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Sally Manning Award

Established in memory of Sally Manning.

This was is dedicated to helping strong indigenous voices tell their own true stories about the North, its land and its people.

Entry is open to anyone of Aboriginal descent, current or former residents of the Yukon, the NWT, Nunavut, Nunavik or Labrador. Entries can be from 1000 to 2500 words in length and should feature Northern themes. First prize is $1000 and publication in an issue of Up Here, Second prize is $500. Third prize is $250.

Submissions deadline is March 31, 2025. Send entries to cooper@uphere.ca. Or mail them to 148 Kasteel Drive Yellowknife, NT X1A 3W1.

The Sally Manning Memorial Writing Fund was established to provide support to Aboriginal and First Nations writers. Click here for information on Sally Manning Memorial Writing Fund scholarship recipients from prior years

Prerequisites

To be eligible, individuals must be of First Nations, Inuit or Metis background and a current or former resident of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon or Nunavut.

Call for Submissions

  1. Up Here and the Yellowknife Community Foundation will seek applications each year that funds are available to award a grant.
  2. The request for submissions will be published in Up Here Magazine in a spring issue, and entries will close September 30 each year.
  3. Judging will take place between October and November and awards will be announced in December.
  4. Up Here Publishing will screen all entries and create a short list of those eligible to receive the award(s) and then forward these submissions to the judging committee,
  5. The judging committee will:
    1. Review the short list of applications.
    2. Select a successful story (up to three).
    3. Recommend the ranking of award winners to the Grants Committee of the Yellowknife Community Foundation
    4. Participate in the scholarship announcement.
  6. Once the successful applicants have been selected, an announcement will be made by Up Here and the Yellowknife Community Foundation.

Review

Applicants will be assessed on the following criteria:

  1. Stories considered to be “creative non-fiction” are eligible.
  2. The judges, who are recognized and published writers and/or journalists, will make the recommendation on the award(s) to Up Here Publishing and the YCF based on their best judgement.
  3. This program is aimed at emerging writers. Writers considered to be established by Up Here or the judges may have their submissions rejected.
  4. At the discretion of the judging committee, or Up Here Publishing, submissions determined to be offensive or inappropriate may be rejected.
  5. Stories should be typed and printed and submitted on paper by regular mail to Up Here Magazine at the company’s Yellowknife address. E-mail or faxed entries are not acceptable.
  6. Stories must be written in English, be original and unpublished.
  7. Stories should be written on computer or typewriter, double spaced and no more than 2500 words in length. Total word count must be indicated on the front page of the manuscript.
  8. The author must not be identified on the manuscript. Name, address, telephone number and e-mail address should be provided on a separate sheet of paper, together with the title of the story.
  9. A brief biography of the writer, no more than 50 words, should accompany the story on a separate sheet of paper.
  10. Such other materials as the YCF may require.

Applicants

  1. Are eligible to apply for an award in successive years; however, previous receipt does not guarantee future awards.
  2. Must sign a form releasing the award program, the judges and Up Here of all liability in connection with the award. Winners must agree to allow their stories to be published together with his/her photograph and a brief biographical sketch, without compensation beyond the Sally Manning Award
  3. Only one story can be submitted for judging by any one individual in a single year.
  4. Winners must agree to submit a personal social insurance number and a photograph of him/herself to accompany the published story.