2026 Word on the Lake Youth Writing Contest
The Shuswap Association of Writers is pleased to announce the inaugural Word on the Lake Youth Writing Contest!
Running alongside the Askew’s Word on the Lake Writing Contest (now in its twelfth year) and part of the Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival, the contest is open to student writers within School District 83 K̓wsaltktnéws ne Secwepemcúl’ecw (North Okanagan–Shuswap).
The contest submission period opens on January 2, 2026, and submissions can be emailed up to midnight Pacific time, January 31, 2026.
Entries to the contest are accepted in two categories:
Junior Writers — Grades 7 to 9
- Fiction or creative nonfiction stories of 500 to 750 words
- Prizes of $75 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for two to three honorable mention winners
Senior Writers — Grades 10 to 12
- Fiction or creative nonfiction stories of 750 to 1,000 words
- Prizes of $100 for first place, $75 for second place, and $25 for two to three honorable mention winners
- Publication of select senior-category winners in the Askew’s Word on the Lake Anthology (ebook and print).
Additionally, all students who enter the Word on the Lake Youth Writing Contest will receive an invitation to a free youth-writing workshop in Salmon Arm, conducted by a guest author (date and details to be announced).
For this contest, fiction means the story is completely a product of the imagination. Creative nonfiction means the story is based on true events or includes true elements which have been mixed with imagination to fit into story form.
The Word on the Lake Youth Writing Contest is free to enter, but all submitters must be students in the area served by School District 83 K̓wsaltktnéws ne Secwepemcúl’ecw (North Okanagan–Shuswap). Homeschooled or independent-school students are welcome.
Each young author can submit a maximum of two stories (one fiction and one creative nonfiction). Stories entered into the contest must be the author’s original work, with no story elements borrowed from other works or other writers. No generative AI can be used in any part of the creation, revision, or editing of stories submitted to the contest.
Entries to the contest must be sent as an email attachment to WotLYouthContest@gmail.com. In the email, please include the following information:
- Your name, full mailing address, email address, and phone number. If you use a pen name, please enter the contest under your name and note your pen name. (This information is only ever used by the contest organizers and the contest mailing list. Word on the Lake will never sell or share your personal details with any other organizations or third parties.)
- Your school, grade, and most recent English teacher (or indicate if you are homeschooled).
- The category your work is entered into (fiction or creative nonfiction).
- The title of your entry and its word count.
Each entry must be a Microsoft Word-compatible document (.doc, .docx, .otd, or .rtf format), sent as an email attachment. Entries sent in any other format (including PDF, plain text, or within the body of the email) are not accepted.
Stories shouldn’t include any graphics, page layout, floating text boxes, or hyperlinks.
If you are entering two stories in the contest, please send each story as a separate file attachment.
Any questions about the youth contest should be directed to WotLYouthContest@gmail.com with ‘Writing Contest Questions’ in the subject line of your email.
For more information on the Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival, see the festival website.