Submissions now open for our Halloween Week 2025 Scary Story Contest. Enter here.
CommuterLit has four writing contests per year. Simultaneous submissions, submissions of reprints (stories or poems previously published in print or online) and multiple submissions are welcome. The top five submissions in each contest are posted on CommuterLit and receive cash prizes:
First-place: CA$100
Second-place: CA$50
(3) Honourable Mentions: CA$25
Entry fee: CA$4
Halloween Week 2025 — Scary Stories (max. word count of 2,500). Submission window: Sept. 22-Oct. 13, 2025. Winning entries will appear on CommuterLit the week of Oct. 27-Oct. 31, 2025.
Valentines Week 2026 — Love Stories (max. word count of 2,500). Submission window: Jan. 12-26, 2026. Winning entries will appear on CommuterLit the week of Feb. 9-13, 2026.
Poetry Week 2026 — Poem or series of poems (max. word count 1000). Submission window: April 13 – 27, 2026. Winning entries will be posted the week of May 11-15, 2026.
Flash Fiction Week 2026 — Flash Fiction stories (max. word count 500). Submission window: May 19 – June 1, 2026. Winners will be posted on CommuterLit the week of June 15-19, 2026.