Contests

Long Poem Prize

Our biennial Long Poem Prize is now open! We welcome submissions from Canadian and international writers anywhere in the world.

Deadline: February 1, 2025 at 11:59pm (PST)
Early Bird pricing deadline: December 31, 2024 at 11:59pm (PST)

Two winners will receive a prize of CAD $1,250 each and be published in the magazine's summer 2025 issue #231.

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

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

Contest Judges

  • Klara du Plessis
  • Khashayar "Kess" Mohammadi

Read the judges' bios here.

Book Prizes

In addition to the $2,500 in prize money, we're giving away two bundles of poetry books to two lucky contest entrants! 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 two names 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, 2023: CAD $20

  • CAD $45 for each entry from elsewhere *early bird discount until Dec. 31, 2023: 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 entry.

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 shortlist and winners via Submittable messages.

  • The shortlist and winners will be announced in April 2025 on our website and social media.

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

How to Pay (credit card)

  • Go to our online store to pay your entry fee(s).

  • Payment must be made online through our store before submitting, since you must include your ORDER# with your submission. We accept VISA, Mastercard, or American Express. No password is needed in order to pay your entry fee on our store website—simply choose guest checkout.

  • Online payments will not be accepted after the contest deadline. If you have any problems with payment, please email malahat@uvic.ca.

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, Clearihue Bldg, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700, Stn CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada.

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

  • Cheques or money orders must be mailed with a postmark date of no later than February 1, 2025.

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.

  • You can make only one entry at a time on Submittable; 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 the Submit icon below in order to enter the Long Poem Prize contest on Submittable:

Submittable

Previous Long Poem Prize Winners