Brenda Strathern Writing Prize

Sometimes the things we love take a while to find us, but they find us all the same. The joy of writing found Brenda Strathern after her fortieth birthday, but it was a love and ambition that she carried with her for the rest of her life. Brenda was a Calgary mother of two and a loving wife. She died in her late forties prior to publishing any of her work. Established in 2001, the Brenda Strathern Writing Prize supports writers over forty who are working on their first book of fiction, offering an opportunity to writers to tell their stories and realize their literary dreams. Brenda would be delighted to know that through the support of the Brenda Strathern Writing Prize she is helping late-blooming writers accomplish their goals.

To learn more about the Brenda Strathern Writing Prize click here. To read about past recipients click here.

One $5,000 prize available. Presented with Wordfest.

Applicant must:

• At the date of application, have lived in Calgary and area for at least 12 months. Calgary and area includes Calgary, Banff National Park, Canmore, Municipal District of Kananaskis, Foothills County (including towns and hamlets), Wheatland County (including towns and hamlets), Municipal District of Bighorn (including towns and hamlets), Rocky View County (including towns and hamlets), Iyarhe Nakoda Nations, Kainai Nation, Tsuut’ina Nation, Piikani Nation, and Siksika Nation.
• Be at least forty years old.
• Be an unpublished fiction writer (not having a published novel or short story in a large-scale publication or
  anthology), previous non-fiction publication is acceptable.
• Be working on the completion and publication of their first book of fiction.

Submission must:

• Be one piece of complete fiction or excerpt of a longer piece. Only prose is eligible, no poetry, scripts, illustrations, or non-fiction accepted. Only one submission per applicant.
• Be no more, no less than 10-20 pages typed, 12-point font, double spaced with standard margins,
  numbered pages, include the title of the work, and be submitted in PDF format.
• Not identify the writer in the manuscript.
• Not have been accepted by a publisher.
• Meet all required criteria to be considered for the Prize.

Prize recipients may not apply for the Prize again. Unawarded submissions from previous years may be re-submitted.

The Brenda Strathern Writing Prize jury is comprised of a representative of the Brenda Strathern “Late Bloomers”
Memorial Fund at Calgary Foundation and Calgary fiction writers.

All applicants will be notified of their application status by the end of November.

For specific questions about award applications, please contact our Student Awards team.