The 19th annual SiWC Society Writing Contest awards were presented at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference Society Awards Ceremony at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel today (Friday).
Submissions from across Canada and the U.S. competed for first prizes of a $1,000 in each category, with $150 for each Honorable Mention. Winning entries were published in the 2011 SiWC Anthology.
Katherine Bullock of Ashland, Oregon took top Storyteller’s Award prize for “Master Gardener," with
“Dirty Old Town” by Ken McBeath of Perth, Ontario receiving the category Honourable Mention.
This category is sponsored annually by bestselling authors Diana Gabaldon (Outlander series) and Jack Whyte (The Templar Saga).
“Not About Alice” won top prize in the Nonfiction Awards category for Susan Pieters of Burnaby, with Honourable Mention going to Christine Barbetta, of Newmarket, Ontario for “Family Member.”
Poetry Awards winner was Charles Baker of Coquitlam for “Silver Anniversary." Carol Despeaux of Poulsbo, Washington took Honourable Mention for “Broken Things.”
Jocelyn Shipley of Toronto, Ontario placed first in the Writing for Young People Awards category for “A Big Black Backyard Umbrella Dork." Amy Dupire Jones of McFarland, Wisconsin snagged this category Honourable Mention with “The Fortune Teller”.
Deadline for the next contest is Sept. 7, 2012. For more information go to www.SiWC.ca