Welcome! This page is for submissions to the 2020 Budding Writers Contest. Are you a Western student? The Bachelor of Medical Sciences Association (BMSA) and Western Libraries are proud to present this opportunity to unleash your creativity, show off your writing, and compete to win amazing prizes!

This year’s theme is artificial intelligence (AI). To enter, follow the guidelines of one of the three categories below and write about any aspect of AI that interests you.

Please note:

Submissions are now closed

Winners will be announced by the end of February

Thank you to all who participated!

Important Links

Submission Guidelines

Judging Criteria

Policies

Interested?

Join the Budding Writers Mailing list!

Ready to Submit?

Submit Here

Schedule

Contest opens - Jan. 6 at 6 a.m.

Deadline for submissions - Jan. 31 at 11:59 p.m.

No submissions will be accepted following the deadline

Prizes

Top Prize – Best Writing Submission award:

• $200 Amazon gift card
• Published in Scholarship@Western

Top Category Prize (3):

• $50 Amazon gift card
• Published in Scholarship@Western

Categories

Critical essay:

• To what extent are the fears surrounding the emergence of AI justified? Your essay should inform or convince the reader with research and well-formed arguments.
• Max. word count: 1,000

Personal essay:

• How will AI integrate with society, what are its most important applications in society, or how will the pursuit of superintelligence manifest. This essay is intended to be less formal and writers are encouraged to use a narrative style to express their creativity and opinions.
• Max. word count: 1,000

Short story:

• Write a fictional narrative in prose about AI. All types of stories – humour, horror, fantasy, science fiction – are accepted.
• Max. word count: 2,000

All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of student judges, followed by a final round of judging. This year, we are lucky to have an excellent panel of expert judges to offer their feedback and help select our winners:

• Michael Anderson, Chair in Philosophy of Science, Rotman Institute of Philosophy
• Aaron Schneider, Assistant Professor, English and Writing Studies
• Erin Johnson, Librarian at Western Libraries
• Anabel Quan-Haase, Professor, Department of Sociology

Questions?

Contact, Ramtin Hakimjavadi, BMSA VP Communications

Email at rhakimja@uwo.ca with the Subject line: "QUESTION - Budding Writers Contest"