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Emerging writers are encouraged to submit their entries for the 24th annual Okanagan Short Story Contest.
The UBC Okanagan contest has had a long tradition of introducing aspiring writers to the local community.
Previous winners have gone on to publish with Penguin Random House, Arsenal Pulp Press, NeWest Press as well as numerous national and international magazines and journals.
The entry requirements are that they must be original stories, between 1,000 and 4,000 words, and writers are allowed to submit as many as they choose.
There is a $20 entry fee for each story, but no charge for students in the high school category.
Entries are open to fiction writers in the southern Interior of British Columbia, a region stretching east of Hope, west of the Alberta border, north of the US border and south of Williams Lake.
“The annual short story contest is one way for developing writers to gain their foothold in the literary world. I’ve seen winners of story prizes use them to find literary agents and book deals,” said Kevin Chong, author and creative writing professor in UBCO’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS).
All proceeds will go towards FCCS creative writing scholarships for UBCO students.
FCCS is offering cash prizes to writers of the top three stories — $1,000, $400 and $200.
The first prize winner also wins a one-week retreat at the Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre in Kelowna.
The top short story by a high school student receives a $200 prize.
All stories will be judged by UBCO creative writing faculty as well as celebrated novelist, critic and screenwriter Naben Ruthnum.
Raised in Kelowna, Ruthnum is a Mauritian-Canadian author with a master’s degree from McGill University.
Ruthnum won the Journey Prize in 2013 for his short story “Cinema Rex.”
Winners of the short story contest will be announced in March at a public event where short-listed authors will be invited to read from their work.
All entries must be submitted by 11:59 pm on Friday, Jan. 31, 2022.
For a full list of contest details and rules, click here.
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