2022 Update
The Word Awards are open for submission as of Wednesday January 19 2022
The deadline for entering The Word Awards is March 31st.
A team has been working on changes that need to be made to the awards in order to make them sustainable especially in this season which is uprooted by the COVID-19 situation.
For 2022!
Timing:
Submissions for will be open until March 31.
The Awards Celebration will be held in September this year again.
Why Enter the Awards:
The role of critique and affirmation in the writer’s journey—what to expect when you enter The Word Awards.
Kelly Ditmars, a member of The Word Awards Planning Team, speaks with one of the judges, writer and speaker Dayna Mazzuca, about this dynamic topic for writers wanting to take their work to the next level. Be inspired. Watch the videos and join the conversation. We are on this path together, to make Christian writing in Canada the very best it can be.
In the first video Kelly and Dayna discuss the spectrum of where we land as writers; some of us starting out and looking for affirmation and constructive feedback; some of us writing professionally for years and open to more in-depth comments and input. Either way, we all need to own our work and be the ones to sift what might refine our work, and set aside what’s not helpful for us. This is an important process; Kelly and Dayna share their experience and stories.
In the second, shorter, video Kelly and Dayna unpack what writers might want to look for, in detail, to better align their writing with the spiritual gift they bring to the page or screen. These are bonus insights and meant to springboard your own inspiration as a writer wanting to press ahead; to finish with a flourish!
Recognition:
There will be opportunities provided for promotion of the winning entries. We believe that this will be a practical way to boost sales for the winners. However, the 2022 Word Awards will not include a cash award for most of the category winners (with the exception of specialty awards.)
Again, we have also decided to omit the engraved glass awards. This is an attempt on our part to move toward going green. Both of these measures are efforts to cut costs in order to enable us to continue to provide the Word Guild Awards program that we believe fosters quality writing from a Christian perspective in Canada.
In order to share cost cutting measures with those who will be submitting books for the Word Guild Awards, we will be accepting all books online for the 2022 Word Guild Awards. Details for this will be included in the submission process. Not having to supply and mail bound copies of the books will reduce significantly the cost to authors making submissions.
For authors, as we did last year, it will mean submitting an electronic (PDF) copy instead of sending us a physical book.
Our original process required authors to mail their books to our coordinators, who then mailed them to our judges. In our new process, entrants will submit PDF copies of their books over the internet. This results in savings for authors, who no longer need to purchase and send us copies of their own books by mail. It also eliminates the potential challenges of visiting a post office during the pandemic, or of your book arriving late or getting lost in transit.
The Word Awards were established to encourage the pursuit of excellence in the art, craft, practice and ministry of writing and help to raise the profile of Canadian writers who are Christian.
2022 AWARDS TIMELINE
FOR BOOKS AND ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN 2021
*Schedule Subject to Change
January 19 2022 | THE WORD AWARDS (TWA) OPEN |
March 31st, 2022 | ***ONE DEADLINE****FOR ALL CLASSES**** Closes at midnight PST. |
July, 2022 | SHORT LIST SHOW ANNOUNCED *LIVE* Emailed out later that day and posted on TWG website. |
July, 2022 | Specialty awards Judging begins for: THE WORD AWARDS GRAND PRIZE FOR ‘BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR’ AWARD, HARVEY/MACKEY AWARD & DEBRA FIEGUTH AWARD |
September 2022 | WINNERS ANNOUNCED at The 2022 Word Awards Celebration or Gala which will stream live from sea to shining sea! Stay Tuned for more Details |
JUDGING MARKS
Will be sent out for all entries to The Words Awards via email the first two weeks of October following the announcement of winners at the annual awards celebration.
Subscribe to receive news, conference, contest, and all other announcements by email. Click HERE.
We do not sell or share your email address with other organizations, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Join Our Mailing List
Ready to Submit? Click Here >
AWARDS BREAKDOWN
- PUBLISHED WORK
- ENGLISH PUBLISHED WORK (Books, Articles, Short Pieces, Scripts, Lyrics)
- FRENCH PUBLISHED WORK (Books)
- GRAND PRIZE–BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
- COWLICK STUDIOS BEST BOOK COVER AWARD
- BEST BLOG OF THE YEAR AWARD
- BEST SONG LYRICS OF THE YEAR
- LESLIE K. TARR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
- DEBRA FIEGUTH SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD
- HARVEY/MACKEY JOURNALISTIC AWARD
- UNPUBLISHED WRITING
- CASTLE QUAY BEST NEW CANADIAN MANUSCRIPT
- FRESH INK STUDENT WRITING CONTESTS
- IN THE BEGINNING
See the full Breakdown and Definitions on The Categories Page>
Please Click Here to Sign Up for Membership and save on awards fees
PLEASE MAKE SURE TO READ THE GUIDELINES, UPDATED INFORMATION ON THE WORD AWARDS PAGE, SPECIALTY AWARDS PAGES FOR FULL CONTEST DETAILS.
Join Our Mailing List
To stay aware of Awards Information and other TWG announcements by email, to sign up click here.
We do not sell or share your email address with other organizations, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Please Click Here to Sign Up for Membership
and save on awards entry fees!
Ready to Submit? Click Here >
TWA GUIDELINES & CATEGORIES : |
Review information for entry fees and the fine print before filling out the entry form. View Entry Guidelines/Prizes/Fees/Judging Info Page> View Categories Page> |
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SUBMISSION FORMS: |
Writers may submit works published in the previous year including books, articles, poems, song lyrics, scripts and short stories depending on the Category Details.
Submit English Work Click Here >Les Prix des Mots Catégorie FRANCAISE Inscrivez Ici > |
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SPONSOR THE AWARDS : |
Actively support and encourage writers while promoting your organization or business. Sponsor Information > | |
2016 Award Winners | View all the Word Awards winners from last year. View Winners > | |
2017 Award Winners | View all the Word Awards winners from this year. View Winners > | |
2018 Award Winners | View all the Word Awards winners from this year. View Winners > | |
2019 Award Winners | View all the Word Awards winners from this year. View Winners > | |
Any Questions? Email: awards [at] thewordguild.com
History:
The 2020 Word Awards Celebration
LIVE with Sherry Stahl, Awards Coordinator & Joe Amaral
Watch the Recorded Show on TWA Facebook Page & The Word Guild YouTube Channel
DOWNLOAD THE CELEBRATION PROGRAM –> HERE
DOWNLOAD THE SHORT LIST –> HERE
DOWNLOAD THE WINNER’S LIST –> HERE