Home: CBC.caCBC RadioCBC TelevisionLocal Become a member Sign in
Prix Littéraires Radio-Canada

COMPLETE RULES & REGULATIONS

ELIGIBILITY

Who is eligible?

Canadian citizens, whether living in Canada or abroad, and permanent residents of Canada are eligible to enter.

Employees of CBC, Spafax Canada Inc., Canada Council for the Arts as well as their immediate family (father-mother, brother-sister, son-daughter) and persons living under the same roof are not eligible to enter this competition.

Previously published and unpublished authors may submit texts providing that the submissions are unpublished works. There must be only one author per entry.

All works that have appeared in print or on the web, including self-published works, as well as works that have been broadcast or delivered in front of a public audience, are considered previously published and are therefore not eligible for the competition.

RIGHTS

Entrants warrant they have created the entry they are submitting and that they own all rights to it. Entrants will indemnify and hold CBC, Spafax Canada Inc. and Canada Council for the Arts 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.

The cash prizes cover all rights to record and broadcast a reading of the winning entries, in whole or in part, on CBC’s network. The prizes also cover all rights to translation by a person commissioned by CBC, as well as the recording and broadcast of the translation on CBC’s French or English network.

Entrants agree that CBC has exclusive rights to translate the winning entries as well as record, broadcast and transmit readings of the winning entries in the original as well as in translation.

CBC shall also have exclusive rights to manufacture, sell and license products derived from the winning entries subject to further payment of royalties.

Entrants agree that Spafax Canada Inc., publisher of Air Canada’s enRoute magazine, shall have the right of first publication of all winning entries.

Winners, as well as the people accompanying them, or their parents or guardians if the winners and/or the people accompanying them are minors, shall agree, if necessary, to have their name and/or picture, including their photograph, and/or their voices used for advertising purposes related to this contest, free of charge.

CATEGORIES

All entries must be original and unpublished works. Entries must be written in English or French (translations are not eligible.) All entries must fall within one of the following categories and be within the specified word count *:

  • Short story (2000 - 2500 words)*
  • Creative nonfiction (2000 - 2500 words)*
  • Poetry (1000 - 2000 words)*

* Word count excludes titles. Texts above or below the specified word count will be disqualified. An electronic version of short listed texts may be required to check the word count. Only the original content of the submission is counted, which excludes quotations and dedications.

Our word limits are strict. We use Microsoft Word to verify word counts. Since Word only relies on spaces to delimit words, any term containing a hyphen ("twenty-five") or an apostrophe ("can't", "don't") counts as a single word. Word also counts every article ("the", "a", etc.) as a separate word. Microsoft Word also automatically counts groups of characters (e.g. “xxx”) as well as symbols (e.g. “***” or “~~~”) as a word.

Participants may submit as many entries as they wish in one or all categories. A writer can win only one prize per category, and each text may be submitted to only one category.

For each manuscript entered, participants must complete a separate official entry form.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Electronic entries must be sent as Word (.doc), WordPerfect (.wpd), or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files using the on-line entry form.
All entries (excluding poetry) must be double-spaced. Texts must be printed on white 8 ½ by 11 paper, on one side only. No handwritten entries will be accepted.

Print entries (along with the entry form and the payment of the entry fees) must be sent to:

CBC Literary Awards
CBC Radio
P.O. Box 6000
Montreal, Quebec
H3C 3A8

The official print or on-line entry form must accompany all print and electronic entries.
The name of the entrant must not appear anywhere on the text to ensure that judging is blind.

No fax entries will be accepted. Please do not staple your entry or send bound documents. Paper clips are fine. All submissions are final: no changes or substitutions are allowed. Entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Entries will not be returned and that editorial comments will not be given on the entries.  Acknowledgement of receipt will be sent via email to those who provide a valid email address. If you want to receive acknowledgment by regular mail, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your entry.

Fees
A fee of $20.00 (tax included) for administration purposes is required for each entry. The competition is 100% not-for-profit, with all fees going towards covering administrative costs which include payment of readers and jurors of the competition. Entries will not be eligible until payment has been received online or by cheque or money order.

Cheques or money orders must be mailed to the above address and made it payable to: "CBC Literary Awards c/o CBC Radio."

Online payment is accepted only for entries submitted via our website. For online submissions, instructions to pay the entry fees online will be sent to participants by email as part as their acknowledgment of receipt.

The entry fee will not be refunded if your submission is ineligible. All submissions are final: entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Deadline

All entries and cheques must be postmarked and payable on or before November 1st, 2008.Winners will be announced in February 2009.

JUDGING

Works are judged anonymously on the basis of the author's use of language, originality of subject and writing style.

Submissions are processed by a two-tiered system of readers and jurors. The initial texts are screened by readers chosen for each category from a group of qualified editors and writers across the country. Each text is read by at least two readers.
The readers come up with a short list of 20-30 texts that are then forwarded to the jury who decide on the first and second place winners. The members of the jury (3 per category) are composed of eminent writers and editors from the Canadian literary community.

Every effort is made to achieve a balance of gender and diversity in the readers and judges and to reflect regional differences and trends. The readers and jurors change every year and are based in different areas of the country.

Jurors and readers in each category will be chosen by CBC, Canada Council for the Arts, and Spafax Canada Inc.

All decisions by the readers and the jury are final. Readers’ and jurors’ names are confidential until the end of the competition to ensure the judging process remains blind.

PRIZES

  • Two cash prizes in each category, for each language, courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts.

    First Prize: $ 6,000
    Second Prize: $ 4,000
  • Publication in enRoute magazine for first and second-prize winning texts.
  • Visibility offered by CBC to the winners and their winning entries.

Participants can win only one prize per category. Entrants retain copyright of their entries subject to what is provided for in the complete contest rules and regulations.

To be declared a winner, entrants have to meet all the conditions described in these regulations. The prize-winners or, if they are minors, the parents or guardians of the prize-winner, shall sign a document attesting to their or the prize-winner's eligibility as stipulated in these regulations and releasing the CBC, Spafax Canada Inc. and Canada Council for the Arts and their affiliates from all liability for any damage or loss resulting from participation in this contest or arising from the awarding, acceptance or use of the prize.

The prize shall be accepted as is and may not be exchanged or transferred. No substitutions will be allowed.

If the prize cannot be awarded as described in these rules, CBC, Spafax Canada Inc. and Canada Council for the Arts reserve the right to substitute a prize or prize component with another of comparable value.

Refusal to accept the prize releases CBC, Spafax Canada Inc. and Canada Council for the Arts and their affiliates, as well as their respective directors, officers and employees, of any obligation toward the winner.

GENERAL RULES

Should winners make any false statement, they shall be automatically disqualified from the contest.

CBC, Spafax Canada Inc. and Canada Council for the Arts and their affiliates, as well as their respective directors, officers and employees, shall assume no liability resulting from losses, delays, mistaken addresses on mail or e-mail received, typographical errors, technical, computer or telephone malfunctions, loss or theft of computer or telephone data, damage to software or computer equipment, fraudulent calls or any other mistake.

The CBC, Spafax Canada Inc., and Canada Council for the Arts and their affiliates shall assume no liability of any kind whatsoever in any cases in which their inability to act results from an event or situation beyond their control, including more particularly a strike, lock-out or any other labour dispute in their place of business or the places of business of the organizations or businesses whose services are used to hold this contest.

All personal information, such as your name, address, telephone number, email address, date of birth and occupation, is collected solely for the purposes of administering this contest and shall not be used for any other purpose without your consent. By providing this information, you consent to it being used for the stated purposes.

By entering, contestants agree to abide by the contest rules which shall be applied by the CBC. All its decisions are final.

This contest is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal legislation applicable. CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION 2008