The Griffin Poetry Prize. The Scotiabank Giller Prize. The
Governor General’s Awards. The Great Blue Heron Poetry Contest. The Fiddlehead Annual
Contest. The Atlantic Book Awards. Canada Reads. If it seems like every
literary magazine, every creative writing program, every writing association,
every media outlet in Canada has a set of writing awards, that’s because most
do.
Writing awards matter to the people who administer them.
Literary magazines promise entrants subscriptions and so bump up their
subscriber list in order to qualify for government funding… and to ensure that writers
submitting to them have at least looked at an issue or two.
Similarly, writing associations (WFNB, WFNS, PEI Writers’
Guild, WANL, League of Canadian Poets, TWUC etc.) offer members lower entrance
rates in their awards. The idea is that people join the association in order to
enter the competition, but stay because the group offers opportunities to
develop their writing skills, and to connect with writing communities.
Writing awards matter to the people who enter them. If your
book wins a prominent prize – or even if it’s just shortlisted for one – you
can get a bump in profile that converts into book sales. Look at Sean Michaels,
a renowned blogger whose debut novel Us
Conductors was the subject of a bidding war between three large Canadian
presses. However, it wasn’t until he won the Scotiabank-Giller that he was able
to quit his day job.
Even having unpublished work tapped for a prize boosts a
writer. It’s a line in your cover letter when you’re trying to publish, and a
(rare) moment of vindication that maybe all that work you’ve been doing
actually led to improvement. That’s especially important in the long winter
months, when we’re all considering the exciting career opportunities in, say,
plumbing.
Not that awards are all candy and comfy pillows. In order to get even a chance at being shortlisted, you have
to come up with the entry fee. And for every winner there are tens, if not
hundreds, of better-luck-next-times.
It’s also true that, once you’ve achieved a certain (high)
level of skill, who wins comes down to the adjudicators’ tastes. And adjudicating… well, there’s often a panel
of three people, so the winner may not be anyone’s favourite, but just the one
that they could all agree on.
The message to take way here? Enter competitions, but be
smart about it. Budget a certain amount annually for their entry fees and then
use that money wisely. For example,
- read a couple of issues of the periodical that’s sponsoring an award you’re considering;
- read the work of past winners;
- read the submission information carefully and follow it faithfully;
- if they publicize the adjudicators' names ahead of time, read their work and decide whether or not they’re going to appreciate yours. Don’t change what you do to appeal to them, but choose competitions that fit what you do.
Above all, don’t take it personally if you’re not
shortlisted. Entering competitions is just part of a writer's work.
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