32nd Atlantic Writing Competition Winners Announced

20 August 2009

This year, over 250 writers from all four Atlantic Provinces submitted novels, poetry, short stories, and works for children to the annual Atlantic Writing Competition for unpublished manuscripts.  The contest juries spent eight months carefully reading and providing individual feedback for each entry before choosing this year’s winners.

Now entering its thirty-third year, the annual Competition was an important first step for such authors as Lesley Choyce, George Elliott Clarke and Budge Wilson, and Ami McKay, all of whom once placed in the Competition.

WFNS extends warmest congratulations to all participants in this year’s competition.

On the eve of Word on the Street, writers, publishers, booksellers, librarians, teachers, friends, family and fans from across the Atlantic region will assemble for the annual Gala Celebration of Writers and Writing. Everyone is welcome at Alderney Landing Theatre in Dartmouth, Saturday September 26th at 7pm.  The winners in this year’s categories of the Atlantic Writing Competition will read from their work, and all those who have placed in the contest will be awarded their prizes.  The evening’s festivities will also feature WFNS’ annual Silent Auction in support of the Writers in the Schools program -- spa treatments, B&B stays, original art, rare and first edition books, and an abundance of other writerly goodies will be up for bids on the auction table.  Mark it on your calendars and don’t miss out on the hottest event of the literary season. 

The H.R. (Bill) Percy Novel Prize
Scott Fotheringham of Halifax, NS, for The Rest is Silence

Scott received his BSc from the University of Guelph and his PhD in molecular biology and genetics from Cornell University Medical College in New York City, where he created many genetically engineered organisms, ranging from bacteria and fungi to fruit flies.  After leaving Manhattan he became an organic gardener, living rurally for many years in Nova Scotia.  Currently, he lives in Halifax with his wife and daughter, and works with people dealing with mental illness.

2nd to Colleen MacLennan of Halifax, NS, for Allah Is Not A Terrorist

Colleen grew up in southern Africa in the 1960s and 70s, witnessing firsthand the terrors and tragedies of war.  She used these experiences to create characters for her entry in this year’s Competition.  She has had a short story published in an anthology, and currently resides in Halifax.

3rd to Jim Williams of Halifax, NS, for Rock Reject

Originally from Vancouver, BC, Jim lived in Halifax in the 1970s and 80s before spending a few years in the U.S. and two decades in Toronto.  He and his wife Jane-Finlay-Young moved back to Halifax in 2006, where they both write and have massage therapy practices.  Jim has been participating in writing groups for a number of years, and his novel was developed in large part through these groups.

Honourable mention to Richard Toth of Bathurst, NB, for What is Given, Like Baggage

Richard was born and raised in Alberta and has lived in New Brunswick for more than forty years.  His poetry has been published in a number of literary journals in Eastern Canada and he has won prizes from the Ontario Poetry Society, the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick, and the Atlantic Writing Competition.  He has had articles published in The New Brunswick Reader and Our Canada magazine.  His short story "Tom and Teresa" was included in the New Brunswick Short Stories Anthology (Neptune Publishing, 2003)

Honourable Mention to Margaret Angus of Dartmouth, NS, for The Life of Persistence

Margaret counts herself lucky to have a day job writing (among other things) at Capital Health.  She calls Dartmouth home, though is happy to make the trek to Halifax to meet with her talented and supportive writing group every two weeks.  Margaret is just beginning to explore new creative terrain through both blogging and stand-up comedy!

The YA/Juvenile Novel Prize
Dorothy Redfurn of Yarmouth, NS, for In Interesting Times

Born in Yarmouth, Dorothy undertook a stint of teaching in Quebec and later returned to Nova Scotia to raise her children.  Despite being told by her piano teacher at age twelve that all writers starved in attics, she has been writing ever since, and nine years ago began showing her work to others, mainly a group of friends known as the “Pit Crew”.  She currently resides in Yarmouth with her husband, her mother-in-law, and her two children.

2nd to Chad Lucas of Lower Sackville, NS, for "The Firemaker King"

Chad is a freelance writer, an occasional keyboard player in his friends’ musical projects, and a walking gymnastics apparatus/chew toy to his two rambunctious sons and one teething daughter.  Chad is a previous winner in the Atlantic Writing Competition’s short story category and a recent finalist in the Writers Union of Canada’s Writing for Children competition. 

3rd to Orysia Dawdiak of Charlottetown, PE, for "Rika's Shepherd"

Orysia lives on a small farm on Prince Edward Island where she writes and raises sheep and dogs.  She and her husband wrote the book Livestock Protection Dogs - Selection, Care and Training to help people who own these unusual and special dogs.  She has also had stories published in Descant, Inside/Out, and Travelers’ Tales: A Dog’s World, and included in New Voices in Maritime Fiction and The Great Canadian Anecdote Contest.  Her adult novel, House of Bears, is due to be released with Acorn Press in 2009.

Honourable Mention to Jan Coates of Wolfville, NS, for "Jacob's Long Walk"

Jan lives in Wolfville, NS with her husband Don and children Liam and Shannon.  She is employed as an ESL teacher for the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board and has had one children’s picture book, Rainbows in the Dark, published in 2005 by Second Story Press in Toronto.  Her work has also appeared in the Chronicle Herald, Canadian Living Magazine, Stories for Children, and on CBC Radio. She is currently working on an ESL comprehension/vocabulary workbook for Full Blast Productions.  She has been writing for children for eight years, and loves participating in the Writers in the Schools program, going to the gym, and playing badminton.

Honourable Mention to Peggy Pilkey of Dartmouth, NS, for "All Shook Up"

Born in British Columbia, Peggy spent her formative years living in Japan.  After graduation from WLU in Waterloo, Ontario and her marriage to Dennis Pilkey, she and her husband moved to the West Indies where they both taught school in Guyana and Jamaica under the auspices of CUSO.  Upon returning to Kitchener-Waterloo and following the birth of their two boys, the family moved to Halifax in 1973.  Peggy has previously received a third place prize for YA novel and two honourable mentions in the WFNS Atlantic Writing Competition.  Her past publications include articles written for the St. Paul’s Journal, a newsletter for the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Halifax.  She is presently trying to balance her love of gardening with her love of writing. 

The Poetry Prize
James MacSwain of Halifax, NS, for Ancestors

James was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia.  He received a BA in English from Mount Allison University and studied theatrical arts at the University of Alberta.  After traveling and living in Europe he settled in Halifax where he began a career in theatre and arts administration.  Since 1980 he has been working in film and video, receiving Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Nova Scotia Arts Council grants as a media artist.  As a visual artist he works in photo and collage-based images that he has exhibited in Halifax and nationally.  He has been a board member of the Nova Scotia Arts Council, the Independent Film and Video Alliance, the Linda Joy Media Arts Society and the Canadian Conference of the Arts.  Presently he sits on the Exhibitions Committee of Visual Arts Nova Scotia and works as the Director of Programming for the Centre For Art Tapes.

2nd to Erin Whitney Moran of Lower Sackville, NS, for Construction

Erin is a recent graduate of the English Honours program at Mount Allison University, and currently resides just outside of Halifax.  During her final year at Mount Allison, she was one of eleven students enrolled in an intimate and innovative creative writing studio class, and since graduation has been exploring her passion for poetry.  Previous poetry publications have been in Mount Allison’s art journal 7 Mondays.  She is currently involved in application processes in hopes of pursuing academics at the graduate level and of one day making a career out of writing professionally or teaching at the post-secondary level.

3rd to Janette Fecteau of Antigonish, NS, for Feathers in the Air Filter

Janette lives in Antigonish County with her husband and two aging dogs.  She is a horticulturalist, and teaches writing and art at St. Francis Xavier University.  Her poems have appeared in Knock, The Pottersfield Portfolio, and Shout and Speak Out Loud: Atlantic Canadians on Child Sexual Abuse.  She holds a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from UBC.

Honourable Mention to Marilynn Rudi of Dartmouth, NS, for "Library Suite"

Marilyn wrote this collection of poems while taking Writing Poetry (Advanced) with Professor Brian Bartlett, St. Mary’s University, in the fall of 2007.  Marilyn was awarded a WFNS mentorship in 2006-07 with poet Tonja Gunvaldsen Klaasen.  She received an Honourable Mention in the poetry category in the 2006 Atlantic Writing Competition.  One of her poems has been accepted by the Antigonish Review.  Marilynn lives in Dartmouth, NS, with her husband and three children; she is a librarian/archivist at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography.

The Budge Wilson Short Story Prize
Paul Healey of Rothesay, NB, for Vanishing

Paul is a New Brunswick artist who has recently taken up fiction writing.  He “made his escape” from Toronto to the Maritimes eighteen years ago, and currently lives in New Brunswick with  his partner, Lise, and their dog.  He has studied jazz and classical guitar, and plays piano.

2nd to Daniel R. Lillford of Bridgetown, NS, for "The Woods"

Daniel has been a playwright, actor and screenwriter for 27 years, working in Australia and Canada.  He has had 21 plays produced in Canada, Australia, the USA and Scotland, and one short film.  He is the recipient of a number of playwrighting awards.  Daniel arrived from Melbourne, Australia in 1997 with his wife Rachel, settling first in Northwest Cove, Lunenburg County, before moving to Bridgetown and buying the oldest house there. Daniel and Rachel have three Canadian sons, Harry, Jesse, and Rupert.

3rd to Hannah Visser of Crapaud, PE, for "Waiting for Rain"

Hannah has been writing stories since she was a kid, and has been honing her skills in a recently completed creative writing class.  She is currently completing a double major in English and Psychology at the University of Prince Edward Island.  These two majors compliment each other well, since one of her favorite aspects of writing is character development.  This is the first writing contest Hannah has entered, and she hopes it won’t be the last.

Honourable mention to Kim Smith of Belfast, PE, for "The Sex Life of Chickens"

Kim recently moved to PEI from BC in a semi truck packed with her worldly possessions, three cats, and one husband, to complete her transformation from bookkeeper to homesteader.  She has discovered an entirely new world on PEI; a much quieter, friendlier world that has proved conducive to her rediscovering her love of writing.  She spends her days drinking tea, staring at her horde of chickens and, of course, writing.

Honourable mention to Colleen Gillis of Sydney, NS, for "From Now On"

Cape Breton native Colleen Gillis has been addicted to the written word all her life.  She supported her habit by working as a court stenographer, a lecturer in English literature, a writing instructor, and a freelance editor.  A 15-year veteran of writing workshops, competitions and rejection letters, she took early retirement to devote herself full-time to writing fiction.  Colleen’s nonfiction has appeared in The Fiddlehead and the Chronicle Herald. 

The Joyce Barkhouse Writing for Children
Joanna Butler of Bedford, NS, for Calvin's Moose Hunt

Joanna Butler lives in Bedford, Nova Scotia with her husband and two children.  She has a BA in English and a BSc in Biology and has worked most recently at the Dept. of Natural Resources and in the restaurant industry.  She has been a stay-at-home mom for the past eight years.  She has always loved children’s books, but just started writing about two years ago.  This is her first completed story.

2nd to Matthew Webber of Lower Sackville, NS, for "The Princess Without A Castle"

Originally from Ottawa, Matthew moved to the Maritimes for two reasons: for a girl, and to get the heck out of Ottawa.  He is currently pushing the limits of human endurance working two full time jobs, and has taken up writing after stints as an illustrator, painter, photographer, sculptor, dancer, performance artist, and mime.  So far, he has accumulated a folio of very complimentary rejection letters and one professional gig, writing the adventure module ‘The Weight of Water’ for the roleplaying game Talislanta.  Paul and his partner currently enjoy life in the company of two headstrong huskies and two very obese cats.

3rd to Jacqueline Warlow of Dartmouth, NS, for Aargh: A Chilling Pirate's Tale

Jacqueline is a retired teacher who taught students in elementary through university, adult education, ESL, honours English, and special needs.  In recent years, she has written poetry for friends on special occasions, early readers, individualized books for children experiencing challenges in their lives, and a biography for an older gentleman who wanted it as a legacy for his family.  She has written book reviews for the University of Saskatchewan English Quarterly, McGraw Hill Ryerson, and more.