The judges of the Kootenay Literary Competition have chosen the winners of this year’s competition from among entries from across the east and west Kootenays.
Writers submitted work in the fiction, non-fiction and poetry categories, and cash prizes will be awarded for the best work, plus publication in the Kootenay Literary Competition anthology.
The winners will be notified on March 7, and receive their prizes at the literary gala celebration on Friday, March 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Prestige Hotel in Nelson.
Angie Abdou of Fernie, whose book The Bone Cage was a competitor in Canada Reads in 2011, and whose second novel The Canterbury Trail was a finalist for Banff Mountain Book of the Year 2011 will be the special guest speaker.
The competition has received strong support from the community, including sponsorship from Kootenay Lake Tourism, the Kootenay Coop and many others, plus the work of the organization’s volunteers. The goal of the competition is to promote creative writing across the region, through the competition and also through investing in developing the talents of young writers.
In 2013, the Spring Scribble event had high school students work in an intensive workshop over two days. In 2014, the Writer in Residence Program, supported by the Columbia Basin Trust will has brought mentorship for creative writing students to L.V. Rogers and Trafalgar in Nelson, and Mount Sentinel in the Slocan Valley.
Tickets for the gala are available at the door, with a suggested donation of $5.
The 2014 anthology Refuge, will be available at the event for $7.
Questions about the competition can be emailed through the website (kootenaylitcomp.com) or directed to Morty Mint at 250-352-7844.