The 10th-annual Okanagan Short Story Contest is once again open to entries. Anyone living in B.C.’s Southern Interior, within the listening area of CBC Radio One from Kelowna, is eligible. This includes all residents west of the Alberta border, south of Williams Lake, east of Hope and north of the U.S. border.
Writers have until March 10, 2008, to submit short stories for the Okanagan Short Fiction Contest, sponsored by Okanagan College, the University of British Columbia Okanagan, CBC Radio One and the Central Okanagan Foundation.
Cash prizes are offered for the best adult short fiction from the Southern Interior. Stories ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 words are eligible; however, all entries must be original, unpublished works of fiction, submitted on 8 ½” by 11” plain white paper, double-spaced and typed. There is no limit on the number of entries, but a $12 entry fee is required with each.
“The competition for this contest is always fierce,” says Nancy Holmes, a Creative Writing Professor at UBC Okanagan and one of the contest’s organizers. “The quality of winning stories is high and we’re always impressed at the sheer number of terrific entries. This is becoming THE short story contest in B.C.!”
Winners will receive cash prizes of $500 for first prize, $200 for second, and $100 for third, and they participate in a public reading — this year held at Kelowna’s Life and Arts Festival. Winners will have their stories published in a limited edition chapbook and have excerpts broadcast on CBC radio.
Entries are judged by Creative Writing faculty from Okanagan College and UBC Okanagan, and an external judge who is a nationally renowned fiction writer.
Mail entries and $12 entry fee — money order or cheque payable to UBC — to:
Okanagan Short Fiction Contest
c/o Barbra MacDonald
Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies
ART 173 — UBC Okanagan
3333 University Way
Kelowna, B.C. V1V 1V7
For more info, contact Nancy Holmes at 250.807.9369. Complete contest rules are online at www.okstorycontest.org.
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