We are open year-round, with rolling deadlines.
We’re looking for short stories, poems, personal essays or excerpts (that stand alone) from any genre of writing. We’re willing to consider any form of writing that is well-written and from the heart. We especially love writing that has some connection to writing for wellness – narrative medicine, medical memoir, writing the self, healing writing, etc.
Please also see our call for Book Reviews, our three yearly contests, or take advantage of Editorial Critiques from our Editor-in-Chief, Kat McNichol.
Dreamers as a term has come to represent undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children. Although Dreamers Creative Writing’s name has a different meaning and origin, this contest is intended to honour “Dreamers” as it applies to migration, and our sense of place and home.
Submit your stories (or poem, essay or comic) of migration and/or your sense of place, of home or lack of, and your empathy to the plight of migrants around the world. Please feel free to interpret the theme of this contest in any way that is fitting for you personally, keeping in mind the overarching theme of Dreamers Creative Writing – that of heartfelt stories. You do not need to be a migrant to enter this contest – you only need to empathize with the theme in some way and have a heartfelt story to tell on the topic.
This contest is open to the world.
Submit one piece per entry; enter as many times as you want however the entry fee is required for each piece submitted.
Deadline:
January 31, 2024
Entry Fee:
$20.00 USD (approx. $25 CAD). Entry fee includes a 1 year electronic subscription for Dreamers Magazine.
Prizes:
The winning entry will receive $250 CAD, two copies of our magazine, and publication on www.dreamerswriting.com and in our winter/spring magazine.
Up to 6 runners-up will also receive online publication and a $20 honorarium.
Guidelines and Terms:
- Enter a poem, a nonfiction or creative nonfiction piece, a personal essay, an article, a fiction story, a children’s story, a dramatic piece, a comic or an experimental piece.
- Entries should be between 15 and 4000 words.
- We are looking for unpublished, original writing (previous publication on a personal blog or social profile is fine).
- Please submit as a single file and do not include your name anywhere in the attachment.
- By accepting publication, you grant Dreamers Creative Writing non-exclusive electronic and print publication rights, including the right to publish on our website, in our archives, in any future anthologies and in our magazine.
- Authors retain copyright and may republish following publication with Dreamers. We ask for exclusivity for 30 days.
Deadline: May 31, 2022 - EXTENDED TO June 10
Submit up to 3 Haiku per entry for your chance to win! The winner will receive $120 CAD ($100 prize + $20 honorarium), and 2 copies of our magazine (1 print, 1 electronic).
Submit up to 3 Haiku per entry; enter as many times as you want.
The winning Haiku will be published on www.dreamerswriting.com, and in our next magazine!
We will select up to 6 honourable mentions (at the Editor's sole discretion) that will be published on www.dreamerswriting.com and in our spring magazine. Each runner-up will be paid our standard $20 CAD honorarium.
Entry Fee:
$10.00 USD (approx $13 CAD). Entry fee includes an electronic copy of Dreamers Magazine's Spring Edition.
Guidelines:
- Include all haiku in a single document.
- We are looking for unpublished, original haiku (previous publication on a personal blog is fine).
- By accepting publication, you grant Dreamers Creative Writing non-exclusive electronic and print publication rights, including the right to publish on our website, in our archives, on a keychain and in our magazine.
- Authors retain copyright and may republish following publication on www.dreamerswritig.com. Dreamers asks for exclusivity for 30 days.
Dreamers Flash Fiction and Nonfiction Contest
Submit a fiction or nonfiction story of between 300 and 1000 words for your chance to win! The winner will receive $150 CAD and 2 print copies of the Dreamers magazine (1 print, 1 electronic).
In a flash story, it’s important to make every word count. Keep the idea of movement in mind and stay focused on propelling the story forward – concentrate on the hook, the climax, and the conclusion. And remember, although it's very short, it's still a story and as such, it should have all the standard elements of a story - plot, character, conflict, etc.
Submit 1 story per entry; enter as many times as you want.
The winning story will be published online and in print in our fall magazine!
We will select up to 3 honourable mentions (at the Editors sole discretion) that will be published online. Each runner-up will be paid our standard $20 CAD honorarium.
Entry Fee:
$12.50 USD (approximately $15.00 CAD). Entry fee includes Dreamers eMagazine Spring 2020 Edition.
Guidelines:
- Due date: September 30
- Submit 300 to 1000 words of fiction or nonfiction.
- We are looking for unpublished, original writing (previous publication on a personal blog is fine).
- By accepting publication, you grant Dreamers Creative Writing non-exclusive electronic and print publication rights, including the right to publish on our website, in our archives and anthologies, and in our magazine.
- Authors retain copyright and may republish following publication on www.dreamerswriting.com. Dreamers asks for exclusivity for 30 days.