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Submit poetry, short stories, comics, or other writing-based creative work for your chance to win the annual Surrey Libraries’ Youth Writing Contest.
The contest is now closed and will reopen in the summer of 2025. Young writers can submit once to each of four categories: short stories, poems, comics, and the random category. Entry is free! Winners are celebrated at an awards gala in October.
Get inspired by our 2024 winners and finalists.
Entries to the contest are judged by a select group of library staff and industry professionals. Points are awarded for originality and style, as well as grammar and spelling. Be sure to read all the contest details and rules below before submitting.
Short stories can be up to 1,500 words. No illustrations or drawings are allowed in the short stories category. Entries must be typed and submitted online as a Word document. Word is available on public computer stations at all Surrey Libraries branches. Your name must not appear anywhere on your work.
Poems can up to 36 lines. Write your poem in any form (sonnet, ode, haiku, etc.). No illustrations or drawings are allowed in the poems category. Entries must be typed and submitted online as a Word document. Word is available on public computer stations at all Surrey Libraries branches. Your name must not appear anywhere on your work.
Comics can be hand drawn or digital and must be black & white or grayscale. Comics can be 4-7 pages long, and must be on white, letter size (8½ x 11") paper, with page numbers. Comics must be submitted online in high resolution .pdf or .png format. Scanners are available to use for free at all Surrey Libraries branches except Ocean Park and Port Kells. Your name must not appear anywhere on your work.
This category welcomes any work that is NOT a short story, poem, or comic. It can be creative non-fiction, essay, a play, a screenplay, song lyrics, a picture book manuscript, or more. We encourage creative entries, rather than assigned schoolwork. Please refrain from submitting school essays. We welcome any writing-based exploration that does not exceed 1500 words. Text-based work must be submitted as a Word document. Word is available on public computer stations at all Surrey Libraries branches. If your work contains illustrations or images, they must be scanned in high resolution .pdf or .png format. Your name must not appear anywhere on your work.
The contest judges reserve the right to disqualify any works they believe to be ChatGPT or AI generated. We recognize that in some cases ChatGPT/AI can be useful for finding information. In these cases, we encourage you to be transparent about how and when you use AI. An example of how you can acknowledge the use of AI is to use citations or note in your submission: “I used ChatGPT to come up with the plot for this story.”
We recommend keeping a history of your work to answer any questions that might arise about its source.
All winners receive a cash prize, gifts kindly provided by our sponsors, and free admission to the Surrey International Writers' Conference in October.
| Category | 1st Prize | 2nd Prize | 3rd Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stories, ages 12-14 | $350 | $200 | $100 |
| Stories, ages 15-18 | $350 | $200 | $100 |
| Poems, ages 12-14 | $350 | $200 | $100 |
| Poems, ages 15-18 | $350 | $200 | $100 |
| Comics, ages 12-18 | $350 | $200 | $100 |
| Random, ages 12-18 | $350 | $200 | $100 |
Have questions? Send us an email.