cover sheet. Please only submit one cover sheet for your poetry collection, instead of one cover sheet per poem. 

As an example, download our template cover sheet.

2. The work for submission, which must:

• use only this file naming format: Title of work
• include the title of the work in the header on each page
• be a Microsoft Word file (.doc, .docx); PDFs will not be accepted
• be in English
• for prose submissions, be:
  • between 2,000-4,000 words
  • single-spaced
  • include a word count at the top of the first page
  • writers may submit up to three works of prose
• for poetry submissions, be:
  • no more than 2,500 words combined, whether a sequence of poems, a collection of poems, or one long poem
  • single-spaced
  • include a line count at the top of the first page

As entries are judged anonymously, only include your name in the cover sheet, and DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME in the work itself.

Terms and Conditions

Submissions to PEN Canada will be shortlisted and then evaluated by an independent jury.  It is not possible to confirm receipt of entries by phone or email.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can self-published writers enter?

Yes, self-published writers can enter. 

If I’ve submitted before, or been shortlisted before, can I submit again this year? 

Yes, if you’ve ever entered before or were a finalist in previous years, you may submit again. It is only previous winners who should not submit because they are ineligible. PEN would generally recommend that you do not submit the exact same piece of work for this year’s contest. 

Is this open to writers outside of Canada? 

Candidates must either be Canadian citizens (in Canada or living abroad) or have Canadian PR status. If you are a Canadian living abroad, please provide a Canadian address and phone number if you have one on your cover page.

Can I enter more than once? 

Yes, you may submit up to three prose entries, but you must include a separate cover page for each entry.

Can I enter both prose and poetry categories? 

Yes, you may enter both categories.

 

Please contact us via email (queries@pencanada.ca) if you have any further questions.