Welcome to the Creative Writing Hub at Carleton University!

Sumac Literary Magazine publishes work by people connected to Carleton University and/or the land it is on. Students, alumni, faculty, staff, community members, and anyone with links to our campus or community are welcome to submit their work for consideration. If you walk your dog along the waterfront, drive past the Carleton sign each morning, once applied to Carleton, or ever attended a Ravens vs Gee-Gees event (for example), your submissions are welcome.

For the Lilian I. Found award, one prize will be awarded for the best unpublished poem of 50 lines or less by an undergraduate student currently enrolled at Carleton. The donor is the late Mrs. Lilian. I. Found, who endowed the Award in 1950, and was the convener of the Ottawa Poetry Group and Canadian Poetry Contest in the 1940s.

The competition for the Lilian I. Found is typically run during the Winter term. For more information, please click here.

For the George Johnston Awards, three prizes are awarded annually, along with two honourable mentions, for the best unpublished poem (up to 5 poems may be submitted, not to exceed 250 lines) submitted by full or part-time students currently enrolled at Carleton.

The competition for the George Johnston is typically run during the Winter term. For more information, please click here.

Awarded annually on the recommendation of the Chair of the Department of English Language and Literature to an outstanding student proceeding from one year to another in a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. Endowed in 2022 in loving memory of Burton Meredith Heward BA/60 in recognition of his 40-year career as a newspaper writer and editor and to honour his passion for Canadian writers.

No application is required. Departmental awards are determined by the Undergraduate Committee in June.

Awarded annually on the recommendation of the Chair of the Department of English Language and Literature to an outstanding undergraduate student entering or proceeding from one year to another in a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. Endowed in 2024 in loving memory of David Whellams, BA/69, to honor his interest in writing. Although he had a career as a lawyer for the federal government, Dave enjoyed writing in his free time, penning newspaper articles, a play, and a series of three mystery novels before he passed away in February 2024 from Parkinson’s disease.

No application is required. Departmental awards are determined by the Undergraduate Committee in June.

Are you interested in getting your work published outside of Carleton? Please click here for a list of literary journals that has been compiled by the Department of English. This list is updated and refreshed frequently.