Questions?

This Contest is open to Canadian residents only and is governed by Canadian law.

To enter the Contest, write a poem of up to 40 lines, a flash fiction story (up to 750 words), or a flash creative non-fiction piece (up to 750 words). Poems that exceed the 40-line limit and prose pieces that exceed 750 words will be deemed ineligible. Visit the submissions site at https://occasus.submittable.com/submit (Occasus High School Creative Writing Contest) and submit according to the site’s instructions.

Submission of an entry to the Contest signifies that you have read and agree to the Contest Rules. By submitting an entry to the Contest through the Website or any other electronic platform, you agree that the act of submitting the entry to the Contest is a binding form of your electronic signature, which you agree binds you to these Contest Rules.

To be valid, entries must be received by no later than Friday, February 7, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

You may submit only one entry per category (poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction). If you attempt or are suspected of attempting to enter more than the authorized amount, or use robotic, automatic, programmed or any other methods of participation not authorized by these Rules, it shall be deemed as tampering and will void your entries, votes, or other results of such participation.

No submissions will be accepted after the above deadlines for any reason. Any entries received after the above deadlines will be void.

To be valid, entries must be received by no later than Friday, February 7, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Your entry includes any and all content you contribute, post (text, photo, drawing, etc.), hashtag, or otherwise submit in connection with the Contest.

You represent and warrant to Western University that you hold all of the required rights and authorizations to the content you submit. You have consent from any identifiable people appearing in your entry (including parental consent for minors) and all authorizations required to grant the license specified hereafter to Western University.

The following kind of content is prohibited:

1. Offensive and likely to expose an individual or a group of individuals to hatred or contempt on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age or mental or physical disability
2. Pornography, vulgarity, obscenity or sexually explicit content
3. Anything illegal
4. Hate speech
5. Threats, harassment
6. Threats or suggesting committing a criminal act
7. Profane, libelous, defamatory, threatening, insulting or promoting any activities that may be illegal, inappropriate, unsafe, dangerous, or socially irresponsible
8. Attempts to mobilise people for any purpose
9. When the Contest is hosted on social media platforms, anything that does not comply with the Terms of Service and Rules of such social media platforms
10. Infringement upon any person's, entity's or organization's personal or proprietary rights, including but not limited to, intellectual property rights. For greater certainty, your entry may be ineligible (at Western University’s sole discretion) if it contains a third party's copyright, trademarks, or logos
11. Violates any law in Canada and/or
12. Defamatory, misrepresented or disparaging remarks about Western University or any other company, brand, or person or and of their products 

Any entry deemed by Western University to be in violation of the above prohibitions or otherwise inappropriate will be disqualified by Western University at its sole and absolute discretion.

Your content should be no more than that the stated limits (40 lines of verse or 750 words of prose) and submitted through Submittable.

Entries should primarily be in English, but entries incorporating other languages are acceptable.

Your entry must include the elements required on Submittable, including a bio with all the required components. Any incomplete entries will be deemed invalid.

Judging for the contest is anonymous. Do not put your name or contact information or other identifying information anywhere on your actual entry. 

All content submitted to Western University will not be returned to you. 

By submitting content to Western University in connection with this Contest, you grant Western University first world serial rights to your work; copyright is retained by the author at all times, and authors are free to resell their work after a 90-day exclusive from our first publication of the work. You also grant Western University license to publish, reproduce, and distribute the content in all media, on all platforms, and by any other means of communication controlled or authorized by Western University in connection with this Contest and its promotion. You authorize Western University to use your name, in its sole discretion, in conjunction with the use of your entry. The list of winner(s) and winning entry/ies may be posted on the Western University platforms for an indefinite period after the close of the Contest.

Western University will only consider unpublished work. Please do not submit work that has been previously published or accepted for publication, including in anthologies, chapbooks, blogs, Facebook pages, or online journals.

Contest is open to all Canadian residents who are full-time students enrolled in Grades 9 to 12 at an educational institution in Canada or who are home schooled in Canada as of the Contest opening date.

In cases where the Contest is open to contestant who has not reached the age of majority in their province (a "minor"), parent or guardian consent is necessary to enter the Contest and participate in the prize. Parent/guardian will be responsible for minor's participation in the prize. Where appropriate, the terms "contestant" and "winner" mean parent or guardian of the minor. If a minor contestant has not received consent to enter the Contest or a minor winner does not have parental/guardian consent to participate in the prize, the entry shall be invalid.

The following individuals are not eligible: 

1. Employees of Western University, during the Contest Period;
2. Members of the Judging Panel; and
3. Any of the above persons' immediate family (father/mother, brother/sister (including step brother/sister, half-brother/sister), son/daughter) and persons living under the same roof.

A judging panel ("Judging Panel") as indicated below will review all eligible entries received during the Contest Period and will select three (3) winners, one in each category (poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction). Selection will be based upon the following criteria:

1. Poetry: use of sensory language and images; efficiency and originality of language; structure; and sound
2. Fiction: structure and scope; character development; setting/description; theme/subtext; and writing style/mechanics
3. Creative Non-fiction: literary style; stakes/significance; structure; theme/subtext; and writing style/mechanics

The Judging Panel will be comprised of faculty members from the Department of English and Writing Studies at Western University. Selected potential winner(s) will be contacted using the telephone number, email, or social media account provided on or used for entry and should claim their prize as instructed by Western University by no later than seven (7) days after the date and time they are initially contacted. If a potential winner does not claim their prize within such time, declines the prize, or is otherwise found to be ineligible, the prize shall be forfeited and Western University has the right, at its sole discretion, to select another potential winner, even if the potential winner's name has already been publicly announced; forfeited prizes will not be awarded.

The decision of the Judging Panel is final. No correspondence/contact will be entered into, and no feedback will be given to individual entrants.

You may be required to provide proof of your name/identity/age as requested by Western University in its sole discretion. If you fail to provide adequate proof, you will be automatically disqualified from the Contest.

Each winner will receive a $100.00 prize, publication in the Department of English and Writing Studies’ print journal, Occasus, and a copy of the issue in which the work appears.

The prize includes only what is specifically described and no other allowance will be granted.