Esteemed Canadian writer Renée Saklikar is doing some high-pressured page turning, as it’s down to the wire for the finalists in the 2017 Okanagan Short Story Contest.
Saklikar is the final judge in the annual fiction contest, which attracted 89 submissions this year. The annual event gives local adult writers an opportunity to hone their skills, get published, and win a one-week writing residency.
“Every year it amazes me when we come up with our list of finalists,” says author and Assoc. Prof. Michael V. Smith, who teaches creative writing in UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS). “We have so many great storytellers up and down the valley. It’s a thrill to see these stories, and the writers, gathered here in this place.”
Winners will be announced April 18 at a public event at the Kelowna branch of the Okanagan Regional Library. There will also be a special announcement about a new category and prizes in the 2018 Okanagan Short Story Contest.
Along with the $500 prize money and bragging rights, this year’s winner will have their story published in Vancouver-based subTerrain magazine and win a one-week residency at the Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre. Second and third-place winners receive $200 and $100, respectively.
The contest, now in its 19th year, is sponsored by FCCS at UBC Okanagan, Kelowna Capital News, the Central Okanagan Foundation and subTerrain magazine.
More information can be found at: fccs.ok.ubc.ca/short-story
This year’s shortlisted stories (in no particular order) are:
- “The Elm Tree” by Dick Bird of Princeton
- “The Island” by Karen Hofmann of Kamloops
- “Poppy and Boo” by Michael Griffin of Kelowna
- “Getting Straight” by Carol Zuckerman of Kelowna
- “A Certain Way With Furniture” by Cliff Hatcher of Kamloops
- “Rose” by Monique Thériault of Kelowna
- “Blood June” by Summer Kenney of Kelowna
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