Winners of the BDO Writing Contests

Over the past couple of months, the WCYR has hosted the annual BDO Writing Contests, culminating at the York Writers Conference, which was held from October 22 to 24, 2021. The theme of the competition was “From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary” and we had three separate divisions running, including:

• Short Story
• Glimpses: Flash Fiction
• Glimpses: Poetry

During the opening ceremonies of the conference, we announced the winners of the judged short story division. Throughout the conference, attendees were encouraged to peer-judge and select their favourite entry from each of the competitions. At the closing ceremonies, we announced the winners. Here they are:

The BDO Writing Contests Winners

Short Stories

First Place: “Silence Between Footsteps” by Kimberley Aslett

Second Place: “Renovations” by Leslie Johnstone

Third Place: “Respite in Hell” by Gloria Ferris

Honourable Mention: “My Masterpiece” by Kayla Kurin

Honourable Mention: “The Dream” by Ewa Anderson

Honourable Mention: “Survival Training” by Maria Marchese

Glimpses – Flash Fiction

First Place: “Handicapped” by Barb Bisonette
Second Place (Tied) “Splash from a Leaping Trout” by Kimberley Aslett
Second Place (Tied) “The Idea Pit” by Jeanette Paule

Honourable Mention: “Override” by Cathy Hird

Honourable Mention: “Bathroom Tiles” by Maria Marchese

Glimpses – Poetry

First Place: “I Shall be a Witch” by Barb Bissonette

Second Place: “To My Son” by Sylvia Ding

Congratulations everyone! The competition was fierce and the judges were on point, excited about the many, varied stories submitted based around our theme.

We’d also like to thank all the anonymous judges for the short story contest, who were compiled from the conference speakers, as well as from some enthusiastic past WCYR monthly seminar speakers, who are all professional writers, coaches, or publishing experts.

A special thanks to our final judge, Maria Mutch, author of the novel, Molly Falls to Earth, the short story collection, When We Were Birds, and the memoir, Know the Night, which was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Awards and the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize.

The winners and honorable mentions will receive an invitation to be involved in the WCYR No Ordinary Day not-for-profit anthology, which is planned for publication in Winter/Spring 2022. The WCYR is also opening the anthology for general submissions as a perk to members only. Click HERE for more details.

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Sprouting Your Own Green World with Paul Coccia – February 20, 1:30pm to 4:00pm