Nanaimo Short Fiction Contest 2010

 Congratulations To All 
Contest Winners

The Nanaimo Short Fiction Contest awards ceremony and Arts and Culture week event was held April 22^nd at Vancouver Island University. Each year, for the past six years, the Nanaimo Short Fiction contest has been co-sponsored by the Nanaimo Arts Council and Vancouver Island University’s Creative Writing and Journalism department. We are grateful for the support of the Assembly of British Columbia Arts Councils for their support of this Arts and Culture week event.

Kathy Page, who judged the 2010 competition, offered the following comments, in praise of the winners: 

 

1^st Place, Adult - Judith Millar, The Comfort of Stones. “This story about an obsessive-compulsive grandmother who tries - and fails - to help her grandson, is both heartbreaking and beautifully structured. From the first line to the last there is not a wasted word.”

2^nd Place, Adult - Stefan David Martin, The D.O.L.T. Investigation. “This tale is both a satisfying narrative, a story within a story, and a wry glance at the nature of writing and reading. Funny and intelligent, it's a truly original piece.”

3^rd Place, Adult - Roy Innes, for two stories: View from the Sidewalk and Gramma. “View from the Sidewalk takes an unusual perspective - that of an older homeless man sitting with his young friend on the sidewalk - and leads the reader unerringly towards its unexpected and devastating conclusion.” In Gramma, “sn old woman regrets past harshness towards her loved ones, and is comforted by a grandchild. It's written with great economy; well-observed characters, and the author's ear for voice and dialogue draw the reader in, and prepare the ground for the moment of emotional release at the end.” 

Winner, 13 to 18 category -  Kayla Tritschler, Sleepless Nights 33. “It's wonderful to see a young writer tackle difficult emotional territory, as does the winner in this category. The story is simply but strongly written, and shows us a twelve-year old boy who, struggling to come to terms with the prospect of his parents’ divorce, confronts his father.” 

Winner, 12 and under category - Laura Balfour, Dreams - “a fluent, lyrically written story about a girl's desire for a horse, and the border between fantasy and reality.”

 

The Nanaimo Arts Council sends out a special thank-you to each of the writers who submitted work