Second Story Press celebrated its 25th anniversary on Dec. 5 with the announcement of a new writing contest geared to authors from the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities. The press is seeking unpublished fiction and non-fiction submissions for readers between eight and 18 years old by Canadian authors who identify as aboriginal, which will be judged by a panel comprising Second Story publisher Margie Wolfe, aboriginal educator and researcher Dr. Jenny Kay Dupuis, and one more member to be named at a later date.

The move is an effort to expand diversity in the press’s offerings, which already feature a strong emphasis on feminist-inspired stories and those with a focus on the Holocaust and LGBTQ narratives for children and adults. The publisher has seen recent success with its children’s titles, including Ken Setterington’s Branded by the Pink Triangle, which was a finalist for the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-fiction, and Every Day is Malala Day, a co-publication with Plan Canada about Nobel Prize–winner Malala Yousafzai written by Plan president and CEO Rosemary McCarney, which has garnered international attention.

The competition will close March 31, with the winner – who receives a publishing contract with Second Story – announced in April.

For more information and full competition rules, click here.