Creative Writing Awards
OPEN TO ALL UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG STUDENTS
Submit entries as PDF attachments to the English Department Assistant - k.batson@uwinnipeg.ca - by Friday, October 24, 2025.
Instructions:
- Include your name, address, student number, and the name of the prize in the BODY of your email.
- Do not include any identifying information on your attached submission.
- Prose entries are to be double-spaced.
- Poetry entries may be single-spaced.
- One submission only per prize, per student.
LUCY H. BERTSCHINGER MEMORIAL PRIZE
A portfolio submission that represents a significant body of work. Suggested lengths: 50 pages of poetry or 100 pages of prose (fiction or creative non-fiction) or any combination of these genres that equal a comparable weight.
MR. AND MRS. ONG HOO HONG EMERGING WRITERS PRIZE
Each entry should consist of:
- 10-12 pages of poetry, prose (fiction or creative non-fiction), or a combination.
- An essay about your current writing experience and plans for future writing goals, 1200 words maximum.
WRITERS CIRCLE PRIZE
Each entry should consist of ONE of the following works:
- A short piece of prose (fiction or creative non-fiction), 3000 words maximum.
- Poem(s), 300 lines maximum.
Lucy H. Bertschinger Memorial Prize
This prize was established by Gladys Mellon of Sarnia, Ontario in loving memory of her sister. It will be awarded on the recommendation of the Department of English to a student who reveals an unusual capacity for written expression in English and who intends to write creatively in the future. General and Honours program students are eligible.
Mr. and Mrs. ONG Hoo Hong Emerging Writers Prize
This prize will be given to students who have an interest or declared major in English at the University of Winnipeg. The purpose of this prize is to encourage talented creative writing students to pursue their passion for writing. This prize can be received multiple times by an individual; first year students are eligible. Recipients must have a 2.60 cumulative grade point average or higher.
Writers Circle Prize for Original English Fiction, Drama, or Poetry
Candidates must be registered in at least one credit course at the University of Winnipeg during the session in which an item is submitted. Work which has been awarded a prize in another competition is not eligible.
Winners of the 2022-23 Awards:
Writer’s Circle: Jessica Finkel for “The Avalanche Phenomenon”
Bertschinger Memorial Prize: Jay Stefanik for “Traders, and Other Poems”
Hong Emerging Writers’ Prize: Aisha Abdullahi for “A Message, Echoed”