High School Creative Writing Competition
Calling all high school storytellers! We can鈥檛 wait to discover your story. Send us your most imaginative, surprising, or heart-stopping tale by December 31, 2025.
Stories submitted to the competition should be unpublished works of fiction written by a student currently enrolled at an Ottawa-area high school.
No theme. Total creative freedom.
Submission Details:
- Length: up to 1,500 words (postcard stories, flash fiction, micro fiction)
- Students may submit one story
- Format: Word or PDF
- Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Email submissions to english@carleton.ca
Prizes:
- One winning story published in the Spring 2026 edition of
- Two honourable mentions
- Passes to VERSeFest for the winning writer and the two honourable mentions
For questions, reach out to the 杏吧原创 University Creative Writing Program at nadia.bozak@carleton.ca
The Fall 2025 High School Creative Writing Competition has now closed.
Thank you to everyone who submitted their stories to this competition. The editors of Sumac are currently selecting the winning story and two honourable mentions. The results will be announced in mid-March. Stay tuned for more information!
Winners and honourable mentions will be contacted by email with information about accessing their VERSeFest passes.