Short story contests are educational, inspirational, and just plain fun. I have entered many.
My first story:
“Buryin’ Day Today” A young woman on a routine trip to the UBC campus soon regrets choosing “this day, this bus.” Second Place, FreeFall Magazine Short Story Contest. Submitted by publishers of FreeFall to Journey Prize Jury.
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My favourite story: “The End of the Harvest” The passage of life, the poignancy of loss, from an unexpected perspective. First Place, Writers Weekly ezine Short Story Contest.
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Acrostic Short Story: The Thing with Feathers
Second place in The Brucedale Press 14th Annual Alphabet Acrostic Contest.
Judge’s Comments: A story that sums up a life in its twenty-six sentences. The ending gives the main character what she wanted as a child “hoping to fly,” before being “disillusioned with gravity,” which comes in the form of death. The Thing With Feathers takes the required beginning phrase, and also chooses to end with it, reflecting with form, the moment of a body’s dissolution, as well as its birth and death. The story knows from the start what it wants to do, and does a good job carrying that out. The concept of flight propels this piece and gives us bitter sweetness in its final moment. A thoughtful story, containing moments of crafted imagery, given to us in the final thoughts of a ghost. ~ S. Radojkovic
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From Short Story to Novel:
“Castles in the Sand”
A snapshot of a man’s journey from middle class to homeless. First Place, Wyn-Lit Short Story Contest.
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Another Short Story: “The Rebirth of Rose”
that grew into a novel: “At the Heart of the Missing.” A woman trapped in an abusive relationship contemplates her fate. Can she summon the courage to escape? First Place, Wyn Lit 2-Four, # 51.
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Nonfiction Shorts:
Academia, Amusement, and Music A memoir: My School Days in Placentia, Newfoundland.
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Have and Have Not
Published, Placentia Charter (May, 2009) and Downhome magazine (December, 2009). This article is a portrait of memories–my father’s and mine–and a result of research for in-progress novel set in Argentia, NL. The upheaval created in the lives of the residents of Argentia, NL, during WWII when their tiny fishing/farming community was transformed, almost overnight, into a strategic naval base.
