On Creative Writing Poetry Contest 2025
This is a new poetry competition made possible through sponsors Wolsak & Wynn and River Street Writing, and three judges, Rob Winger, Kim Mannix, and On Creative Writing's Sheelagh Caygill.
On Creative Writing expresses its thanks to Noelle Allen at Wolsak and Wynn, Hollay Ghadery with River Street Writing, and poets Rob Winger and Kim Mannix for their time and resources. Read more about the sponsors and judges below.
The Competition closes at 11 a.m. MST on Friday, December 19, 2025.
Poetry Contest Sponsors
Wolsak and Wynn and
River Street Writing
A Note on Poetry
From Wolsak and Wynn
Wolsak and Wynn has always been dedicated to poetry. The press was started in 1983 by two poets, to publish only poetry, which they felt was being neglected.
At the press we’ve always felt poetry is the most concentrated literary form, with the ability to crystallize the world into a handful of lines on the page.
Wolsak and Wynn is happy to support On Creative Writing's first poetry contest.
A note on Wolsak and Wynn
Wolsak and Wynn is a charmingly contrary literary press based in beautiful post-industrial Hamilton, Ontario. We’ve been publishing challenging, enchanting, unusual and often award- winning books for forty years.
Wolsak and Wynn's imprints include:
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Wolsak and Wynn, which houses our literary nonfiction
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Buckrider Books, which is all about books that refuse to conform and is where you’ll find our cutting-edge literary works of fiction and poetry, and
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James Street North Books, for books about the city of Hamilton by Hamiltonians and Poplar Press, is the place for the freshest Canadian speculative fiction.
Explore Wolsak and Wynn's Fall 2025 catalogue.
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A Note on Poetry
From River Street Writing
Poetry embodies the interplay and relationality between our world, our lives, and each other. It’s an art form that can expand as it collapses and speak to multitudes in a few glittering words.
It is the heart of language, and we are delighted to support this contest that celebrates it.
A note on River Street Writing
Brand, Publicity, and Author Support Services.
River Street Writing has more than two decades of experience working with award-winning brands and artists from around the world.
River Street Writing was founded by Hollay Ghadery, a multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children’s book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Her new chapbook, the blades of grass are dreaming, is available from Anstruther Press. Hollay is a host on The New Books Network and the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Hollay's previous books include Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, which won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir; a collection of poetry, Rebellion Box; and a collection of short fiction,Widow Fantasies, which was was longlisted for the Toronto Book Award.
The On Creative Writing Poetry Contest
The On Creative Writing Poetry Contest is open to original poems in English by writers living anywhere in the world. Your poem can be about any subject and in any style. Your entry must not have been published or broadcast elsewhere. You can enter as many times as you want, and each poem can be up to 50 lines long, but no longer. Each entry requires a $5 CDN entry fee.
Prizes
One cash prize of $300 will be awarded to the winner, and $100 to the runner-up. Both the winner and runner-up will have their poems published on On Creative Writing.
The Judges
On Creative Writing is extremely grateful to judges Rob Winger and Kim Mannix for being judges of this poetry contest, along with On Creative Writing's Sheelagh Caygill.
Poet and professor
Rob Winger
Rob Winger is the author of four books of poetry, most recently It Doesn’t Matter What We Meant (2024).
His other books are: Muybridge's Horse, a Globe and Mail Best Book and CBC Literary Award winner shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award and Trillium Book Award for Poetry, and the 2007 Ottawa Book. His work has been shortlisted, in Canada, for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Trillium Book Award for Poetry, and The Ottawa Book Awards, and won a CBC Literary Award.
His second and third volumes of poems are The Chimney Stone (2010), which was written in conjunction with his doctoral thesis, and Old Hat (2014).
Rob teaches English and creative writing at Trent University, Ontario, Canada. His research interests are Canadian Literature and Culture, Creative Writing, Creative Critique, Contemporary & 20th-century Poetry and Fiction. Discover Rob Winger.
Journalist, poet, and short fiction writer Kim Mannix
Kim Mannix (she/her) is a journalist, poet and short fiction writer who lives and creates on Treaty Six territory in Sherwood Park, Alberta. Her debut collection of poetry, Confirm Humanity, will be published this month.
Born and raised in Saskatoon, Kim is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina and has lived and worked across Canada. Her passion for climate justice issues, the importance of art, feminism and parenthood intersect in both her creative and professional pursuits.
Kim is a contributing editor of Watch Your Head, a climate crisis anthology. She currently serves as the President of the Edmonton Poetry Festival and is an avid believer that everyone, everywhere has a little poetry in their soul. Her poetry and prose have appeared in numerous Canadian and American journals and anthologies. Discover Kim Mannix.
Poetry contest submission details
Contest email address: oncreativew@gmail.com
Subject line: On Creative Writing Poetry Contest 2025
Each entry will consist of at least two documents: Your poem(s), and a cover letter. See the details that follow.
You may enter as many times as your wish, and you will need to pay the $5 CDN fee per entry. Each submission must be typed and attached as a separate document your submission email. Title each document with the title or first few words of the title of your poem. If your entry poem is untitled, titled the submission document with the first line of your poem.
One entry consists of a maximum of 50 lines of poetry.
Do not include your name on your poem(s) submission document(s), as the contest is judged anonymously.
Document formatting
We accept Word, ODT, or RTF document formats.
Your entry should be in 10 or 12 point in a readable font such as Times Roman, Verdana, Garamond, Helvetica, Arial, Calibra, or similar. You are free to space your entry as you like. Please add page numbers and the title of your entry on each page.
Please do not send weblinks, PDFs, or links to drives such as Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox, Wetransfer, etc.
Entry fee
$5 CDN per entry, payable by PayPal to oncreativew@gmail.com
Please provide this information in a separate document
In a separate cover letter attached to the email, please give:
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Your first and last name
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Title(s) of your poem(s)
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Phone number, including international prefix
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Email address
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PayPal receipt image or PayPal transaction ID number
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And, optional, a brief bio.
Unfortunately, while Canada Post continues with its industrial action, we cannot accept submissions by post.
Poetry contest deadline:
The Competition closes at 11 a.m. MST on Friday, December 19, 2025. Judging will take place after the Christmas-New Year's break.
Please note that changes cannot be made to entries once they have been submitted.
If you have submitted your poem for a contest or publication elsewhere, please let us know if your poem has been accepted as a prize winner or for publication.
If you have any questions, get in touch at the email address above!
