FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 7, 2001

The Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia is proud to announce the winners of the 24th annual Atlantic Writing Competition. Nineteen judges juggled 275 entries in five categories - novel, magazine article/essay, writing for children, poetry and short story.

The Awards will be formally presented at a Gala Celebration of Writers & Writing on Saturday, 31 March at 7:30 pm, at The Church, 5657 North Street, Halifax. Readings by first place winners will highlight the evening, which will be rounded out with the annual Silly Silent Auction of Literary Lunacy. The bookish bash of the season brings together writers, publishers, booksellers, family, friends and all interested members of the public to listen, applaud, meet, mingle, gossip and bid. Auction items range from the silly - a decade's supply of paper - to the sublime - one of the 60 limited edition, hand-printed copies of George Elliott Clarke's Execution Poems - as well as bags and boxes and bundles of books. All interested members of the public are invited to attend.

The Atlantic Writing Competition is unique: it is the only general writing competition in Canada that offers constructive feedback to every entrant. In this way, the Fed has encouraged Atlantic Canadian writers for more than twenty years to explore their talents by sending in new, unpublished work. Many of the winners have entered previously, often working their way from honourable mention to first place.

The winners are:

The H.R. (Bill) Percy Prize for unpublished novel

First: Ian Colford (Halifax NS)
Second: Jonathan Campbell (Berwick NS)
Third: Ron Ormston (Beaverbank NS)
Honourable Mentions: Marcia Harding (Liverpool NS)
         Adele Megann (Halifax NS)

Magazine Article/Essay

First: Shandi Mitchell (Wellington NS)
Second: Isabel Blackmore (Gander NF)
Third: Shane Neilson (Oromocto NB)
Honourable Mentions: Tricia Doyle (Sydney NS)
         Rita Glen (Lunenburg NS)

The Joyce Barkhouse Writing for Children Prize

First: Anne Kelly (Dartmouth NS)
Second: Margaret Angus (Dartmouth NS)
Third: Lianne Perry (Shelburne NS)
Honourable Mentions: Jaclene Schofield (Lower Wedgeport NS)
         Patricia Wilson (Sheet Harbour NS)

The Frog Hollow Books Poetry Prize

First: Jane Elizabeth Ledwell (Charlottetown PEI)
Second: Lara Hazelton (Halifax NS)
Third: Kelly Marie Redcliffe (Canning NS)

Short Story

First: Jane Elizabeth Ledwell (Charlottetown PEI)
Second: Beverley Morash (Dartmouth NS)
Third: Beth Ryan (St. John's NF)
Honourable Mentions: Kathleen Knowles (Middle Cove NF)
         Joyce Simpson (Charlottetown PEI)
         Abby Whidden (Wolfville NS)

WFNS extends its warmest congratulations to all participants in this year's competition. The deadline for the next competition is August 3, 2001.

For further information, biographies of winning writers, and/or photographs of first place winners, please contact:
Jane Buss, Executive Director, WFNS
or Joanne Merriam, Executive Assistant, WFNS
(902) 423-8116
http://www.writers.ns.ca/pr7mar01.html

2000 Atlantic Writing Competition Winners: Bios

Downloadable pictures of first place winners are available at the bottom of this press release.

The winners of The H.R. (Bill) Percy Prize for unpublished novel are:

First place: Ian Colford of Halifax, Nova Scotia for "Sophie's Blood" Ian Colford served on the WFNS executive for five years and as president in 1997/98. From 1995 to 1998, he and his wife Collette managed and edited the journal Pottersfield Portfolio. Since 1997, his work has received three Canada Council grants. He has completed four fiction manuscripts - two story collections and two novels - of which Sophie's Blood is the latest. In 1998 his story "The Reason for the Dream" was one of three shortlisted for the Journey Prize. He works as a reference librarian at the Killam Library at Dalhousie University.

Second place: Jonathan Campbell of Berwick, Nova Scotia for "Tarcadia"

Raised in Sydney, Jonathan lives in the Annapolis Valley and attends Dalhousie University as a graduate student in English. A finalist in The Writers' Union of Canada's 2000 Short Prose Competition for Developing Writers, he is also a playwright with productions by UCCB's Playhouse Theatre and Acadia Theatre Company. Three of his short dramas have been produced by CBC Television. Last year, he won this prize for a different novel.

Third place: Ron Ormston of Beaverbank, Nova Scotia for "Bishop Sacrifice"

Ron Ormston is a freelance writer, editor, researcher, proofreader and digital restoration/preservation artist working out of his home on the shores of beautiful Tucker Lake where he lives with his wife and two dogs. He is a regular contributor of corrected errata to the Oxford English Dictionary 3 project. An inveterate globe-trotter, Ron flavours his fiction with the belief that life is best lived on the cutting edge where cultures intersect.

Honourable Mention: Marcia Harding of Liverpool, Nova Scotia for "Sable's Spirit"

Inspired by her love of the sea, Marcia Harding portrays the spirit of life on Sable Island during the days of sail. A wife, mother and teacher, she enjoys walks on the beach near her home with her husband and Lab dogs. Last year, she received an honourable mention in the short story category.

Honourable Mention: Adele Megann of Halifax, Nova Scotia for "Something Else"

Adele Megann is a Newfoundlander who recently moved to Halifax after living for many years in Calgary. Her short fiction has appeared in several magazines and anthologies, including Gaspereau Review and Pottersfield Portfolio. As a participant in the Writers in the Schools program, Adele has enjoyed meeting young people around the province, and has given over twenty-five public readings in addition to her school visits. As a day job, she works for a private educational agency.

The winners of the Magazine Article/Essay category are:

First place: Shandi Mitchell of Wellington, Nova Scotia for "102A Street" Two years ago Shandi left the hectic life of feature film producer and first assistant director to commit herself to writing and directing. Her half-hour script "Baba's House" received the Atlantic Film Festival/CBC 2000 Script Development Award and her feature script "The Unhinging of Wings" was recently workshopped with Atom Egoyan, Jerry Podeswa and Amnon Buchbinder. She is encouraged by her two cats, one dog, cheering friends, family and patron husband, Alan.

Second place: Isabel Blackmore of Gander, Newfoundland for "Tongues and Common Sense"

For more than fifty years, Isabel Blackmore has been involved in diverse volunteer charitable and community organizations in Newfoundland, including the Women's Institute, the provincial Art Gallery Board, the Canadian Ladies Amateur Radio Association, the Hearing Aid Association and the Catholic Women's League. For the past fifteen years, she has been a commentator on Gander's CBC station.

Third place: Shane Neilson of Oromocto, New Brunswick for "Needle in an Ocean"

Shane Neilson is a New Brunswicker who writes as much as he can. This piece also won second place in last year's Writers' Federation of New Brunswick Literary Competition. Shane also placed second in Dalhousie University's Claire Fooshee Prize last year, and in 1999 he won the poetry category of the Canadian Publishers Association Literary Awards.

Honourable Mention: Tricia Doyle of Sydney, Nova Scotia for "High School Confidential"

Tricia Doyle is a grade twelve student in the International Baccalaureate program at Sydney Academy. She writes a bi-weekly column for her school in a Cape Breton sports paper, and divides her time among school, extracurricular activities, athletics and volunteer work.

Honourable Mention: Rita Glen of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia for "Bob Dylan in Our House"

Rita Glen lives in Lunenburg with her husband and three daughters. A stay-at-home mother for the past thirteen years, her accomplishments are many, varied and largely unremunerated. She has been writing essays to amuse her family and friends for a number of years, but this is her first attempt to reach a wider audience.

The winners of The Joyce Barkhouse Writing for Children Prize are:

First place: Anne Kelly of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia for "Return to Acadia" Even as a child, Anne had three passions: teaching, writing and history. She currently teaches English as a Second Language to adults, and has combined her love of writing and history to create Return to Acadia. This novel grew out of the short story, "Jacques' Escape," which won second prize in this category in 1989. Anne recently co-authored Adjusting Our Sails, a resource guide for community organizations working with immigrant children. She lives in Dartmouth with her husband and four children.

Second place: Margaret Angus of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia for "A Celebration of Silliness"

Born in Berwick and a long-time resident of Dartmouth, Margaret graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1995, and went on to pursue a Bachelor of Education at Mount Saint Vincent University. In addition to writing for children, she spends her leisure time volunteering for the SPCA and helping to organize the Community of Writers retreat.

Third place: Lianne Perry of Shelburne, Nova Scotia for "Queen of Cumberdone Bligh"

Lianne has been writing since she was eleven years old. She lives in Shelburne with her three year old daughter, Abygael, who is the inspiration for most of her writing and her toughest critic. With several writing projects on the go, she hopes to be published by the end of the year.

Honourable Mention: Jaclene Schofield of Lower Wedgeport, Nova Scotia for "The Journey"

Born and raised a bush baby in northern Saskatchewan, Jaclene has worked in the health care field all her adult life. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Prince Edward Island and attended massage school in Virginia. She has run her own massage practice for the past eleven years. In 1997, she won second prize in this category. She is a co-founder and member of the Write Away group in Yarmouth and a member of the South Shore Literary Club.

Honourable Mention: Patricia Wilson of Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia for "Sea Secret"

Pat supports her writing habit with her other avocation: public speaking. Known for her down-to-earth style, humourous delivery and remarkable candor, she delivers keynotes and seminars around the world, from Manila to London, from New York to Vancouver. The author of seven humourous non-fiction books published by The Upper Room and two business books about change and empowerment, and editor of numerous corporate publications, she runs a successful training company and writes in the empty nest she shares with her husband Gerald, two cats and a dog.

The winners of The Frog Hollow Books Poetry Prize are:

First place: Jane Elizabeth Ledwell of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for "What Keeps Me Here" Jane Ledwell was born on Prince Edward Island, lives there on purpose and loves it ferociously. She left briefly to study English at Mount Allison University and then at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Jane works at the University of Prince Edward Island with the Institute of Island Studies and teaches part-time in the Department of English. She also does freelance work with Acorn Press, writes profiles for The Buzz and last year contributed to and was publishing coordinator for First Hand, a history of women's contributions to PEI arts and culture. She lives in Charlottetown in a snug house with a yellow kitchen.

Second place: Lara Hazelton of Halifax, Nova Scotia for "Unsettled Sky"

Lara Hazelton is a Halifax writer whose essays have appeared in medical publications like The Medical Post and Stitches Magazine. In the past year, she has broken out of the medical writing genre to publish an essay in Geist Magazine and a short story in Zygote. Approximately twenty years ago, she placed third in this competition with a collection of children's poems. Last year, after a hiatus of nearly two decades, she placed second in the magazine article category.

Third place: Kelly Marie Redcliffe of Canning, Nova Scotia for "Leaning Into It"

Kelly works as a tour manager for Two Planks and a Passion Theatre and as a freelance magazine writer. Raised in Sudbury, Ontario, her military career brought her to Nova Scotia, where she turned in her uniform and rediscovered her dream to write. Her essays have appeared in The Globe & Mail and Canadian Living, and have aired on CBC Radio.

The winners of the Short Story category are:

First place: Jane Elizabeth Ledwell of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for "Boxes"

See above: first place in Poetry. Wow!

Second place: Beverley Morash of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia for "The Warranty"

A lifelong resident of Dartmouth, Beverley Morash attended three creative writing courses in 1998 and 1999, inspired by a love of books and an introduction to journal writing. Retired and living with her husband, her main interest is writing short stories.

Third place: Beth Ryan of St. John's, Newfoundland for "The Patron Saint of Hitchhikers"

Beth has always made her living through writing, working both in journalism and communications. Five years ago, she joined a writing collective in her home town of St. John's and started writing fiction. She has read her stories on CBC Radio, earned an honourable mention from Newfoundland's Arts and Letters Competition, and published a story in the Hearts Larry Broke anthology. Beth reviews local books for CBC Radio in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Honourable Mention: Kathleen Knowles of Middle Cove, Newfoundland for "Choices"

Kathleen Knowles lives in Middle Cove, where she teaches instrumental music in four local schools. Her primary time for writing occurs during the summer months and on those snow days that Newfoundland has so frequently enjoyed this winter. This is the third time she's received an honourable mention in the Atlantic Writing Competition. Her collection of personal essays, A Rock And A Hard Place, was published by Creative Publishers of St. John's.

Honourable Mention: Joyce Simpson of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for "Anna's Hat"

After twenty years in financial institutions, Joyce received her RN diploma and spent ten years nursing - then decided to give her third career, writing, a try. A volunteer with Island Hospice Association, she has lived all of her life in Charlottetown, and has traveled to the Caribbean, Japan and Europe.

Honourable Mention: Abby Whidden of Wolfville, Nova Scotia for "Damsel in Distress: A Victorian Fairy-Tale"

Abby grew up on a honey farm in Greenwich, Nova Scotia, and will be graduating this spring from Acadia University with a degree in English. The Acadia Theatre Company produced her one act play, "Mates," as part of Minifest 2001. She is a student editor of estuary: Acadia's Creative Arts Magazine.

Downloadable photos of first place winners

Right click on the link provided and select, "Save Target As". Contact WFNS if you have any difficulty downloading a file, at talk@writers.ns.ca, and we will email it to you.

Ian Colford: Colour photo icolfordc.tif (135 K); Black and white photo icolfordbw.tif (142 K; please credit Wendy McInnis, Dal News, for this black and white photo)
Anne Kelly: Colour photo akellyc.tif (309 K); Black and white photo akellybw.tif (116 K)
Jane Ledwell: Colour photo jledwellc.tif (111 K); Black and white photo jledwellbw.tif (40 K)
Shandi Mitchell: Colour photo smitchellc.tif (126 K); Black and white photo smitchellbw.tif (46 K)