Welcome! This page is for submissions to the 2023 Budding Writers Contest. Are you a Western undergraduate student under the faculty of science? 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: "into the future". To enter, follow the submission guidelines below for a chance to win a prize as well as have your work published on Scholarship@Western.

Categories

Poetry Prompt:

Write a work of poetry starting with "Dear future self,"
Max. word count: 750

Short Story Prompt:

Write a work of short fiction on what the world will look in the next 50 years.
Max. word count: 750

Expository Essay Prompt:

Trigger warning; the following subject will be about medical assistance in dying (MAID) and mental health. In December 2022, the Ministers of Canada extended the MAID expansion law that was set to take place on March 17, 2023 and has now been extended until further notice. This law would have declared mental illness as an eligibility covered by MAID. Justice Minister, David Lametti in his statement claimed, "We want to be prudent, we want to move in a step–by-step way so that we don't make mistakes." This extension will grant more time for the Canadian government to set standards as well as prepare provinces and physicians for this change. The Government of Canada webpage below gives great detail on the details covering MAID including what it is, eligibility, the procedures for obtaining MAID, and more. The notion of granting individuals with a mental illness as their sole underlying medical condition has caused a great divide with those who are and who are not in favour.

Prompt: Write an expository essay on your thoughts regarding this extended law that would allow individuals suffering from a mental illness be eligible for MAID.

Government of Canada - Medical assistance in dying (MAID) webpage

Max. word count: 1000

Schedule

Beginning to accept submissions	Jan. 20 at 9:00 a.m.
Deadline for submissions	March 5 at 11:59 p.m.

Prizes

First place prize – Best Poetry Submission award:

$150 gift card
Published in Scholarship@Western

Poetry Runners-Up (2):

$50 gift card
Published in Scholarship@Western

First place prize – Best Short Story Submission award:

$150 gift card
Published in Scholarship@Western

Short Story Runners-Up (1):

$50 gift card
Published in Scholarship@Western

First place prize – Best Expository Essay Submission award:

$200 gift card
Published in Scholarship@Western

Essay Runners-Up (1):

$50 gift card
Published in Scholarship@Western

Important Links

Submission Guidelines

Policies

General Judging Criteria

All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of student judges, followed by a final round of judging by our panel of experts.

Dr. Michael Fox, Assistant Professor, Department of English and Writing Studies
Dr. Anne Schuurman, Associate Professor, Chair, Undergraduate Studies in English
Dr. Joshua Schuster, Associate Professor, Department of English and Writing Studies
Dr. Jamie Johnston, Assistant Professor, Undergraduate Program Director, Writing Studies

Ready to Submit?