The Norma Epstein Foundation Awards in Creative Writing at University College at the University of Toronto were established in 1946 in memory of Norma Epstein (UC '45). Biennial National prizes are offered in the total amount of approximately $2,000, open to any student currently registered in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at a Canadian university. There will not be a National Norma Epstein competition in 2012.

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 National Norma Epstein Awards:

1. These awards are open only to students currently registered in an undergraduate or graduate program in a Canadian university.
2. Entrants may submit no more than two entries in total and no more than one entry in any of the categories: Poetry; Drama; Novel; Short Story.
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. No composition shall have been previously published commercially.
5. Entries shall be submitted under a pseudonym to University College by May 1, 2013. (No submissions in 2012.) Electronic submissions are preferred.
6. The judges will be appointed by University College. If, in any year, the judges are of the opinion that no entry is of sufficient merit, they are empowered to make no award in that year. Their decision will be final.
7. The name of the award winner will appear on the University College website.
8. One hard copy of the prize-winning composition shall be permanently deposited with University College, but copyright shall remain with the author.