ALISTAIR MACLEOD AWARD FOR SHORT FICTION

The Cabot Trail Writers Festival is honoured to administer the Alistair MacLeod Award for Short Fiction in memory of the beloved writer it is named for, in partnership with the Atlantic Book Awards and with prize funding generously donated by Bookmark Booksellers Inc.

Established in 2016, the award is a tribute to its namesake, the late Alistair MacLeod, one of the great writers of Cape Breton Island and a world-renowned master of the short fiction form. Each year, the award recognizes the best English-language short-fiction collections by Atlantic Canadian authors, with the award jury selecting a shortlist of three titles, one of which is the winner. A prize of $2,000 will be issued to the winning author, and prizes of $250 to the other two finalists.

In spring, the Cabot Trail Writers Festival hosts an annual Cape Breton event featuring the finalists, as part of the Atlantic Book Awards Festival, celebrating the legacy of Alistair MacLeod and the work of the generations of writers following after him.

For 2025, submissions may include books of short fiction published between Nov. 2, 2022 and Nov. 1, 2024 (due to the award’s hiatus in 2024).

PAST RECIPIENTS

• 2024: None awarded
• 2023: Elaine McCluskey, Rafael Has Pretty Eyes (Goose Lane Editions)
• 2022: David Huebert, Chemical Valley (Biblioasis) 
• 2021: Julie Curwin, The Appendage Formerly Known as Your Left Arm (Boularderie Island Press)
• 2020: Martha Wilson, Nosy White Woman (Biblioasis)
• 2019: Lisa Moore, Something for Everyone (House of Anansi Press)
• 2018: Eva Crocker, Barrelling Forward (House of Anansi Press)
• 2017: Kerry Lee Powell, Willem De Kooning’s Paintbrush (HarperCollins Canada)
• 2016: Catherine Hogan Safer, Wild Pieces by Catherine Hogan Safer (Creative Book Publishing)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

  1. Writers of submitted titles must be full-time residents of Atlantic Canada. Full-time residents of Atlantic Canada are those who have lived in one or a combination of the Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island) for at least two consecutive years immediately prior to the submission deadline date.

  2. Submitted titles must have been published and/or distributed for the first time in Canada between October 31 and November 1 in the year prior to the year in which the prize is awarded. (Note: For 2025, books will be accepted for two years prior to the year in which the Award is made.)

  3. Submitted titles must be first editions (later editions, revisions and reprints are not eligible) of collections of short fiction in English by a single author (volumes that include novellas and short stories are eligible).

  4. Submitted titles must be at least 49 pages in length and available for purchase.

  5. Submitted titles must reflect professional editing and production standards.

  6. Submitted titles may be traditionally published, hybrid-/partner-published, or self-published, as long as they meet the criteria outlined above.

  7. All components of the submission package (including application form, fee payment, and mailed copies of books) must be received (and/or postmarked) by deadline and must follow the submission procedure detailed on this site.

TITLES INELIGIBLE FOR SUBMISSION:

  • Unpublished manuscripts

  • Titles that exist only in electronic format

  • Titles less than 48 pages in length

  • Titles that mix fiction with non-fiction and/or poetry are not eligible.

  • Titles that are co-authored or multi-authored

  • Titles that have previously appeared in book form (i.e., an author’s collected or selected stories, or reissued titles from previous submission years), or for which more than 25% of the contents have already been published in book form

  • Edited anthologies

  • Titles written for children

  • Titles for which the eligible author has written only an introduction

  • Titles that do not meet the definition of the short-fiction form, including reference titles, anthologies, plays or scripts for stage or screen

The Cabot Trail Writers Festival Society reserves the right to accept (as eligible) or reject (as ineligible) any submitted title. The list of titles deemed eligible by the Cabot Trail Writers Festival Society and conveyed to the relevant award jury is final. For submissions deemed ineligible (due to title ineligibility, author ineligibility, or the lateness or incompleteness of submission), administrative fees and submitted books cannot be returned.

For further information or questions about title eligibility, please contact us.