As of February 2017, I’ve migrated this list to my For Writers page for easier updating. Please feel free to share widely, and email me any suggestions or corrections.
Contests
The CNIB Braille Creative Writing Contest accepts original poems and stories by Canadian students up to grade 12. altlit.ca/braillecontest
The Eden Mills Student Poetry Contest is an annual youth poetry contest run by Eden Mills Writers’ Festival, which is held annually in early September. edenmillswritersfestival.ca
Indigenous Arts & Stories showcases writing by Aboriginal Canadians between the ages of 6 and 29. www.our-story.ca
The Hamilton Public Library has the annual Power of the Pen Creative Writing Contest for ages 12 to 18 who are residents of Southern Ontario. Check the Teen Page at www.hpl.ca.
The League of Canadian Poets lists prizes and offers resources for young poets. poets.ca/resources
The River of Words Annual Poetry Contest is designed to help youth explore the natural and cultural history of the place they live. The contest is open to any writers aged 5 to 19. Older students must have not yet completed high school. www.stmarys-ca.edu/center-for-environmental-literacy/rules-and-guidelines
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards recognize student achievement in the visual arts and creative writing. Sign up to receive email updates about annual deadlines. www.artandwriting.org
The TD Canadian Children’s Book Week Writing Contest invites young writers from across Canada, in grades 4 to 12, to submit stories and/or poems. Judging is done by noted writers from across Canada and one winner and two honourable mentions from each grade receive a gift certificate for the bookstore of his or her choice. www.bookweek.ca
World Literacy Canada organizes Write for a Better World – a national writing contest open to students in grades 5 to 8 that aims to inspire a sense of global citizenship in Canada’s youth. www.worldlit.ca
Publications
The Adroit Journal is a print literary publication offering young writers from around the world the chance to submit work for publication alongside established adult writers. Young writers in high school or college can also participate in the editing process as part of the journal’s staff of readers and editors. www.theadroitjournal.org
The Blue Pencil Online is an online magazine edited and produced by the students in the Creative Writing Program at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, located in Natick, Massachusetts. The magazine seeks to publish the best literary work in English by young writers (12 to 18) around the world. thebluepencil.net
chixLIT is a literary zine written, illustrated and produced by and for girls. They accept submissions of stories, poems, artwork, and photography from girls age 13 to 17. chixlit.tumblr.com
Teens from around the world can submit their poems and art to Navigating the Maze, an annual youth anthology. www.adonisdesignspress.com
Cicada Magazine is an international print and online magazine that publishes writing by teens. www.cicadamag.com
The Claremont Review is an international print magazine of young adult writers. It accepts manuscripts by writers aged 13 to 19. www.theclaremontreview.ca
Cricket Magazine is an international print magazine that holds monthly writing and artwork contests for young subscribers aged 9 to 14. www.cricketmagkids.com
Cuckoo Quarterly is a British literary journal that publishes work by young writers in high school. chronicle.cuckoowriters.com/submit/
The Cyberkids website at www.cyberkids.com accepts work for online publication.
F(r)iction literary magazine publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by young authors. tetheredbyletters.com
Greystone Young Lit Mag publishes poetry, stories, artwork, and photography from students K to 12 for their quarterly online publication. mygreystone.wordpress.com
Hanging Loose Press is dedicated to supporting new and young writers. They have special guidelines for high school student submissions. www.hangingloosepress.com
INKspire publishes articles by youth aged 14 to 29 on the arts, social issues, science, and technology. INKspire hopes to provide opportunities for young writers, journalists, and artists to showcase their talents. inkspire.org
Launch Pad is a print magazine devoted to publishing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, book reviews, and artwork by children ages 6 to 12. www.launchpadmag.com
Matador Review is an online alternative art and literature magazine. They accept submissions from any location and any age group. www.matadorreview.com
New Moon: The Magazine for Girls and Their Dreams is a print magazine edited by 8 to 14 year-old girls. www.newmoon.com
Shameless is a progressive Canadian magazine rooted in feminism and DIY culture for teenage girls, who are underrepresented in the mainstream media. Accepts submissions from young writers. www.shamelessmag.com
Skipping Stones is a multicultural children’s magazine that encourages children to submit both art and writing. www.skippingstones.org
Stone Soup is a print magazine of writing by young people up to age 13. www.stonesoup.com
Teen Ink is a US monthly print magazine, e-zine, and book series that publishes teen (13 to 19) writing. It offers lots of publishing opportunities, contests, and a chance to read work by other youth. teenink.com
Windscript is the Saskatchewan Writers Guild’s annual magazine of high school writing. www.skwriter.com/publications
Young Adult Review Network (YARN) is an literary journal that publishes outstanding original short fiction, poetry, and essays for young-adult readers. They seek to discover new teen writers and publish them alongside established writers of the YA genre. yareview.net
Young Voices Magazine of Teen Writing and Art is an annual publication of poetry, stories, nonfiction, artwork, and photography. Teens 12 to 19 living in Toronto are eligible to submit. Work is selected by editorial teams made of youth volunteers and professional writers and artists. A launch event including youth readings is held each fall to recognize the contributors. torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/teens/young-voices-magazine.html
Links of Interest
Canadian Links of Interest to Writers are listed through Wordwrights Canada. www3.sympatico.ca/susanio/WWClinks.html
Broken Pencil: The Magazine of Zine Culture and the Independent Arts reviews the best zines, books, websites, videos, and artwork from the underground and reprints the best articles from the alternative press. Also includes groundbreaking interviews, original fiction, and commentary on all aspects of the independent arts. www.brokenpencil.com
National Novel Writing Month, a yearly program that occurs over the month of November. Writers are encouraged to produce a 50,000-word novel to be submitted by the last day of month. Includes areas to post excerpts and share your word count in-progress, as well as community forums and pep talks. Free to register. Includes a NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program with special resources for writers 17 and under. www.nanowrimo.org
Newpages: Young Authors Guide is a select list of literary magazines to read, places to publish writing, and legitimate contests. Many of the magazines have open submissions with guidelines, an editorial selection process, and a regular print cycle. Some publish only young writers, some publish all ages for young readers. www.newpages.com/npguides/young_authors_guide.htm
Online Writing Communities
Figment is an online writing community created to be used by educators, but also open for individual children and teens to create independent accounts. Figment members share their writing, connect with their readers, discover new stories and authors, and participate in contests. www.figment.com
Wattpad is an online writing community that calls itself the world’s largest community for discovering and sharing stories, and connecting readers and writers through storytelling. (Not aimed specifically at youth, but many young people are active members.) www.wattpad.com
WeBook is a community of writers posting work and sharing feedback as well as an active blog with contests, advice, and publishing tips. www.webook.com
Young Writers Online is a community of young writers, both new and experienced, dedicated to improving their writing. Members have access to a Community Forum for general, literary, and off-topic discussion; the Writing Forum, for submitting writing and critiquing work posted by other members; plus a chat room, contests, exercises, and more. Membership is free. www.youngwritersonline.net
Toronto Literary Events for Teens
The BAM! Toronto Youth Poetry Slam is for poets aged 12 to 19, all ages for open mic, and runs on the second Wednesday monthly at The Central (603 Markham Street) in the Annex. www.bamyouthslam.com
Toronto Public Library Writing and Art Workshops are regularly held at library branches throughout the city. Workshops are led by professional writers and artists. torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/teens
Young Voices Annual Writers Conference is an annual full-day literary event featuring professional writers and performers. The programming includes a keynote speech, multiple workshops and an open mic. Throughout the day, youth can submit writing and art and youth volunteers produce an instant anthology that participants take home. torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/teens/young-voices-conference.html
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