Submissions are now open for the 2024 Joyce Marshall Hsia Memorial Poetry Prize and Margó Takacs Marshall Prize for Excellence in Short Story Writing .

Entry deadline for both contests: Friday, April 5, 2024.

Prizes and Submission Guidelines

Joyce Marshall Hsia Memorial Poetry Prize

• First Prize - $250.00
• Second Prize - $200.00
• Third Prize - $150.00
• Honourable mention- $100.00 (if warranted)

Guidelines:

1. Open to all currently enrolled students of Saint Mary’s University. 
2. Both written (6-10 pp) and spoken-word (5-10 mins.) submissions are welcome.
3. Submit work as a single pdf (for written submission) or mp3/mp4
   file (for recorded submissions). Label the file with your name and student number. 
4. Only one poetry submission is permitted per student. (Your submission can be a single long poem, or a sequence/series of poems, as long as it doesn’t total more than 10 pp / 10 mins.) 
5. All poems should be original and previously unpublished.
6. Submissions should include a cover email including the author’s name, student number, and contact information.  
7.  Send entries to English@smu.ca, with a clearly labelled Subject line:
   English Writing Contest Submission 

Margó Takacs Marshall Prize for Excellence in Short Story Writing

• First Prize - $300.00
• Second Prize - $250.00
• Third Prize - $200.00 
• Honourable mention- $150.00 (if warranted)

Guidelines:

1. Open to all currently enrolled students of Saint Mary’s University. 
2. Both written (>15 pp) and oral (>15 mins.) submissions are welcome. 
   Submit work as a single pdf (for written submission) or mp3/mp4 file (for recorded submissions).
3. Label the file with your name and student number. 
4. Only one short-story submission is permitted per student. (Your submission can be a single story or a sequence/series of short-short stories, as long as it doesn’t total more than 15 pp. / 15 mins.)
5. All stories should be original and previously unpublished. 
6. Submissions should include a cover email including the author’s name, student number, and contact information.
7.  Send entries to English@smu.ca, with a clearly labelled Subject line:
   English Writing Contest Submission 

For inquiries email the Department Chair: Tatjana.Takseva@smu.ca

Read more about the fascinating story behind our annual writing awards here.

For more Department of English Language and Literature awards visit our website’s Scholarship and Awards page.