Awards

— Last checked June 2026 by Doris Fiedrich.

This list of awards is based upon whether a BC resident who works or freelances for a magazine or related industry, or a BC-based magazine or related company, would be eligible to apply.

• Advertising and Design Club of Canada: ADCC awards are presented at the Directions Awards show in Toronto. The annual show, the ADCC Awards, is considered the top creative awards show in Canada. The printed annual, which is displayed at the show, contains the best work of each year. Winners receive a cash prize and will be featured in the printed annual and in the ADCC Archives. Entries are accepted until June 12, 2026. ADCC Awards

The ADCC also awards students in the Student Competition with the best work in four categories: advertising, graphic design, editorial and book design, and interactive media. The best work in advertising and design are awarded up to $1000. Entries are accepted from April through June 12, 2026. Visit Site

• Canadian Association of Journalists Awards: CAJ offers multiple awards categories for journalistic writing, broadcasting and photojournalism. Awards are given out at their annual conference.

Most categories offer a $500 cash prize for the winner. Entry fees are $30 for members, $110 for non-members, $25 for students, $60 for a team of CAJ members, and $200 for a team of non-CAJ members. Student CAJ members can enter for free.  Visit Site

• Canadian Marketing Association Awards and Student Awards: These awards recognize the top marketers in Canada from all sectors. The CMA Awards are divided into six disciplines and eight categories with gold, silver and bronze winners.

Award entries typically open in May. Application fees vary depending on the submission date.  Visit Site

• Canadian Online Publishing Awards: The COPAs are hosted by Masthead and are open to any Canadian company that produces online publications.

The competition features 15 categories and four divisions in addition to awards for the Best of Canada Categories: Publication of the Year, Best Content of the Year, Best Website of the Year, Independent Publisher of the Year, Ethnic Media Publisher of the Year and Best Student/School project. 

All winners are invited to celebrate their achievement and receive a COPA Award logo which can be used for the company’s marketing.  The cost is $80 per entry, early bird is $65. All independent/ethnic publishers, non-profits, freelancers and influencers pay only $65. Competition Rules

• Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) Firecracker Awards: US-based but international organization with awards for fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, magazines/best debut, and magazines/general excellence. Visit Site

• The Dave Greber Freelance Writers Awards: Awards are presented to a Canadian freelance writer who has a contract for publication of a non-fiction magazine article or book. Projects concerning issues associated with social justice, either in Canada or globally, are highly encouraged.

The awards are divided into two categories, $5,000 for the book award and $2,000 for the magazine award.  More information about the award criteria can be found at the Call for Submissions. Visit Site

• Digital Publishing Awards: The Digital Publishing Awards are organized by the National Media Awards Foundation, who are also responsible for the National Magazine Awards and National Magazine Awards: B2B.

The applicants who are eligible for the competition are Canadian publishers in digitally published brands. This includes consumer and B2B digital magazines, digital newspapers and other digital journalism. There are 23 award categories in total, some for individual creators and some for teams.

Applications are accepted from the beginning of December until the end of January, with the exception of the DPA Leadership Award and Emerging Excellence Awards accepting entries until March 1st, 2024. The fee for entering a competition is $125+HST each or $110+HST each for early applicants. The Gold winners in individual categories will receive a $500 cash prize, but not all categories have cash prizes. Visit Site

• Greg Younging Undergraduate Award in Publishing Studies (SFU Publishing / ABPBC): At least one award, valued at a minimum of $1,000, will be granted annually in any term to an undergraduate student at SFU who meets the following criteria:
  • Is enrolled full-time during the term of eligibility
  • Has declared a minor in Print and Digital Publishing
  • Is in good academic standing
  • Is Indigenous, and
  • Has been actively involved in community service.

Information on basic award eligibility and applying here.

• John Fleming Award in Decorative Arts Writing: The Canadian Society of Decorative Arts (CSDA/CCAD) presents this award to recognize an exceptional example of original magazine writing on decorative arts in Canada.

Decorative arts are defined as creative works, often of a practical or useful nature, produced by an artist, craftsman, or amateur, which have intrinsic aesthetic and/or historical value, including: architectural ornament; ceramics; glass; furniture and furnishings; graphics; metalwork and jewellery; textiles; theatre arts; and, interior, industrial, and landscape design.

This $1,000 juried award (John Fleming Award in Decorative Arts Writing) will be presented annually to the winner at the Canadian Society of Decorative Arts/Cercle canadien des arts décoratifs (CSDA/CCAD) Symposium and the article will be published in Ornamentum magazine and website. More information here

• London Review Bookshop: The Writers’ Prize (formerly the Rathbones Folio Prize) is the only international, English-language award nominated and judged purely by other writers, and is open to all works of literature, regardless of form. Visit Site

• National Magazine Awards: These awards recognize the best in the Canadian magazine industry with 28 categories: 18 categories under Writing & Visual Awards, and six Editorial Awards, including Best Magazine and Special. Awards include cash prizes of $1,000 for gold medal winners. The early bird application deadline is mid-January and the final application deadline is at the end of January, with varying application fees per award type.  Visit Site

• National Magazine Awards: B2B: A Canadian awards competition for business-to-business magazines. The awards are open to Canadian magazines and to Canadian citizens, including landed immigrants, whose works were published in a B2B magazine.

Applications are accepted from the beginning of December until mid January. Finalists are announced in the spring. The fee for entering a competition is $135+HST or $125+HST for early applicants.

The awards are divided into two categories: individual creators and magazines. Individual creator winners will receive a $500 cash­ prize, but there is no prize for magazines. Visit Site

• Professional Outdoor Media Association of Canada Communication Awards: This is an annual competition for outdoor writers of Canada. Award winners are selected from excellent contributors within the POMAC membership.

The POMAC Awards have two main categories: National Communication Awards (NCA), and Special Awards. Within the NCA, there are 9 subcategories including awards for magazine features and photography. The submission fee is $15 per category and the entries are accepted until March 31. Visit Site

• The RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers recognizes an outstanding work of fiction or poetry to an unpublished Canadian writer. First place is awarded a $10,000 prize and two finalists are awarded $2,500 per each.  Visit Site

• RBC/PEN Canada New Voices Award: The Award is to celebrate new Canadian writers whose works have never been published before. The candidates are welcome to submit short stories, creative non-fiction, journalism and poetry. The eligible candidates must be above 17 but under the age of 30. Magazine professionals, journalists and writers whose work has been published in pamphlets or magazines may enter. The winner will receive a cash prize of $3,000 and mentorship from a Canadian author. There is no entry fee.  Visit Site

• Royal City Literary Arts Society (RCLAS): RCLAS is an organization that connects all writers, including novelists, technical writers, article writers, editors, publishers, etc. The organization offers award winners for the WRITE ON! Contests are divided into three categories: poetry, fiction and non-fiction.  Visit Site

• Writers’ Trust McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize: Beginning in early 2027, McClelland & Stewart has announced the Journey Prize anthology will become a biennial themed fiction anthology, comprising a combination of previously published submissions and original commissioned short stories. As before, editors of literary magazines from across the country will be invited to submit what, in their view, are the best stories their publications have published by up-and-coming Canadian writers, though now on a given theme. 

• The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC): TWUC offers four awards. The Danuta Gleed Award is given to the best first collection of published short fiction and awards. The winner receives $10,000 and two finalists receive $1000 each. The Short Prose for Emerging Writers Award is worth $2,500 and is given to unpublished Canadian writers. The Freedom to Read Award recognizes work in support of freedom of expression. The Graeme Gibson Award recognizes varied and remarkable contributions to improve the circumstances of writers in Canada. Visit Site