Question: What is the most common reason for disqualification?
Answer: The most common errors are going over the word count and accidentally including your name. In the 2023 contest, 72.41% of all disqualifications were related to a name being located in the filename, byline, header, or footer.
We work hard to make sure entries are anonymous. This allows for more equitable evaluation. We cannot ethically alter documents, even word files to make a piece eligible, so please check the file, and check your headers and footers.
The second most common reason for disqualification were entries exceeding word or line counts. In the 2023 contest, 22.41% of all disqualifications were a result of entries exceeding word or line count limits.
If you’re writing creative non-fiction, please be mindful of other identifiable information such as the names of relatives. You may use a placeholder name in your submission and we will gladly modify this if a piece makes the short list.
REMEMBER, a max word count does not mean you have to use every word available. We recommend that you aim for under the max word count in case you have made any errors; give yourself 10 words to spare so that you don’t have to fret.
Question: Does my title count in the word count?
Answer: No, your title does not count in the word count.
Question: Why is poetry length now based on word count instead of lines?
Answer: We felt that a word count would allow for greater flexibility in structure and creativity for poetry submissions.
Question: A piece I want to enter was distributed in a newsletter, does it count as published?
Answer: Unfortunately, yes. Any piece that is distributed publicly is considered published. It is therefore ineligible.
Question: I want to submit a chapter from my work-in-progress. Is that allowed?
Answer: Technically, yes, but we discourage it as your future publisher may take issue with the piece being published if it were to make the short list or win. (Our entire short list is published in an anthology.)
Question: What happens if I submit the wrong file or I realise I broke contest rules before the deadline and need to replace the file?
Answer: We encourage everyone to read the contest rules very carefully before entry, but mistakes happen. You can contact us to get instructions on file replacement. Send us an e-mail to contest@bcwriters.ca for instructions
Question: What are the metrics used for evaluation?
Answer: All readers and judges will have their own preferences, but below are some of the ways we ask our readers to consider works submitted to the contest: Idea Development, Voice, Originality, Overall Quality, Setting and Description, Impact, Relevance and Cultural Consciousness, and Something Special. We worked hard to develop a set of criteria that allows pieces across genres and approaches to have different ways to shine and stand out. A more detailed explanation can be found on the “Vetting and Evaluation” page.
Question: Where does the money go from entries?
Answer: Funds raised from the contest go back into the contest. In addition to the prizes, we pay all of our readers, judges, and staff for their work to make the contest happen. We also publish an anthology to add value for people entering the contest. This creates costs related to design, editing, and some admin work. Any additional revenues are used towards public programming offered by the Federation of BC Writers.
Question: How long does it take to get results back?
Answer: In short, it takes a while. Our goal is to provide our readers and judges enough time to contemplate all the pieces fairly and to not rush their decisions. We will make announcements in November.
Question: The title says Literary Contests. Are genre pieces welcome and do they have a fair chance?
Answer: Yes to both questions. We love genre writers at the Federation of BC Writers. What matters in this competition is quality and writing something that stands out from the pack.
Question: What other advice can you give?
Answer: Pieces that use outdated and harmful tropes or terminology will not be longlisted. The Federation of BC Writers has a core value that we promote excellence in literature. As such, we view it as the responsibility of writers to be cautious with our words and to be intentional with our language. If you have doubts, google is your friend. If you think something might be problematic, it probably is. We also ask all entrants to be cognizant of cultural appropriation. An article outlining best practices can be found here: https://proofed.com/writing-tips/5-tips-for-avoiding-cultural-appropriation-in-fiction/
Further, we recommend submitting your entry before the deadline. Even if you aim to submit the day before, this allows you time to do a last check on your submission before you send it to us. We often suspect that the disqualifications we see are the result of a last minute scramble.
