The Cécile E. Mactaggart Travel Award for Narrative Writing

$12,000 Travel Prize

In 1999 the Faculty of Arts established the Mactaggart Writing Award with a gift from local philanthropist Dr. Cécile E. Mactaggart.

The award is intended to showcase excellent writing in the Faculty of Arts and to highlight the importance of travel for life long education. The award will provide up to $12,000 to support a new and stimulating travel experience for the winner. It is not intended to fund research travel.

This is a writing competition, and there are 2 competitions run annually in the Faculty of Arts, both run simultaneously. One for undergraduate students, and one for teaching staff members.

Deadline for Application: 4:00 pm on Monday, February 1, 2021.
If this deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, applications will be accepted until 4:00 PM the following business day.

Application information:
Your composition should be an original essay or short story of 2,500 to 3,500 words on any topic. The work must be written specifically for this competition.
Submissions must include completion of the official application form that details the author's travel interests.

Entries must be uploaded to the Google Form and will be accepted in Word or PDF format only.
Entries received in hard copy will not be accepted for adjudication.

Entries should be submitted via the applicable Google form prior to the deadline.
Late entries will not be accepted.

Questions not answered in the FAQ document linked below can be directed to Nancie Hodgson (macwa@ualberta.ca).

Student Application

Faculty Application

Formatting Rules

Application Checklist - Student 

Application Checklist - Faculty

Student FAQs

Faculty FAQs

Previous Winners