Facebook Twitter Linkedin

Annual Literary Contest

Each summer, Mensa Canada holds an annual literary contest for poetry and short stories.

Best Short Fiction Story or Best Poetry  

The theme for this year is “Invention!”. Maybe you invent something, maybe you find something completely new. Whatever intrigues you!! Submissions that do not follow the theme might lose a few points.

Fiction short stories must be 1000 words or less. Poetry must be 30 lines or less (excluding title). Works exceeding this are automatically disqualified.

Young Writer Competition 

The theme is also “Invention!“.

The young writer categories of story and poetry will be combined. You can send in one submission, either a story or a poem. All entries will be judged together. Young writers are always welcome to challenge the adult categories, but you must declare this at the time of submission.

Young writers are people under age 18, and will be divided into Junior and Senior categories.

Non-Fiction Opinion Article 

This is a non-fiction essay on a specific topic. The theme is your choice of ONE of the following questions:

1. How should society handle inventions that pose a risk to human survival?

2. How can profits from inventions be equitably divided between inventors, producers, investors, and the general public?

The article will be judged on the clarity, structure, and persuasiveness of the submission.

Maximum length is 300 words (English), or 350 words (French).

This is short, so you will have to select your words carefully! 

Rules

  1. Competitions are open to 2026 Mensa members in good standing (paid up).
  2. There is no entry fee. Contestants may submit more than one entry, but only one per category.
  3. A contestant winning more than one category will only get one prize.
  4. Entries must be the sole work of the entrant and must be original unpublished work. Since you enjoy the pleasure and challenges of writing literature or poetry, we trust that the text you will submit is the sole creation of your human brain, not AI.
  5. The author retains copyright of the story/poetry, but will grant Mensa non-exclusive rights to publish in Mensa newsletters and the Mensa website. The contestants agree that the names of winners may be published nationally.
  6. Entries will be judged on originality, creativity, and artistic quality.  Decision of the panel of judges is final.
  7. Works containing profanity, vulgarity or offensive material will be disqualified. The judge panel will determine if this condition applies.
  8. Prizes will be awarded August 15, at the 2026 AG, in Vancouver.
  9. There will be cash prizes for first place in all categories, and possibly second place depending on the number of entries. 
  10. Submissions must be in English or French. 
  11. Submission date is July 27, 2026. Send submissions electronically to mensacanadaliterarycontest@gmail.com.
  12. By submitting entries for the competition, the entrant accepts all the conditions listed above.
2026 Literary Contest: Invention!

Each summer, Mensa Canada holds an annual literary contest for poetry and short stories.

The theme for 2023 is connections.

You could write about relationships, networks, friends, bonds, agreements, or even the glue that binds you. The sky is the limit for your imagination! Play with this idea and make a short story or poetry, and maybe win a prize!

Submissions must be received by June 26, 2023. Winners will be announced at the Annual General Meeting during the Annual Gathering in Montreal on July 16, 2023. 

There will be prizes of $50 and $30 for the top two contestants in each category. There are also $30 prizes for the top contestants in the new <12 and 12-20 age groups. And of course glory, a certificate and the prestige of having a published work.

Need inspiration? Check out the winning entries below the rules!

Contest Rules

  1. Competition is open to 2023 Mensa Canada members in good standing (paid up).
  2. The theme is connections.
  3. There is no entry fee. Contestants may submit one entry in each category.
  4. Fiction short story must be 1,000 words or less. Poetry must be 30 lines or less (excluding title). Works exceeding this are automatically disqualified.
  5. Entries must be the sole work of the entrant and must be original unpublished work. The author retains copyright of the story/poetry, but will grant Mensa non-exclusive rights to publish in Mensa newsletters and the Mensa website. The contestants agree that the names of winners may be published nationally.
  6. Entries will be judged on originality, creativity and artistic quality. Decision of the panel of judges is final.
  7. Works containing profanity, vulgarity or offensive material will be disqualified. The judge panel will determine if this condition applies.
  8. Prizes will be awarded July 16, at the 2023 AGM, in each category to firsts ($50) and second ($30). There are two prizes in a new category for youth entries, $30 for first in the <12 group, and $30 for first in the 12-20 group. If somebody qualifies for a prize in both youth and adult categories, they will get one prize, whichever is the highest value.
  9. Submissions must be in English or French.
  10. Submission date is June 26, 2023. Send submissions electronically to mensacanadaliterarycontest@gmail.com.
  11. By submitting entries for the competition, the entrant accepts all the conditions listed above.
Old fashioned Typewriter

Winning Entries

Mensa Canada is proud to announce the winners and finalists of the Annual Literary Contest. We hope that you will enjoy reading the winning entries as much as the judges did.