fwd: THE WRITERS' UNION OF CANADA ANNOUNCES 22nd ANNUAL SHORT PROSE COMPETITION FOR DEVELOPING WRITERS

The Writers' Union of Canada is pleased to launch its 22nd Annual Short Prose Competition for Developing Writers, which invites writers to submit a piece of fiction or non-fiction of up to 2,500 words in the English language that has not previously been published in any format. A $2,500 prize will be awarded to a Canadian writer not published in a book format. The entries of the winner and finalists will be submitted to three Canadian magazines for consideration. The deadline for entries is March 1, 2015.

The Union initiated the Short Prose Competition in 1993 in honour of its 20th anniversary. The Competition aims to discover, encourage, and promote new writers of short prose. “The Short Prose Competition attracts a wide pool of talented writers,” notes the Union’s Executive Director, John Degen. “The quality of the writing continues to impress with each passing year.”

The Union is proud to announce an esteemed group of jurors for the Competition. Vancouver-based environmental journalist and author Arno Kopecky’s second book, The Oil Man and the Sea, won the 2014 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Nonfiction and was shortlisted for the 2014 Governor General's Award. His writing has appeared in such publications as The Walrus, Foreign Policy, The Globe and Mail, and Reader’s Digest. Donna Morrissey is the award-winning author of Kit's Law, Downhill Chance, What They Wanted, Sylvanus Now (shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize), and the children’s book Cross Katie Cross. Originally from Newfoundland, she now lives in Halifax. Retired Professor of English, University of Winnipeg, Uma Parameswaran is known for her contributions to the emerging field of South Asian Canadian Literature, writing novels, short stories, and poetry. Her works include A Cycle of the Moon, Sisters at the Well, The Sweet Smell of Mother’s Milk-wet Bodice, and the Canadian Authors' Association Jubilee Award-winning What Was Always Hers.

The competition is open to Canadian residents who have not had a book published and who do not have a contract with a book publisher. Submissions are accepted online (along with a $29 entry fee per submission) at www.writersunion.submittable.com by 11:59 pm Pacific Time on March 1, 2015. The winner will be announced in May 2015. For complete rules and regulations, please go to www.writersunion.ca/short-prose-competition.

The Writers' Union of Canada is the national organization representing professional book authors. Founded in 1973, the Union is dedicated to fostering writing in Canada and promoting the rights, freedoms, and economic well-being of all writers. For more information, please visit www.writersunion.ca