Scholarship Value $200

Number of Scholarships 1

The Okanagan Short Story Contest awards the best new short stories by writers in the Southern Interior of British Columbia: east of Hope, west of the Alberta border, north of the US border and south of Williams Lake. Past winners have gone on to publish with Penguin Random House, Arsenal Pulp Press, and NeWest Press, as well as numerous magazines and journals nationally and internationally.

FCCS is offering cash prizes to the top three stories—$1,000, $400 and $200; the first prize winner also wins a one-week retreat at The Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre in Kelowna.  The top short story by a high-school student in the region receives $200 prize.  Co-sponsors are FCCS and the Central Okanagan Foundation.

Who is Eligible:

• High School Students: Entries are free, BUT…students MUST include the name of their current high school on their cover page
• This contest is open to all residents of the southern interior of British Columbia: east of Hope, west of the Alberta border, north of the US border and south of Williams Lake. (residents of Hope and Williams Lake are eligible).
• Entries must be original, unpublished works of fiction. No generative AI tools have created parts of or the whole story.
• Short stories should range from 1,000 to 4,000 words. We encourage writers to abide by these limits. The judges reserve the right to disqualify stories that do not meet these guidelines. Stories (not authors) that have placed in the top three spots in previous years are disqualified from entry. We are looking for literary short fiction. Please do not submit chapters from novels, work for children, non-fiction articles or memoirs, screenplays, etc.