About & FAQ

History of the 3-Day Novel Contest

Three Decades of 3-Day Novel Writing

It is no surprise that an idea as crazy as writing a novel in three days would arise from a province renowned more for its pot grow-ops, land-locked sea serpents and whacked-out politics. But culture building must be done, and so it was.

In 1977 a handful of restless Vancouver writers accepted the challenge to write a novel over the Labour Day long weekend. No one finished and no one was eager to expose their 3-day efforts to the scrutiny of others. Yet, though there had been no offspring, a beast was born, and soon it arose again, demanding recognition and celebration of its existence.

In true pioneering spirit, the call went out, the gauntlet went down, and the 3-Day Novel Contest was on its way to becoming the cheeky and uncompromising rebel of literary forms that it is today. From its modest beginnings as a barroom challenge, it grew to attract the interest and support of neophyte and seasoned writers alike, from Canada, the U.S. and beyond. Now, three decades later, it has become a unique contribution to world literary history and a put-your-keyboard-where-your-mouth-is rite of passage for hundreds of writers each year.

The contest has inspired the creation of thousands of novels, twenty-five of which have been published by the contest administrators. From the inaugural winner, Dr. Tin, to the 2008 winning entry, The Videographer, the winners of this notorious literary marathon have impressed both adjudicators and reviewers with their level of craft and accomplishment. Many other entered novels have been redeveloped by their authors to be later picked up other publishing houses.

Over its history the contest has found a home with a series of small publishers, including Arsenal Pulp Press, Anvil Press and Blue Lake Books. In 2004 a couple of Vancouver small publishers agreed to volunteer their time and effort to keeping the contest going as an independent organization. They continue to manage the contest today, advised by writers and publishers from across Canada and beyond. In 2005 Arsenal Pulp Press signed on to distribute the winning novels published by the 3-Day Novel Contest (under the 3-Day Books imprint), and so the contest has come close to full circle. In 2006, a new twist was added to the contest with BookTelevision’s 3-Day Novel Contest reality series (watch a clip here), in which a dozen of the contest’s entrants write their novels under extra pressure in the public eye.

Throughout its history, the 3-Day Novel Contest has been called a “fad,” an “idle threat,” a “great way to overcome writers block” and “a trial by deadline.” Unconcerned, it continues to fly in the face of the notion that novels take eight years of angst to produce.

About 3-Day Books

3-Day Books is an independent publishing house established in 2005 to publish the annual winner of the International 3-Day Novel Contest. The titles released by 3-Day Books reflect the diversity and originality inspired by the 3-Day Novel Contest, and are darn good reads besides. You can buy titles by 3-Day Books directly from this website (click the Buy Now links by each title in the Books section to order securely by PayPal), order them with your contest registration, request them at any bookstore or library, or buy them from your favourite online bookseller.

3-Day Books are distributed across North America through Arsenal Pulp Press. Booksellers may also order them from Consortium in the United States or through Jaguar in Canada.

Recent Reviews for Our Titles

“[D]efinitely out of the ordinary. By page 10, the reader meets a guy with three fingers on one hand, meets a crooked cop, and learns that the narrator’s current trade is affixing cameras in rest-stop bathrooms on I-95 in the hope of catching people engaged in sex acts. And yes, the narrator’s boss posts the videos on the Internet … It works.”
—The New Haven Advocate on The Videographer by Jason Rapczynski

“…it seems to me that the three-day gauntlet forces instinct to the fore…the writerly subconscious drives things on. Kupferschmidt’s instincts have guided him flawlessly in this tough-minded and deeply moral look at the cost of being good in evil times.”
—The Globe and Mail on In the Garden of Men by John Kupferschmidt

“…an emotionally powerful book and an intense read… McLeod’s knack for realistic dialogue and for shaping young male characters you might have met at summer camp 20 years ago bring this coming-of-age tale to life.”
–Now magazine on The Convictions of Leonard McKinley by Brendan McLeod

“The stories are told with humour and compassion… Each character is brilliantly drawn, with never a thought or action that doesn’t ring true. First-time novelist Jan Underwood has written an eminently readable, often hilarious, book.”
-—Broken Pencil on Day Shift Werewolf by Jan Underwood

“…the whole project goes beyond language, i.e., beyond the normal and expected scope of a novel. Even the act of reading it is participation in the project and in the game. The authors are bending genre to lovely effect. They worked with their units (of time, of language, of narrative) with nurturing, caretaking voices, hurried as they might have been.”
–Bookslut.com on Love Block by Meghan Austin and Shannon Mullally

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 3-Day Novel Contest, anyway?

The 3-Day Novel Contest is a writing challenge that has happened every Labour Day Weekend since 1977. Entrants pre-register and then grit their teeth, lock their doors and try to produce a literary masterwork in 72 short hours. A panel of experienced judges reads the results and the winning novel is published. The contest was originally administered by a series of small publishing houses, but today, thanks to a host of volunteers and friendly literary groups, the 3-Day Novel Contest is now an independent organization. Read about the 3-Day Novel Contest’s history here.

Can I submit a novel I’ve already written?

No! Submitted novels must be written only during the Labour Day weekend of the year you registered for the contest. (And follow all the rest of the rules, too.)

Do I have to come to Vancouver and write in a holding pen with all the other entrants?

No. You can write from your home, your local cafe, behind the counter at your workplace, wherever you feel comfortable. You don’t have to do it on TV either—the televised 3-Day Novel Contest did involve 12 of our entrants, but it was run by a separate organization and does not affect the original contest in any way.

Is this contest only for Canadians?

No. The contest originated in Canada, but writers from all over the world enter every year. We have had entrants from Australia, the UK, Sweden, China, Japan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Korea, the Bahamas and beyond. Winners have come from small towns, big cities and rural areas in both Canada and the US, and writers from Australia and the UK have made the shortlist, although we have yet to see a published winning novel from outside North America. Maybe yours will be the first!

Does the novel have to be in English?

If you plan to submit the novel and have it compete to be a finalist, unfortunately yes. While we could find a judge to read a novel submitted in another language, the whole team of judges wouldn’t be able to read it, discuss it and compare it against the others. Entrants have teamed up with a translator who works alongside during the contest and in the “typing” week following—that is certainly allowed and even encouraged if you would rather not write in English.

Is there a minimum age to enter?

There is no official minimum age. If you feel you’re ready to commit to the contest, that’s good enough for us. But the young and unsure should consider that the contest runs every year and that there’s plenty of time to enter. So if you’re a young writer, and you want to build some creative and disciplinary muscle first (and the entry fee means two years of your allowance), you can always enter in a couple of years.

Are there style or genre restrictions?

3-Day Novels are a genre unto themselves. Most (but not all) past winners are eclectic, genre-busting books, influenced by mystery, horror, western, even sci-fi. The intensity of the contest seems to naturally shake things up. Write in any style you wish and then see what happens.

What about length and format?

We don’t tell you how long to make your novel or how it should look. Write the book you wish to write and work as hard as you can to finish it in the time allowed—that’s what it’s all about. That said, if you are playing to win, try for about 100 pages (the average length of an entry) or more. Length isn’t the only factor in judging, but it is one of them. As for format, we only ask that it is easily read. Use a standard font, double spaced in at least 11 point type on plain paper. Double-sided printing is OK. (It saves paper and postage!)

How do you know that everyone wrote the novel in three days?

The 3-Day Novel Contest is a personal challenge and a writing experiment. It’s about challenging yourself and breaking through writer’s block. The value of your experience will be equal to the sweat you put in to it. Because writers enter to give their writing skills a serious workout, the honour system has always worked well for the contest. We only publish one title per year, so if someone doesn’t want the 3-Day Novel experience and only wants to get published, they’d have better luck submitting their non-3-Day novel (for free) to any of the thousands of “normal” publishing houses (whose readers also won’t have that impossible-to-fake “3-Day spirit” as one of their criteria). For more on this, read this note on the right reasons to enter.

Am I allowed time after the contest to edit?

No. If—and only if—you handwrote your novel, you are allowed until the following Friday to have your novel typed. You should not edit or re-write your novel, just send it in as soon as it is finished. We expect a few typos and clumsy sentences—you wrote the darn thing in three days, after all. If it wins, our editors will work with you to bring it to a publishable level.

Does that mean that previous 3-Day winners were edited before publishing?

Yes. No writer of sound mind wants an unedited piece of work to go to print and haunt him or her for all time. But the editors work with a light hand and a strong will to retain the feel of the true 3-Day works that they are.

Do I retain the rights to my novel once I’ve entered it?

Yes! We will make an offer of publication to the winner, and will purchase the rights to that novel only. All other entrants, including shortlisted entrants, retain all rights to their novels and can do whatever they wish with them—submit them elsewhere, continue developing them, use fragments in other works, bury them in holes, anything they want. However, to avoid being disqualified, we strongly suggest that you wait for the formal announcement of a winner before doing anything with your manuscript. We will not be able to publish the a novel if it has been published in any form elsewhere, including self- or e-publishing.

Can I include artwork with my entry?

We’re not going to stop you, but it won’t help you win. Put your time and energy into your writing, because that’s what’s going to be judged.

Do you have a list of winning novels and their authors?

Yes. Visit Books to see the complete list by year. To get these books, order past winners on your registration form when you enter, ask for them at your local bookstore or library, or click the Buy Now links to order them securely through Paypal.

Why were there no winners declared in some years?

In the contest’s early days there were very few entrants. Three times in the early years, none of the entrants were deemed publishable. The 1991 winner declined publication for his own reasons and made other arrangements with the organizers. The 2003 winner was found to be in violation of contest rules after the publishing process had begun.

Why is there a $50 entry fee?

The entry fee is kept as low as possible while still being able to support the promotion and maintenance of the contest and the publishing, distribution and promotion of the winning novel. The contest runs on a shoestring, does not turn a profit and labour is largely volunteer. Plus, most entrants find that the fee is necessary to commit them to the process. (As one said to us, “It’s like paying for the right to have 50 hours just for writing over that weekend, at $1 an hour.”) As with any marathon, the fee is non-refundable (even if you do not complete or submit your novel).

How do I get through this alive?

Read the Survival Guide. Remember to eat once in a while. Beyond that, we can’t help you.

I’m playing to win. Any advice?

Every year our entrants tell us that they did it for the experience, not the prize. But you can’t fool us, we know in your secret heart you want to win. The best advice we can give you is to not worry about it. If you’re thinking about the judges or the other writers, you’re not thinking about your book. You don’t have time to not think about your book. That said, get your hands on some of the past winners before the contest and get a feel for how they read. You’ll find that most of them have lots of interaction between characters and story hooks that keep the reader moving forward, especially in those crucial first pages. Remember to get your characters out of their heads and into the world. Remember that you aren’t describing a movie, you’re writing a novel, so take care with your word choice, rhythm and sentence structure. But, as of 12:01 on that first day of the contest, forget the past winners, forget the other entrants, forget what we say and write your own book.

So, how do I register?

Read the rules, print up and fill out a registration form from the Registration page and mail it to us with the $50 entry fee, postmarked (this means “be at your local post office”) by the registration deadline.