Resources for Writers

The resources below are Canadian-based and have been compiled to support writers navigating today’s publishing landscape. While we aim to keep this list current and helpful, AWCS cannot verify the accuracy of information on external websites and does not endorse one organization over another. This is an impartial list informed by our industry knowledge.

Authors are encouraged to conduct their own due diligence when researching publishers, agents, and other market opportunities.

If you notice any errors or believe a valuable resource is missing, please let us know. We update this page regularly as new information becomes available, so we invite you to check back often.

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Featured Resources

A curated selection of organizations and tools we believe are especially helpful for writers right now. These highlighted resources offer strong support, guidance, and industry insight.

Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) – What to Pay a Writer
A comprehensive Canadian rate guideline for freelance writers and those who hire them. This resource outlines typical fee ranges across industries including journalism, corporate writing, editing, ghostwriting, government work, newsletters, scripts, translation, and more. Rates are based on national data collected from working professionals and serve as general benchmarks to support fair negotiation and industry transparency.

Download the guide

Before You Submit

New to publishing or preparing your first submission? Expand the sections below for practical guidance.

TYPES OF PUBLISHING

There are three primary types of publishing: Traditional, Hybrid, and Self-Publishing. It is important to understand the difference.
Traditional Publishing
You submit your manuscript and an editor decides whether to acquire it. You do not pay anything up front.
Traditional publishing includes:

Big Five publishers. These offer advances. You need an agent to access these publishers and their imprints: Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan Publishers.
Small to mid-sized presses. Advances may be smaller or not offered. You typically do not need an agent, and many accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Hybrid Publishing
You submit a manuscript for consideration. It is vetted and selected before publication, but you will pay fees for services such as editing, printing, and cover design. You should not be paying for distribution or marketing.
Self-Publishing (Indie Publishing)
You manage the entire process yourself: editing, layout, cover design, printing, promotion, and distribution. This can be done through platforms such as Amazon, print-on-demand services, or independent printers.

The term “indie publishing” is sometimes used interchangeably with small press publishing. However, small or indie presses can still operate under a traditional model if your manuscript is vetted and you do not pay anything up front.

TIPS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT

Don't be in a rush to publish. Learn to write well and understand how to convey a good story.
Practice. Practice. Practice. Take classes. Write lots. Be a part of a critique group to get peer support on your writing.
Sorry, but there is no secret formula to writing a story or novel or memoir except to sit down and write it.
Writing is hard. Be prepared for bumps along the way.
Focus only on what you can control. The writing. The words. The story.
Have fun!
If your goal is to be published, get used to rejection. Rejection does not mean that you are a terrible writer or that you should quit. It simply means you might have to practice a little more, or, it's just not right for that particular publisher/magazine or agent at this time.
Read the submission guidelines carefully and make sure what you want to submit fits what is being asked for. For example, don't submit your romance novel to horror publisher or agent.
Follow submission guidelines exactly. They are there for a reason. If a magazine or contest asks for a maximum 2500 words, do not submit 3000 words. Do not go one word over.
No traditional publisher or agent will ask for money up front.
If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
If you are unsure, feel free to contact us at any time. We will do our best to guide you in the right direction.

THINGS TO WATCH FOR OR AVOID

An agent or publisher that promises you a huge book deal. This is not real. No one can guarantee you a book deal.
High fees for self-publishing services. Fees should be expected if you're self-publishing. Research the company. Find out who others have worked with. Word of mouth goes a long way.
Vanity presses pretending they are traditional publishers.
High fees for contests or calls for submissions. Contests nearly always charge a fee. These fees are usually used to fill the prize pool and to pay contest judges. Some magazines will include a subscription to their publication with the submission fee. This is not necessarily bad. It's how magazines build their subscription base. Just be sure you're comfortable with paying it before you submit.

Publishing & Industry Resources

Organizations and platforms that support writers with market insight, professional development, rate standards, and industry advocacy.

Author/Writer
Support Organizations

Canadian
Literary Magazines

Canadian Small Presses
(accepting unsolicited manuscripts)

Writers Guild of Alberta (WGA)
www.writersguild.ca

The Writers Union of Canada (TWUC)
www.writersunion.ca

Calgary Arts Development (CADA)
www.calgaryartsdevelopment.com

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA)
www.affta.ab.ca

Canadian Independent Publishers
www.canadianindependentpublishers.ca

Canadian Authors Association (CAA)
www.canadianauthors.org

Creative Nonfiction Collective (CNFC)
www.creativenonfictioncollective.ca

The Single Onion Poetry Reading Series
www.thesingleonion.wordpress.com

Wordfest
www.wordfest.com

Alberta Romance Writers Association (ARWA)
www.albertaromancewriters.com

Calgary Romance Writers of America (CaRWA)
www.calgaryrwa.com

Crime Writers of Canada
www.crimewriterscanada.com

Imaginative Fiction Writers Association (IFWA)
www.ifwa.ca

Canadian
Literary Agencies

The Rights Factory
www.therightsfactory.com

Transatlantic Agency
www.transatlanticagency.com

BallPoint Literary Agency
www.ballpoint.agency

Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
www.slopenagency.com

The Bukowski Agency
www.bukowskiagency.com

Cooke McDermid Literary Agency
www.cookemcdermid.com

Westwood Creative Artists
www.wcaltd.com

The Helen Heller Agency
www.thehelenhelleragency.com

Mint Literary Agency
www.mintliteraryagency.com

P.S. Literary Agency
www.psliterary.com

Rick Broadhead and Associates
www.rbaliterary.com

Robert Lecker Agency
www.leckeragency.com

Freefall Magazine
www.freefallmagazine.ca

Prairie Journal
www.prairiejournal.org

Filling Station Magazine
www.fillingstation.ca

On Spec Magazine
www.onspec.ca

Room Magazine
www.roommagazine.com

Funicular
www.funicularmagazine.com

Prairie Fire
www.prairiefire.ca

The New Quarterly
www.tnq.ca

Contemporary Verse 2
www.contemporaryverse2.ca

The Malahat Review
www.malahatreview.ca

The Fiddlehead
www.thefiddlehead.ca

The Antigonish Review
www.theantigonishreview.com

The Capilano Review
www.thecapilanoreview.com

Prism
www.prismmagazine.ca

Agnes and True
www.agnesandtrue.com

AE Science Fiction
www.aescifi.ca

Arc Poetry Magazine
www.arcpoetry.ca

Blank Spaces
www.blankspaces.ca

Brick
www.brickmag.com

Carte Blanche
www.carte-blanche.org

Cloud Lake Literary
www.cloudlakeliterary.ca

Event
www.eventmagazine.ca

Geist
www.geist.com

Grain
www.grainmagazine.ca

Pulp Literature
www.pulpliterature.com

Understorey Magazine
www.understoreymagazine.ca

Untethered Magazine
www.alwaysuntethered.com

Freehand Books
www.freehand-books.com

Frontenac House
www.frontenachouse.com

NeWest Press
www.newestpress.com

Stonehouse Publishing
www.stonehousepublishing.ca

The Seventh Terrace
www.the-seventh-terrace.com

Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy
www.edgewebsite.com

Tyche Books
www.tychebooks.com

ECW Press
www.ecwpress.com

Thistledown Press
www.thistledownpress.com

Enfield and Wizenty
www.greatplainspress.ca

Douglas and McIntyre
www.douglas-mcintyre.com

Nightwood Editions
www.nightwoodeditions.com

University of Calgary Press
www.press.ucalgary.ca

University of Alberta Press
www.ualbertapress.ca

Ronsdale Press
www.ronsdalepress.com

BWL Publishing
www.bwlpublishing.ca

House of Anansi
www.houseofanansi.com

Invisible Publishing
www.invisiblepublishing.com

Talonbooks
www.talonbooks.com

Turnstone Press
www.turnstonepress.com

At Bay Press
www.atbaypress.com

Coach House Books
www.chbooks.com

Orca Book Publishers
www.orcabook.com

Broadview Press
www.broadviewpress.com

Red Deer Press
www.fitzhenry.ca

Second Story Press
www.secondstorypress.ca

Arsenal Pulp Press
www.arsenalpulp.com

Flanker Press
www.flankerpress.com

Mansfield Press
www.mansfieldpress.net

Touchwood Editions
www.touchwoodeditions.com