Established in 1946 in memory of Norma Epstein (UC ’45), the Norma Epstein Foundation Awards in Creative Writing offer prizes in the total amount of approximately $2,000 each year in the categories of Poetry, Drama, Novel, Short Story, and Other Prose.

Past UC and National Norma Epstein award winners include David Adams Richards, Barbara Amiel, Stephanie Bolster, David Cronenberg, Janice Kulyk Keefer, Michelle Landsberg, Anne Michaels, Michael Ondaatje, James Reaney, and Miriam Waddington.

Conditions Governing the Epstein Awards:

1. This award is open only to undergraduate students registered in University College.
2. All entries shall automatically be entered into each of the competitions for which they are eligible. Students may submit no more than one entry in each of the following categories: Poetry; Drama; Novel; Short Story; and Other Prose.
3. Entries in the categories of Poetry, Drama, Novel, and Short Story may include a poem or small group of thematically related poems, a play of any length, a short story or small group of thematically related short stories, a novel or the scheme of a novel accompanied by approximately 15,000 words of the novel itself.
4. Other Prose includes such forms as journalism, biography, and travel literature.
5. No composition shall have been previously published commercially.
6. Entries shall be submitted under a pseudonym to University College by May 1. Electronic submissions are preferred. An entry form can be downloaded here.
7. The Awards Committee may limit the total number of writing awards going to a single student in any year.
8. The name of the award winner will appear on the University College website.
9. One hard copy of the prize-winning composition shall be permanently deposited with University College, but copyright shall remain with the author.