A new contest aims to showcase the next generation of talented creatives across the Okanagan Valley.
The 2022 Okanagan Young Writers’ Awards (OYWA) is a new literary competition founded to promote excellence in writing at the high school and college level. The competition is open to young people between the ages of 14 and 19 who are attending school or university.
OYWA is offering a $200 cash prize for each of two main categories: fiction (a short story or one-act play) and poetry (a group of three poems).
The competition is now open until November 31.
Selected works will be featured in a Best of the Okanagan Young Writers’ Awards collection, published in print and online by Okanagan Publishing House. And the Okanagan Regional Library is hosting a story/poetry reading at their newly renovated Mission branch on January 15th.
The OYWA jury includes some of the best in the region. Kerry Gilbert, from the Okanagan College Vernon campus, is a gifted poet who has received several awards for her published work. Jeremy Beaulne, from the Okanagan College Penticton campus, has written and directed plays and sketches for theater and television. Jeremy Lanaway, from the Okanagan College Vernon campus, regularly contributes to international magazines in addition to his teaching work. Jadon Dick of Okanagan Publishing House is editor of the local Kelowna-based business publishing house. Rounding out the jury is Robert Humphries, a published poet who lives in Kelowna and who recently published his own collection Fractured Thoughts.
There is no submission fee for OWYA, an intentional step by the Awards Committee to increase accessibility to the competition. The finalists will be announced on December 9 and the winners on December 16.
“We are thrilled to share news of this incredible event, which we hope will foster writing excellence at the high school and college level,” said Dick, President of OYWA. “Through this contest, we hope to recognize the outstanding literary achievements of young people in the region.
To enter, visit OkanaganYoungWriters.ca.
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