Winners of the 27th annual Okanagan Short Story Contest are to be named March 19 in Kelowna.
What: Okanagan Short Story Contest winners’ announcement
Who: Fiction writers across BC’s southern interior
When: Wednesday, March 19 at 7 pm
Where: The Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, 421 Cawston Ave., Kelowna
The 27th annual Okanagan Short Story Contest winners will be announced on March 19 at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art in Kelowna.
The contest, co-sponsored by UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies and the Central Okanagan Foundation, received 85 entries in the adult category and 46 in the high school category. That number was narrowed down to a shortlist juried by faculty members from the creative writing program at UBC Okanagan.
Nancy Holmes, a creative writing emeritus professor who initiated the contest in 1997, judged the shortlisted submissions.
“I am starting to read the shortlisted stories, which are incredible. It confirms that BC’s southern interior is a hotbed of literary excellence,” says Holmes.
Shortlisted authors: Adult category
- Aly K. Benson–Kelowna
- Carrie Mitchell–Lake Country
- Dorian Beaudry–Summerland
- Elizabeth Graham–Kelowna
- J.J. Hills–Kelowna
- Kyra Lear–Kelowna
- Miracle Adebayo–Kelowna
- Philip Seagram–Nelson
- Steven Lattey–Vernon
- Wendell Zylstra–Kelowna
Shortlisted authors: High school category
- Briar Fagan–Selkirk Secondary School, Kimberley
- Jocelyn Hagan–Valleyview Secondary, Kamloops
- Rory Macpherson–George Elliot Secondary School, Lake Country
Wendell Zylstra, Dorian Beaudry and Kyra Lear are UBC Okanagan students. Carrie Mitchell is also a current UBCO student and has been a finalist in the past. Miracle Adebayo is a UBCO alumna, and Steven Lattey has been a finalist in the past.
The Okanagan Short Story Contest is an annual competition open to fiction writers in the southern interior of British Columbia, which spans from east of Hope, west of the Alberta border, north of the US border and south of Williams Lake.
The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies offers cash prizes to the top three stories—$1,000, $400 and $200. The top story by a high school student also receives a cash prize of $200.
In addition to the prizes, the entry fee proceeds go to administrative costs, scholarships for students in the creative writing program and scholarships for Indigenous students through Indspire, which support the faculty’s truth and reconciliation efforts.
“This event is such a wonderful initiative that continues to shine a spotlight on the incredible writing talent in BC,” says Carley Gallant-Jenkins, Senior Development Officer for Indspire.
“It’s inspiring to see past winners succeed, publishing with prominent names like Penguin Random House, Arsenal Pulp Press, and NeWest Press. I can see how this opportunity for local writers helps nurture creativity and encourage emerging talent,” she adds.
To learn more, visit fccs.ok.ubc.ca/short-story
