Awards, Prizes, and Activities

Deadline for Submissions: Thursday, February 29, 2024, 4:00 P.M.
Email Submissions to: literatureawards@concordia.ca

A.G. Hooper Prize

Award of $300 for the best essay submitted by a currently registered undergraduate student on a topic in literature written in English before 1700. For submission of the essay, see NOTE below.

MacGuigan Prize

Award of $300 for the best essay submitted by a currently registered undergraduate student on a topic in literature written in English from the 18th century to the present. For submission of the essay, see NOTE below.

Compton-Lamb Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship (value of $500) is designated for a currently registered and full-time undergraduate student who will be entering the final 24 to 30 credits in either the Honours English Literature or the Honours English and Creative Writing program in the 2024-25 academic year. Students graduating in June or November of 2024 are ineligible. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic excellence and an essay submitted on any aspect of English literary studies. Submissions must also include an updated student record.

Eligibility and Submission Requirements  

Only currently registered students in an undergraduate degree program at Concordia are eligible. Exchange Students, Visiting Students, Independent Students, and Senior Audit Students are not eligible.

NOTE: Any student currently registered in an undergraduate degree program at Concordia may compete. You may enter any or all of the above competitions, but a separate application must be made for each. You may enter an essay written for a course or one written specifically for these competitions. 

Each submission must indicate the award for which it is intended.

Each entry must be submitted as two pdf files:

• One pdf file should be your cover page with the Award Name, Name, Student I. D. Number , Email Address and Title.
• The second pdf file should be the submission itself without any identifying information other than the Title and Page Number 

For example, the Cover page must include:

• Name of Award
• Student Name
• Student ID
• Email address
• Title

The submission itself (Compton-Lamb, or Hooper, or MacGuigan,) must only have the following information at the top of the page:

• Title
• Page Number

Incomplete or late submissions will not be accepted.

All submissions are final. Once submitted, students are not able to change or add to these submissions.

For additional information, contact darragh.languay@concordia.ca

All shortlisted candidates will be informed via email by March 29th and will have their names posted on the Department of English website. All winners will be notified at the Awards Ceremony to be held on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. in MB-9th floor. The names of the winners will be posted on the Department of English website by April 30th.  

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2023-24 Gabriel Safdie Awards in Creative Writing

Deadline for Submissions: Friday, May 3, 2024, 4:00 P.M.

Via Email: gabrielsafdie@concordia.ca

Late Submissions Will Not Be Considered

The Gabriel Safdie Awards in Creative Writing, established in 2016 through the generosity of Gabriel Safdie, a graduate of our department (BA, English ’64), are intended to encourage and support deserving, full-time and part-time undergraduate students in the Bachelor of Arts program who are currently enrolled in the B.A. Major Creative Writing, or the B.A. Honours English and Creative Writing program in the Faculty of Arts and Science.

An award of $2000 will be applied to each of the following categories: Fiction, Poetry and Drama.

APPLICATION RULES – Please Read Carefully:

1. The awards are open to all currently registered, full-time and part-time undergraduate students who are enrolled in the B.A. Major Creative Writing, or the B.A. Honours English and Creative Writing, program. (Please note: Those enrolled in a Minor in Creative Writing may not apply).
2. The Awards are contingent on the winning applicants finishing their current academic year as a full-time or part-time student, and with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
3. The Awards will be given out in October on condition that the winners remain as full-time or part-time students and with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, currently enrolled in the B.A. Major Creative Writing Major or the B.A. Honours English and Creative Writing program.
4. The Awards are open to Canadian Citizens, Permanent Residents and International Students.

PROCEDURES:

Applicants are asked to submit ONE of the following.

• Fiction: One (1) short story of a maximum of fifteen (15) pages.
• Poetry: One (1) poem or a series of poems for a maximum of fifteen (15) pages.
• Drama: One (1) act drama of a maximum of twenty (20) pages.

All work must be original and unpublished. Students may submit in multiple categories but will receive only one Award.

Work that has won a previous contest will be disqualified.

In the event that work in a given category is not deemed sufficient, that $2000 will be dispersed between the remaining categories.

Submissions will be accepted beginning April 3rd, 2024. The deadline for submission is May 3rd, 2024, 4:00p.m.

Late submissions will not be considered.

Please submit ONE PDF copy of your submission via email by May 3rd, 2024, 4:00p.m.

In the subject line of your email, include only the genre, your name, and the title of the submission. (Example: Poetry, Jane Doe, Spring Melt and other poems) 

In the body of the email, include the genre and title of your submission, your I.D. number, phone number, and email address, with one detail per line. Example:    

Fiction
After the Last Exam
Student I.D.: 12345678 
Phone number 123-456-7891
Jane.doe@concordia.ca

To ensure blind judging, DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME in the submission itself.

Title your submission as follows: Genre_Title.pdf (e.g. Poetry_Spring_Melt_and_other_poems.pdf) Your submission should be paginated. 

Take note that the title of the genre on the PDF, should also be the same as the title of the genre on the Word Document.

Please Note: The awards are not renewable. Previous winners are not eligible to apply in any genre in any subsequent year.

If you have further queries, please contact Kate Sterns, the Coordinator of Creative Writing: kate.sterns@concordia.ca

Deadline for Submissions: Friday, March 15, 2024, 5:00 p.m.
Email submissions to: kelsey.blair@concordia.ca

Award of $300 for outstanding achievement in Professional Writing. The prize is awarded based on academic excellence and a portfolio that shows proficiency, expertise, and competence in professional writing.

Eligibility

Applicants must be currently enrolled undergraduate students in the Professional Writing Minor, and have successfully completed at least 12 credits within the program. There is no minimum grade requirement, although academic achievement may be considered in the jury’s evaluation.

Selection process

Award decisions will be made by a committee comprised of two jurors and a jury chair, all of whom have teaching experience in Professional Writing.

The jury chair will first ensure that submissions are ready for blind evaluation. Portfolios will then be distributed to jurors for evaluation. 

All shortlisted candidates will be informed via email by March 29th and will have their names posted on the Department of English website. All winners will be notified at the Awards Ceremony to be held on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. in MB-9th floor. The names of the winners will be posted on the Department of English website by April 30th.

Submission requirements

Each application must be submitted electronically as a single PDF file, or as a link to a web-based portfolio. Include a cover letter with your name, student ID, telephone number, and email address. Submissions must also include an updated student record. If your submission is web-based, submit the cover letter and transcript separately, by email.

As much as possible, be sure to remove identifying information, such as your name and ID, from all but the cover letter.

Incomplete or late submissions will not be considered.

Submission Details

The portfolio should be a single PDF file OR a link to a web-based portfolio, and include:

• Cover letter (one page) o Include name, ID, and contact details
  • Include a brief “about the author"
  • Table of contents with functioning links to section titles
• Titled sections with brief introductions for portfolio content
• Coursework from ENGL 216, and from ENGL 395 or 397; you may also include work from any other courses in Professional Writing.
• Current student record

The entire submission should be no longer than 20 pages, including images.

Evaluation

Submissions will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Professionalism

• Presentation of content
• Grammar and spelling error-free
• Consistent application of APA, MLA, or CMOS formatting

Quality

• Sound rhetorical strategy
• Clear and persuasive English
• Adherence to conventions for the specific style, platform, or genre
• Creativity

For additional information, contact Kelsey Blair, Interim Coordinator, Composition & Professional Writing.

Deadline for Submissions:Thursday, February 29, 2024, 4:00 P.M. 
Email submissions to: creativewritingawards@concordia.ca

Eligibility

This contest is open to all Concordia students currently registered in any undergraduate degree program at Concordia. Exchange Students, Visiting Students, Independent Students, and Senior Audit Students are not eligible.

The Department of English offers two awards in the amount of $500 each for excellence in the writing of fiction and poetry and one award of $300 for excellence in the writing of drama. Any student currently registered in any undergraduate degree program at Concordia is eligible to compete. Submissions must be original and unpublished. The Poetry Award is awarded to the best single poem chosen from the overall submissions; each submission may consist of one poem or several poems to a maximum of 5 pages. The Fiction Award is awarded to the best single story chosen from the overall submissions; each submission must consist of a single story of no more than 5,000 words. The Drama Award is awarded to the best single play chosen from the overall submissions; each submission must consist of a one-act play to a maximum of 15 pages. In all cases, submissions may be from work written for courses or written specifically for the competition.

Students may enter all three categories, but students may enter only one submission in each category.

Entries

Each emailed entry should name the award in the subject line (e.g. Poetry Award Entry) and include no text in the body of the message. There should be two attachments:

1. A Word document consisting of the following information, in this format:

Student Name: Jack Doe
Student I.D.: 12345678
Phone number: 514-123-4567
E-mail address: jack.doe@concordia.ca
Category of Award: Poetry
Title: Spring Poem (if sending multiple poems, list the titles of all poems unless you wish them to be judged as one long poem with a single overarching title)

2. A single PDF file containing the poetry, fiction, or drama submission. Because the contest is judged blind, only the following information should appear at the top of the first page:

Category of the Award: (Drama, Fiction, or Poetry)
Title: Spring Poem
Number of pages: 3

All submissions are final. Changes cannot be made after the entry has been emailed. Incomplete or late submissions will not be accepted.

Judging

Judges are published writers of the genre they are judging. When possible, we invite writers who do not teach in the program. The decision of the judges is final. If, in the opinion of the judges, the quality of submissions in any category in any one year is unworthy, they may decide not to give an award. We regret that, due to the number of submissions, the judges are unable to provide comments.  

All shortlisted candidates will be informed by the creative writing coordinator via email by March 29th and will have their names posted on the Department of English website. 

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to read from their work at an event to take place on Wednesday, April 10th, 2024 at 4.30 PM. 

All winners will be notified at the Awards Ceremony to be held on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. in MB-9th floor.  The names of the winners will be posted on the Department of English website by April 30th. 

NOTE: Winning submissions of Creative Writing Awards in Drama, Fiction, and Poetry will be published in the Concordia University Magazine unless the writer chooses not to authorize publication of their work in this context.

Questions? Contact the Creative Writing Coordinator.

Get information on all awards