DEADLINES for Both Competitions: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2025.
The Morley Callaghan “Best Canadian Short Story” Competition and Award submissions:
All genres and styles considered. If submitting more than one story, please complete a Submittable form for each story (we no longer accept submissions by Canada Post).
• A story’s length is not to exceed 5,000 words. Your story should be submitted with double-spacing, on 8.5×11 pages, in a serif (Times, Garamond, etc.) 11 or 12 point font.
• For Submittable, you can upload a file in .doc, .docx, .pdf.
• There is no restriction on the number of submissions, subject matter, or style.
• Important: Do NOT have your name appear anywhere on the pages of the story. Make sure to paginate and put the story’s title on each page.
• We no longer accept mail-in submissions (unless we approve otherwise; contact us at admin@exilequarterly.com; payment by e-transfer to competitions@exilequarterly.com).
• Submissions will not be returned, and will be recycled.
• Each story submitted requires a $45.00 fee.
• Each story submitted will receive a lifetime subscription to our Exile Quarterly ($175.00 value).
• Each year we send out by email 20 to 30 general announcements about Exile Editions books and EXILE Quarterly new releases and promotions, information on our literary competitions, open calls for writers to submit to our new anthologies, upcoming literary events, etc. If you prefer we do not add your email to our mailing list, there is a check box option on the Submittable submission form.
Winners of the Award announcement:
To be proclaimed winners or finalists, participants must meet all the conditions and eligibility criteria set out in these rules. The winners and finalists shall provide information requested by EXILE in this regard, and shall sign a declaration of eligibility for the competition, as set out in these rules, and release EXILE and their affiliated companies or agents, as well as their respective directors, officers and employees, from any liability for damage or loss whatsoever, whether arising from the participants’ involvement in this competition or from the awarding, acceptance or use of the prize.
We are planning a November or December 2025 Gala Event in Toronto to celebrate the winners (details tbd).
Publication of your work/terms of use, and conditions:
The winner, and up to the four finalists, will be published in EXILE Quarterly. Expected publication date is 2026. Our payments to contributors can be found here: Contributor Fees. (The winner will receive no contributor fee.)
Important #1: Your story (stories) must not have been previously published, and they must not be submitted to any journals/magazines/periodicals (print or online) for consideration/publication during the adjudication of our competition (up to approximately October 31, 2025). If your story (stories) is to be included in a forthcoming book (your own collection) or anthology, we request that this be scheduled for release after October of 2026 (so your work not only first appears in the pages of our EXILE Quarterly, but also for publication in a collection of stories by winners/finalists, with Exile Editions); if you expect this to not be the case, please contact us at admin@exilequarterly.com to receive confirmation that your story is eligible (re: the not previously published rule). Important #2: If you do not do this, and the story is published/scheduled to be published prior to the announcement of the winners, we reserve the right to disqualify the story from the competition.
Gwendolyn MacEwen Poetry Competition submissions:
All genres and styles considered. If submitting more than one suite of poems, please complete a Submittable form for each suite:
• Up to 16 pages of poetry may be submitted as a suite (we advise poems be related, not a hodgepodge of random selections; you may also submit a long/single poem).
Your suite should be submitted on 8.5×11 pages, in a serif (Times, Garamond, etc.) 11 or 12 point font – unless the poem requires a specific font for effect/intent.
• For Submittable, you must upload a file in .pdf format.
• There is no restriction on the number of submissions, subject matter, or style.
• Important: Do NOT have your name appear anywhere on the pages of the story. Make sure to paginate and put the story’s title on each page.
• We no longer accept mail-in submissions (unless we approve otherwise; contact us at admin@exilequarterly.com; payment by e-transfer to competitions@exilequarterly.com).
• Submissions will not be returned, and will be recycled.
• Each submission requires a $35.00 submission fee.
• Each suite submitted will receive a lifetime subscription to our Exile Quarterly ($175.00 value).
• Each year we send out by email 20 to 30 general announcements about Exile Editions books and EXILE Quarterly new releases and promotions, information on our literary competitions, open calls for writers to submit to our new anthologies, upcoming literary events, etc. If you prefer we do not add your email to our mailing list, there is a check box option on the Submittable submission form.
Winners of the Award announcement:
To be proclaimed winners or finalists, participants must meet all the conditions and eligibility criteria set out in these rules. The winners and finalists shall provide information requested by EXILE in this regard, and shall sign a declaration of eligibility for the competition, as set out in these rules, and release EXILE and their affiliated companies or agents, as well as their respective directors, officers and employees, from any liability for damage or loss whatsoever, whether arising from the participants’ involvement in this competition or from the awarding, acceptance or use of the prize.
We are planning a November or December 2025 Gala Event in Toronto to celebrate the winners (details tbd).
Publication of your work/terms of use, and conditions:
If you are the winner, or among the five finalists, you will be published in EXILE Quarterly (and we expect first publication rights for this). Anticipated publication date is the first six months of 2024, in issues of Volume 47. Our payments to contributors can be found here: Contributor Fees. (The winner will receive no contributor fee.)
Important #1: Your poems must not have been previously published, and they must not be submitted to any journals/magazines/periodicals (print or online) for consideration/publication during the adjudication of our competition (up to approximately October 31, 2025). If your story (stories) is to be included in a forthcoming book (your own collection) or anthology, we request that this be scheduled for release after October of 2026 (so your work not only first appears in the pages of our EXILE Quarterly, but also for publication in a collection of stories by winners/finalists, with Exile Editions); if you expect this to not be the case, please contact us at admin@exilequarterly.com to receive confirmation that your story is eligible (re: the not previously published rule). Important #2: If you do not do this, and the story is published/scheduled to be published prior to the announcement of the winners, we reserve the right to disqualify the story from the competition.
The competitions and awards are administered under the auspices of The Excelsis Group and EXILE Quarterly.
Additional information; disclaimer, disclosure, and more:
ELIGIBILITY
Texts submitted to our Fiction and Poetry competitions (herein after referred to as Award or Awards) must be written in English (texts written in several languages and translations are not eligible).
Only Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada, who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory of residence, whether living in Canada or abroad, are eligible to enter.
People who work for The Excelsis Group/Exile Editions/Exile Quarterly/Moons of Jupiter (herein after referred to as EXILE), as well as the members of the jury and the reading committee (readers), as well as their immediate family (father-mother, brother-sister, son-daughter), and people living under the same roof during the registration period of the prize, are not eligible for this prize.
Previous Award winners, published writers with Exile, or participants of any competition related to this one, may submit texts, provided that the submissions are original works that have not yet been published by a third party. For the purposes of our Awards, if a work has been published in print or digital/online format, or if it has been acquired (gratuitously or for remuneration) for physical or digital/online publication by an editor or publisher that is independent of the author, it is ineligible. For greater clarity, sharing a text through a personal outlet, such as a personal blog, newsletter, or social media post, will not constitute a work being published for the purposes of our Awards.
Without limiting the foregoing, texts originating, in whole or in part, from artificial intelligence platforms (such as ChatGPT and other similar tools) are not eligible for the competition.
There must be only one author per entry. The text must be submitted by its author.
RIGHTS
Participants warrant that the work they are submitting is an original and unpublished work written by them and that they own all rights to it. Participants will indemnify and hold EXILE, and their affiliates, harmless from and against any and all loss, damage, costs and other expense arising out of claims, whatever their nature, resulting directly or indirectly from breach of this warranty.
Participants submitting to the prize
In submitting their work, each participant grants EXILE the following licenses free of charge and irrevocably:
The non-exclusive right to reproduce and publish an excerpt from the work submitted in Exile Quarterly up to 100% of its total length, or no more than 35% of its total length on the websites and platforms controlled or authorized by EXILE.
Finalists and winners
In accepting a prize, the winners and finalists grant to our Awards, for the entire term of all rights, the following licenses:
The rights to the work
EXILE retains the right to reproduce and publish the work in all formats, including print, and on the websites and platforms controlled or authorized by EXILE, and on any future merchandise, both in the original language and in translation; net income from any sale or exploitation of merchandise shall be split 50/50 between EXILE and the participant or participants.
The right to make an audio/video recording by means of any existing or not-yet-invented technology, to distribute and broadcast readings of works or excerpts therefrom in the original language, on EXILE platforms controlled or authorized by EXILE.
The right to edit, abridge, or excerpt the work for the purposes of publication or broadcast. (The participant will be consulted if significant edits are necessary.)
For a purpose of clarity, the Licenses granted to EXILE by the finalists and winners are for all territories throughout the world (unless another agreement is reached with EXILE) and are exclusive for a year from the date of acceptance of the prize and non-exclusive thereafter. Moreover, the finalist and winners shall agree, if necessary, to have their name and/or picture, including their photograph and/or their voice used for advertising purposes related to this competition, free of charge.
These licenses include the rights for EXILE to grant sub-licences to exercise the rights granted by this licence.
HOW TO SUBMIT
All submissions must:
Be submitted online by creating an account through Submittable. No other submission methods will be accepted. Participants must first create an account in order to submit their texts. Submittable is an external site, designated by EXILE which adheres to EXILE’s privacy policy.
Be submitted anonymously: the name of the entrant must not appear anywhere on the text or in the file name to ensure the objectivity of the jury.
If you are unable to submit your content online, please contact EXILE by email at admin@exilequarterly.com.
Restrictions:
All submissions are final: no changes or substitutions are allowed (unless you contact us, and we determine there is a legitimate reason for you to resubmit the work).
No handwritten manuscripts, fax texts, mailed in envelopes, or emailed texts will be accepted.
Texts will not be returned, and feedback or editorial comments will not be given on the works.
Any communication with members of the jury and the selection committee (readers) regarding these Awards will disqualify the participant as it will compromise the blind judging process.
Fees:
The related fee (to Fiction or Poetry entries) is for administration purposes, is required for each entry, and provides each entrant with a lifetime subscription to EXILE Quarterly. Participants are not eligible until payment of the registration fee has been received and cashed. The entry fee will not be refunded if your submission is ineligible. All submissions are final: entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.
All works must be submitted, and payments must be made, by the deadline.
JUDGING
Works are judged anonymously on the basis of the participant’s use of language, originality of subject, and writing style.
Only the work submitted will be considered by the judges; other documents, images, diagrams etc. are not eligible for consideration by the judges.
The initial texts are screened by readers who are qualified editors and writers; works that move on to the second round of adjudication will be read by two readers; works that move on to the third round of adjudication will be read by four readers. The winners will then be determined, and announced.
All decisions by the reading committee and the jury are final (subject to meeting any conditions and eligibility criteria as determined by EXILE).
PRIZES
The prize is not transferable and includes only what is specifically mentioned. If for any reason whatsoever, the winner is unable to use the prize in whole or in part or refuses the prize as described, or a portion thereof, the prize or portion thereof will be forfeited without compensation and EXILE and/or their affiliated companies or agents, as well as their respective directors, officers and employees, will be released from all obligations toward the winner with regards to the prize or portion thereof.
If a prize cannot be awarded as described in these rules, EXILE reserves the right to substitute one or more prizes or prize components with another of approximately equivalent value.
To be proclaimed winners or finalists, participants must meet all the conditions and eligibility criteria set out in these rules. The winners and finalists shall provide information requested by EXILE in this regard, and shall sign a declaration of eligibility for the competition, as set out in these rules, and release EXILE and their affiliated companies or agents, as well as their respective directors, officers and employees, from any liability for damage or loss whatsoever, whether arising from the participants’ involvement in this competition or from the awarding, acceptance or use of the prize.
GENERAL RULES
Should participants make any false statement or do not meet all the conditions described in these rules, they shall be automatically disqualified from the competition. If plagiarism or non-compliance with the conditions described in these rules is alleged, the jury shall conduct a reasonable inquiry in the circumstances, and if it determines that plagiarism or non-compliance with the conditions described in these rules has occurred, the participant concerned shall be disqualified and shall return the prize money. Such a decision by the jury shall be final and cannot be appealed.
EXILE and their affiliates, as well as their respective directors, officers and employees, assume no liability for any loss, damage or injury, including without limitation: (i) lost, stolen delayed, damaged, misdirected, late, destroyed, incorrect, illegible or incomplete entries; (ii) loss, theft or damage to software or computer or telephone data, including any breach of privacy; (iii) inability of any person to participate in the competition for any reason including mistaken addresses on mail or e-mail; technical, computer or telephone malfunctions or other problems with computer on-line systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, or software; congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination of the foregoing; (iv) damage to any person’s computer, including as a result of playing or downloading any material relating to the competition; (v) any delay or inability to act resulting from an event or situation beyond their control, including a strike, lockout or other labour dispute at their location or the locations of the organizations and businesses whose services are used to administer this competition or (vi) prizes that are lost, damaged or misdirected during shipping.
Names, address, telephone number and email are collected by EXILE and will be used by EXILE only for the purpose of administering this competition, and when indicated, for future email correspondences about Awards and EXILE‘’’s publishing-related content. This information will not be used for any other purpose without the express consent of the participants. By providing this information, participants consent to its use for the purposes indicated.
Please consult the privacy policy at (link tba)
Applicants may be required to provide EXILE, at its sole discretion, with proof of their name, identity, age. Failure to provide adequate proof will automatically disqualify the participant from the competition.
EXILE reserves the right to modify the rules, extend the deadline date, or end the competition at any time without any responsibility towards a participant. Any modification to the rules, or notifications to that effect, will be posted on this website page.
Participation in the competition implies acceptance of these rules which EXILE will take care of applying. All of its decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
These Awards competitions are subject to all Canadian federal, provincial, and municipal legislation applicable.
In case of appeals, all participant claims will be addressed in an Ontario court.