APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2026

Award Application

Below are the categories and then the link to click to access the “Submission Form- please click…”

Prize Categories

This year there are 6 categories totalling $24,000 for emerging Indigenous writers

1. Published Prose in English ($5,000)

2. Published Poetry in English ($5,000)

3. Unpublished Prose in English ($2,000.00 to be split among finalists)

4. Unpublished Poetry in English ($2,000.00 to be split among finalists)

There are two $5000 prizes for Published Work in French that will be adjudicated by the French team; see the Kwahiatonhk! website and Facebook page.

Submissions in English will be accepted between December 8, 2025 and February 13, 2026.

Please note we reserve the right to not give a prize in a category should there be an insufficient number of submissions. Should this happen we will inform applicants in advance of the shortlist announcement. Likewise, we reserve the right to add a category if we have an overwhelming number of entries in any one category. 

Note: For unpublished authors of either prose or poetry, please remember to limit your submission to no more than 25 pages, double spaced, in font size 12.

Submission Form- please click here

Application Instructions

These awards are for EMERGING Indigenous writers, which we define as authors of works of three books or fewer. Please see the eligibility requirements in the tab above.

We request that Publishers send both an online pdf and three hard copies. Jurors are best able to assess the work if they have access to both. If this is a problem, please contact the office at Indigenous_Voices_Awards@sfu.ca

We request that unpublished authors submit their documents by email attachment but if you prefer to mail in a hard copy, please contact the office at Indigenous_Voices_Awards@sfu.ca for further instructions. Please limit your submission of unpublished prose or unpublished poetry to no more than 25 pages, doubled spaced, in font size 12.

NOTE FOR PUBLISHED SUBMISSIONS in English:
Please email us an author bio, a high resolution author head shot, a high resolution image of the book cover, and any relevant social media information for the author and publisher.

PDFs can be sent to: Indigenous_Voices_Awards@sfu.ca

Hardcopies of published prose and poetry in English (please send 3) can be mailed to:

Indigenous Voices Awards Attention Billy-Ray Belcourt

c/o UBC School of Creative Writing

1866 MAIN MALL

BUCHANAN E465

VANCOUVER BC V6T 1Z1

Arrangements can be made to accept other formats that are not pdfs by emailing: Indigenous_Voices_Awards@sfu.ca

For any further questions or instructions please contact Indigenous_Voices_Awards@sfu.ca