Contests

Long Poem Prize

The Malahat Review invites entries for its biennial Long Poem Prize.

The contest is open to Canadian and international writers anywhere in the world.

EXTENDED DEADLINE: 11:59pm (PST) on 5 February 2023.

Two winners will receive a prize of CAD $1,250 each and be published in the magazine's summer 2023 issue #223.

This contest is offered every second year, alternating with the Novella Prize.

Entries accepted via Submittable only. (See below for instructions.)

Contest Judges

  • Bertrand Bickersteth
  • Jennifer Lynn Still

Read the judges' bios here.

Book Prize

In addition to the $2,500 in prize money, we're giving away poetry books to one lucky contest entrant! All you have to do is submit your work to the contest, and you'll be automatically entered to win. After the deadline, we'll pull a name from the list of entrants.

Guidelines

  • Each entry must be a single poem or cycle of poems that will occupy between 10 and 20 printed pages when published in The Malahat Review. Poems published in the magazine occupy no more than 36 lines per printed page, a line-count that includes all spaces and breaks between lines, stanzas, and sections. In a cycle of poems, each poem must begin on a new page, even if the preceding poem ends before the 36th line is reached. In a multi-part poem, the author may decide whether or not each section begins on a new page. *Click here for further information about the 36-line rule.*

  • Collaborative long poems by two or more authors are eligible.

  • All entries are judged anonymously (no identifying information is to be included on any poem submitted).

  • Multiple entries are allowed (at a reduced fee, if paid for at the same time as the initial entry: see Entry Fees and How to Submit below).

  • Entrants who submit more than one long poem to the contest in the same year may be shortlisted for only one entry and may win only one of the two prizes.

Entry Fees

  • CAD $35 for each entry from Canada *early bird discount until Dec. 31, 2022: CAD $20

  • CAD $45 for each entry from elsewhere *early bird discount until Dec. 31, 2022: CAD $30

  • CAD $15 for each additional entry (any writer, any country)

  • See How to Pay (below) for detailed instructions.

  • Entrants receive a one-year print subscription to The Malahat Review for the initial entry only.

Additional Entries

  • To receive the reduced entry fee(s) of CAD $15, any additional entries must be paid for at the same time as the first entry; such additional entries should be submitted online within 24 hours of the initial submission.

Eligible Entries

  • No work simultaneously submitted elsewhere, already published, or already accepted for publication is eligible for consideration (even if only excerpted, or even if revised since original publication). We consider any appearance in print or online to be a publication, including newspapers, newsletters, magazines, anthologies, chapbooks, books, websites, blogs, social media, etc. This restriction applies regardless of the size of the print run or the extent of the circulation of previously published work.

  • Failure to comply with these criteria for eligibility will immediately disqualify any entry, regardless of when the ineligiblity is discovered in the process of adjudication (submission, processing, screening, shortlisting, final judging).

  • The entry fee for a disqualified submission will not be refunded, and the entrant will still receive a one-year print subscription to the magazine.

Notification

  • The two winners will be notified by email.

  • Other entrants will receive notifications of the shortlists and winners via Submittable messages.

  • The shortlist will be announced the week of April 3, 2023 on our website and social media.

  • The two winners will be announced one week later.

  • Both winners will be interviewed, and the interviews will be published on our website, and in the July 2023 edition of Malahat lite.

How to Pay (credit card)

How to Pay (cheque or money order)

  • If you are unable to pay by credit card, you can mail a cheque or money order made out to The Malahat Review in CAD$ or USD$ to: The Malahat Review, McPherson Library, University of Victoria, PO Box 1800, Stn CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 3H5, Canada.

  • Instead of an order#, you must indicate "cheque" or "money order" as required on the submission form.

  • Cheques or money orders must be mailed with a postmark date of no later than February 5, 2023.

How to Submit

  • Only online submissions made through The Malahat Review's Long Poem Prize portal on the Submittable website will be accepted.

  • Acceptable file formats: Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF only.

  • You can make only one entry at a time on the Submittable webpage; to submit additional entries, whether at the reduced rate (paid for at the same time) or at a standard rate, simply follow the same process as with the initial submission (the ORDER # will be the same for additional entries paid for at the same time as the initial submission; it will be different for an entry or entries made at a later date, since these require the full fee).

Click on the "Submit" icon below in order to enter the Long Poem Prize contest on Submittable:

Submittable

Previous Long Poem Prize Winners