Write Across Ontario Student Writing Competition Opens for 2017!
Talk to some of the most celebrated and beloved authors in the world and they will tell you they got their start as students, writing short stories, poems, or essays both in and out of school. We believe these early creative impulses should be encouraged and nurtured, to sow the seeds for the next crop of great writers.
At Open Book we're proud to say we're able to be part of that effort, partnering once again with IFOA Ontario this year on Write Across Ontario, a creative writing competition for middle and high school students across the province.
Help us spread the word to talented student writers in your network!
How it Works:
- Students from grades 5 to 12 are eligible to write a story using a story-starter provided for their age group by one of four acclaimed Canadian authors
- Stories should be between 250–500 words, not including the story-starter
- One submission per student will be accepted from October 3, 2017 until the contest closing date of November 6, 2017
- Entries will be judged by IFOA in conjunction with Open Book
This year, Drew Hayden Taylor will provide the story-starter for grades 5–6, Heather O'Neill will write for grades 7–8, Gwen Benaway will cover grades 9–10, and Pasha Malla will create the story-starter for grades 11–12. The story-starter is used as a prompt for students to begin their writing, but where the story goes from there is in their hands.
One winner will be chosen from each of the four age groups, and the four winners will receive $500 each, as well as the opportunity to have their work published here on Open Book.
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Full competition rules, submission requirements, and prize info can be found at litontour.com/contests/.
Write Across Ontario is inspired by a similar contest presented by one of IFOA’s Word Alliance partners, the Melbourne Writers Festival. The Word Alliance is a partnership between literary festivals around the globe, which aims to present the best authors to international audiences at events worldwide.
