TOP PRIZE INCLUDES ONE-WEEK RESIDENCY AT WOODHAVEN ECO CULTURE CENTRE

Sharpen your quill – the February 21 deadline is fast approaching for entries in the 16th annual Okanagan Short Story Contest.

On offer are cash prizes -- $500 for the winning entry, $200 for second prize, and $100 for third prize -- in the popular contest sponsored by UBC’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, the Kelowna Capital News and the Central Okanagan Foundation.

Top prize also includes a one-week residency at the Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre, in an inspiring forest setting for artists and writers to relax and work undisturbed.

Entries for the Okanagan Short Story Contest must be original, unpublished works of 1,000 to 4,000 words, submitted on plain 8 ½ by 11-inch white paper, double-spaced and typed. Submissions must include a $15 entry fee of a money order or cheque payable to the University of British Columbia. All residents of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, from east of Hope, west of the Alberta border, north of the U.S. border and south of Williams Lake, are eligible to enter.

Entries will be judged by poet and food writer Gerry Shikatani, UBC’s 2014 Writer-in-Residence. The winners will be announced in March 2014, at a public event where the winning writers are invited to read from their work.

A complete set of entry rules can be found at:
www.okstorycontest.org

Submissions must be postmarked no later than February 21. Winners will be announced in March, at a public event where the winning writers are invited to read from their work.

BACKGROUND: Entry rules for the Okanagan Short Story Contest
1.       This contest is open to all residents of the southern interior of British Columbia: east of Hope, west of the Alberta border, north of the US border and south of Williams Lake.

2.       Entries must be original, unpublished works of fiction, submitted on plain 8½  X 11 white paper, double-spaced and typed.

3.       Short stories should range from 1,000 to 4,000 words. The judges reserve the right to disqualify stories that are too long.

4.       Entries must be accompanied by a $15 entry fee, a money order or cheque PAYABLE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

5.       No name, address, phone number or any identifying mark should appear on the pages of the manuscript. Attach a separate page with the author’s name, address, phone number and the name of the story. Authors whose stories make it to the short-list stage should be prepared to submit to the administrators of the contest an electronic version of the story and biographical information.

6.       Entries must be postmarked on or before Friday, February 21 or must be received at the Creative Studies Office of the University of British Columbia Okanagan by that date.

7.       There are no age limits or no limits on the number of entries, but each entry must be accompanied by a $15 entry fee.

8.       Entries will be judged solely on artistic merit. Decisions of the judges are final.

9.       Because of time restrictions and quantity of entries, no manuscripts will be returned. No phone calls or other communication will be entered into regarding the contest. The administrators of the contest do not take responsibility for lost manuscripts. Please keep a copy.

10.   The winners will be announced in March 2014, at a public event where the winning writers are invited to read from their work.

11.   Any funds not used for administration of the contest go towards funding a Creative Writing scholarship for students transferring to UBC’s Okanagan campus from Okanagan College.

12.   Mail entries to:
Okanagan Short Story Contest
c/o Toby Wesenberg
Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, CCS 153
The University of British Columbia Okanagan
3333 University Way
Kelowna BC V1V 1V7

For more information and a list of these rules, see our website at
www.okstorycontest.org

For information about the Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre, see https://news.ok.ubc.ca/fccs/2013/10/23/eco-culture-centre-provides-ubc-with-artists-retreat/

News from © iNFOnews, 2014