Short-Fiction Contest Rules

Dates

• Fall 2023/Winter 2024: Grand Erie and Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB) high school teachers choose four stories written by students in their schools in the 2022-23 or 2023-24 academic years to enter into the competition.
• April 4, 2024: All entries must be uploaded by their school's registered teacher contact. Homeschool entires are to be submitted to lsp@wlu.ca by March 28, 2024. 
• May 30, 2024, 6:30pm: Laurier Stedman Prize Awards Celebration.

Criteria

Stories must be 1,500 words or less, written in English, and must be the original, unpublished work of the author.

Eligibility

The contest is open to any student enrolled in a participating secondary school in the Grand Erie or Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB) districts, as well as secondary level students studying in the catchment area of these boards at institutions such as adult learning facilities, private schools or homeschools. 

Entry Procedure

Interested students should submit their stories to the teacher coordinator responsible for administering the prize at their high school. Each high school runs its own contest to select its entries for the prize, so this may result in different entry conditions between different schools. For example, some schools may decide to restrict entrants to students enrolled in Grade 11 or 12, or even to students enrolled in certain Grade 11 or 12 English classes. Students should talk to English teachers at their school for pertinent informaiton. 

Number of entrants

All regular admission secondary schools in the Grand Erie and BHNCD School Boards may enter up to four stories each. Smaller private schools, provinvial schools or facilities serving adult learners in the Grand Erie and BHNCD School Boards catchment areas may enter one story for every 100 students enrolled in the instituion at the secondary level. 

Homeschooled supervisors may upload materials using the submission form on the Teacher Resoruce Page or send stories and all supplemental materials directly to the Laurier Stedman Prize contest email, lsp@wlu.ca by March 28, 2024. Submissions from homeschooled students will be adjudicated by a panel at Laurier Brantford, and entered into the contest at a rate of 1/5 stories received (e.g. 5 stories will result in one entry; 6 stories will result in two entries).

Entry Format

Stories will be entered in the contest in the form of PDF documents. They should be printed in 12-point, Times New Roman font and must not contain any information in their text that could be used to identify their authors or their school of origin.

The teacher coordinator will provide this information to the contest administrators separate from the story submission. The information will remain separate until the adjudication process is complete.

Awards presentation

All entrants will be invited to an awards event in May 2024, at which the winners will be announced.

Property Rights

Submission to the contest gives Wilfrid Laurier University the authority to reproduce the submitted text and associated audio or video files in any form it deems necessary to the adjudication of the contest, and the authority to reproduce the submitted text after the contest, in the form of having the story (credited to its author) published in the print media (ie. Expositor, Brant News, Sputnik, Cord), on the Laurier website (contest page), and used in the promotion of the contest.

The authors retain all copyright and intellectual property rights in their work. Both Laurier and the authors retain commercial rights to the work.

Photo and biographical consent

Entry to the contest implies consent to allow Wilfrid Laurier University to use a personal photo and/or video clips of each entrant and biographical information provided by the entrants in any way deemed necessary to the promotion of the contest.

Finality

The decision of the contest judges is final.