Call for Submissions: Children’s and Young Adult Literature (Children’s)

On November 9, 2026, the Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF) will award a prize of $3,000 to honour excellence in children’s and young adult literature by a Quebec English-language writer.

The prize alternates annually between two subcategories split at about the grade-three reading level and has a two-year eligibility span:

• In even-numbered years, the prize is awarded to a picture book with text or an early reader book.
• In odd-numbered years, the prize is awarded to a longer chapter book, a middle-grade book, or a young adult book.

This year’s call for submissions is for picture books with text and early reader books. 

To submit a book, the publisher or author must submit the following by the appropriate deadline (see “Submission Deadlines” below): 

• A completed submission form
• Payment of the submission fee
• Five final physical copies of the book
• The PDF version of the book

Eligibility Criteria

1. The book must be published between August 1, 2024, and September 30, 2026 (“the eligibility period”).
2. The book must have an ISBN and be commercially available to the Canadian public
3. The book must be an original work written in English.
   1. Retellings of traditional stories may be eligible only if the text and interpretation are the author’s original work.
4. The book must contain a textual component and be a work of fiction, non-fiction, or poetry.
5. The book must be for children up to the grade-three reading level.
   1. Longer chapter books, middle-grade books, and young adult literature are not eligible. 
   2. If QWF determines that a submitted title is more appropriate for the other subcategory, QWF may hold the submission for the following year’s competition and will notify the submitter. A second submission fee will not be required.
6. The book must be self-contained and not dependent on other media.
7. The book may be traditionally published, hybrid-published, or self-published and may be available exclusively in digital format or print-on-demand.
8. Collections of short stories, essays, or poems are eligible only if at least 51% of the material has not been previously published in book form. Pieces previously published in newspapers, magazines, or journals may count toward this minimum.
9. The book may have no more than three creators and no more than two authors.
   1. An illustrator can be considered a creator if the illustrator is named on the title page and given equal credit to an author.
10. At the time of submission, the author must be alive, must have a residence in Quebec, and must not have lived exclusively outside Quebec for the past five years.
    1. If a book has two creators, at least one author must meet all of the eligibility criteria. 
    2. If a book has three creators, at least two creators must meet all of the eligibility criteria, and at least one of those creators must be an author.
11. The prize will be awarded to the author of the book.
    1. If a co-created book wins, the prize will be divided equally among the creators. 
    2. If a winning creator is deceased, the creator’s estate will receive the prize the creator would have received if the creator were alive.
12. A book may be submitted to the QWF Awards only once.
    1. A book published between August 1, 2026, and September 30, 2026, may instead be submitted to the 2028 Awards, only if it was not submitted to the 2026 Awards.
13. Reprints and books previously published in the same or substantially similar form are ineligible.
    1. A rewritten, expanded, or otherwise altered book may be eligible only if QWF deems it a new book. 
14. Translations, plays, and non-literary works are ineligible. Non-literary works include textbooks or books designed primarily for the education market; tertiary material such as indexes and bibliographies; catalogues; professional reference books; travel guides; self-help books; manuals, including books that describe how-to techniques, skills, or games; cookbooks; and calendars, agendas, and colouring books.
15. The QWF Awards were created to recognize the merit, voice, and originality of work by living authors. As such, books written by generative AI are ineligible.
16. Submitters who are unsure about the eligibility of their books or the prize category for which they may qualify must contact QWF by May 15, 2026.
17. QWF reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any submission at any stage of the competition and to disqualify any entry found to be ineligible. 

Submission Requirements

A book may be submitted by its publisher or author. The submitter is responsible for ensuring that QWF has received all required materials for each entry by the deadline:

1. A completed submission form via Submittable.
2. Payment of the $35 non-refundable submission fee. Submitters may pay either via Submittable or by sending the QWF office a cheque payable to “Quebec Writers’ Federation.” Payments made through Submittable are subject to the platform’s processing fees.
   1. A submitter with at least five submissions is eligible for a $5 discount per entry. For example, a publisher submitting five titles may pay $150 instead of $175. The discount must be claimed at the time of payment and cannot be applied retroactively.
   2. The registration fees for withdrawn, disqualified, or duplicate submissions are non-refundable.
3. A PDF of the book. PDFs may be uploaded via Submittable or sent by email to info@qwf.org.
4. Five physical copies of the final book. Books must be mailed to the QWF office.
   1. Physical copies are not required for books that are available exclusively in electronic format.
5. Three advance review copies (ARCs), if the final book is unavailable by the August 1 deadline.
   1. If the publisher does not produce ARCs, this requirement may be waived.

Books and cheques must be mailed to the following address:

Quebec Writers’ Federation
1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3
Westmount QC, H3Z 1X4

The submitter is responsible for all shipping fees, including duties and taxes. If QWF must pay a fee to receive a package, QWF will invoice the submitter for the amount paid. Reimbursement must be received by June 3 for the entry to remain eligible.

Submission Deadlines

Requirement	Applicability	Deadline
Submission Form	All Entries	June 3, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET
Submission Fee	All Entries	June 3, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET
PDF	Books published between August 1, 2024, and May 15, 2026	June 3, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET
	Books published between May 16, 2026, and September 30, 2026	August 1, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET*
Final Physical Copies	Books published between August 1, 2024, and May 15, 2026	June 3, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET
	Books published between May 16, 2026, and September 30, 2026	September 30, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET*
Advance Review Copies	Books published between May 16, 2026, and September 30, 2026, if final copies are not yet available by August 1, 2026	August 1, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET*

*If the PDF and final physical copies are available before these dates, QWF encourages the early submission of these materials.

After Submission

1. If fewer than six books are submitted in a given prize category, that prize will not be awarded this year. The books will be automatically entered into the next competition in 2028, and no further submission fee will be required.
2. QWF will process the entry and review its eligibility upon receipt of all required materials by the appropriate deadline.
3. QWF will notify the submitter once all required materials have been received.
4. QWF will notify the submitter of an ineligible entry on the action QWF will take.
5. QWF will add all submitted entries to the QWF Literary Database of Quebec English-Language Authors.
6. QWF will place one copy of each submitted book with the Montreal Children’s Library.
7. QWF will appoint an independent, three-member jury to evaluate all eligible submissions.
8. QWF will announce a shortlist of at least three finalists in mid-October.
9. QWF will make all shortlisted books available for room use at the QWF office.
10. QWF will feature all shortlisted books in QWF Awards Gala materials and publicity. Shortlisted creators and publishers are encouraged to support these publicity efforts.
11. QWF will provide each shortlisted creator with two complimentary VIP tickets to the QWF Awards Gala, where the winners will be announced.
12. QWF will offer each shortlisted creator a complimentary one-year QWF membership.
13. QWF will exhibit all shortlisted books at the Atwater Library for up to one year. 
14. QWF will send finalist stickers to the publishers of shortlisted books and winner stickers to the publishers of winning books.

For inquiries, please email info@qwf.org or call (514) 244-9088.