Annual Student Writing Competition
A country-wide challenge
Canadian medical students and residents are invited to submit reflective essays, poetry or short fiction that explore the intersection of mental health and the humanities to the Dalhousie Department of Psychiatry Annual Student Writing Contest. Each year, one entry in each category (medical student and postgraduate trainee) will be selected to receive a $100 cash prize. Winning entries will be published in the Department of Psychiatry newsletter, Headlines, and below.
Interested in learning more about the competition? Read a published report on the first decade of the competition (2010-2019).
Eligibility: Medical students, residents and fellows at Canadian medical schools.
Maximum word count: 2,000 words
Deadline: The deadline for 2020 has passed. Please check back in January 2021 for the 2021 deadline.
To ensure confidentiality is maintained, patients and anyone else described in essays, stories or poems must be fictional or composite characters (with the exception of the narrator him/herself). Please indicate in your email whether you are a medical student or a resident/fellow. Faculty from the Dalhousie Department of Psychiatry and creative writers teaching at Dalhousie University will act as judges.
Entries can be sent as Word or PDF attachments to the Department of Psychiatry Humanities Coordinator, Dr. Abraham Rudnick.
Full competition rules and regulations [PDF - 106KB]
*WARNING* Some winning entries contain sensitive content that some readers may find offensive or disturbing.
2020 Winners
Medical Student Category:
- Sofia Zhang-Jiang, University of British Columbia
Read Sofia's winning entry, Perspective [PDF - 103KB]
Postgraduate Trainee Category: (tie)
- Marlon Danilewitz, University of British Columbia
Read Marlon's winning entry, Brothers of the Night [PDF - 30KB] - Brendan Morgan, Dalhousie University
Read Brendan's winning entry, A Frigid January River [PDF - 25KB]