by Jessie Carson and Jenn Snider Cruise
After a two month-long process of deliberation by a panel of judges, we are excited to announce the winners of the competition! Note that we will be celebrating the winners, and all the writers who submitted stories, on December 8th from 2pm – 4pm with an Awards Gala, which will be held at the Almonte Public Library (155 High Street, Almonte). Please join us, enjoy some refreshments, and hear the winning writers and the runner-ups read from their stories.
So without further adieu, we are thrilled to announce the winners of our first annual Lanark Lit Writers Competition! As selected by an independent jury of local literary experts, our winners are:
*drumroll please*
Ages 17 and under category
WINNER — The Apartment, by Mattea Crabtree (Perth)
– “a whimsical and fresh voice with excellent character work.”
Mattea is an aspiring author—at twelve-years old she has already written three books and numerous short stories, which she one day hopes to publish.
Young adults 18 – 29 category
WINNER — The Story of Gilbert’s Hill, by Georgia Walker (Almonte)
– “a beautiful piece of poetic prose that effortlessly captures the longing that comes from memory and nostalgia.”
Georgia describes having an “in-my-veins kind of feeling” about writing, where their “passion and dedication becomes stronger in every word, sentence and paragraph.”
Adults 30+ category
WINNER — Funeral Arrangements, by Carolee Mason (McDonalds Corners)
– wowed the judges with a story “reminiscent of Alice Munro; the pace, the hints and the revelations were perfect. An excellent, gratifying read.”
Carolee likes to keep busy in Perth where she has written and directed scores of plays for teenagers and adults. Online creative writing courses during the pandemic rekindled her early love of historical fiction. From a family of oral historians, she writes about the past – both 20th century Canada and 16th century Scotland.
FIRST RUNNER-UP (2nd place) — Team Bob, by Sara Jane O’Neill (Almonte)
– an “imaginative, humourous, and well-written work of dystopian eco-fiction”
As a career environmentalist, Sara’s writing focuses on the optimistic side of eco-fiction. She aims to create stories on important environmental topics through exciting fantasy worlds or light-hearted adventures.
SECOND RUNNER-UP (3rd place) — The Book Reader, by Michael Sobol (Lanark)
– “transported the reader to a time and place—a fascinating premise, captivating.”
Mike has written a variety of unpublished short stories, plays and novels as well published works including a radio play (CJET), television comedy (CBC Writing Competition) and most recently a creative essay on Norman Bethune.
About the Lanark Lit Writing Competition
With a total of 42 submissions across three categories, stories were sent in by writers from all over Lanark County (and a bit beyond) including Almonte, Carleton Place, Perth, Smiths Falls, McDonalds Corners, Westport, Arnprior, Delta, and Lanark. The range of style in the stories was vast, and represents the creative diversity of the literary arts in the area. Written with love and command of language, these stories all left an impression on our competition jurors, and invoked a wide range of emotion and experience; from laughter, to imagination, amusement, sadness and longing. Well done, everyone!
This region is absolutely chock full of writerly talent, and the competition judges definitely had their hands full. Our esteemed panel of jurors each participated in a round of blind consideration of the submissions. All author names were removed prior to circulation, and discussions maintained anonymity of the authors until the decisions were finalized. The first set of jurors in the Adult 30+ category created a long-list of stories and the second set of jurors decided on a short-list and eventually, a winner. Each juror thoughtfully considered every story and took their role seriously. As members of our literary community, they knew the courage taken by every writer to submit and appreciated elements of every submission. On behalf of our community and all participants we wish to thank our jury for their time, dedication, and thoughtfulness:
Jury members:
17 and under and Young adults 18-29 — Elysia Rourke
Adults 30+ — Jim McEwen, Ann Shea, Judi Bowe, Edith Cody-Rice, and Margaret Carson
A huge thank you to all those who submitted a story. Without you, there would be no competition, and we know it takes creativity and focus to write and finish a story, not to mention bravery! We encourage all writers to continue sharing their work. This is how you can connect to your peers and develop your skills. We look forward to seeing you on December 8th!
Almonte Readers & Writers wishes to thank the Lanark Lit project funders, the Elizabeth Kelly Foundation, and the Municipality of Mississippi Mills.
