The Writers' Union of Canada is pleased to announce that Heather Roske has won the 10th annual Postcard Story Competition, for the best story under 250 words, with her piece "A.M. Care." It will be printed in the Union's newsletter, Write, with the author receiving a $500 cash prize.

The Union initiated its inaugural Postcard Story Competition in 1999 to discover, encourage, and promote writers of fiction and nonfiction in this form. This year, twenty-two Union members donated their time and expertise to read 966 outstanding submissions and distill them into a longlist of 111 stories. These stories went on to a second round of twenty-three readers who selected the finalists to pass on to the 2009 jury.

WINNER: "A.M. Care” by Heather Roske

The jury noted that “‘A.M. Care’ captures a vivid and powerful moment in the life of a senior in a nursing home. In only a few words, the author brings the reader face to face with the somewhat pathetic and harsh experiences of a man trapped by old age.” They also remarked that it “possesses a spirit of unfailing honesty. One cannot help but feel a suffocating attachment to Victor,” and that “the reader empathizes with this feisty character and feels the cruel indifference he feels.”

Heather Roske, a former Journeyman Graphic Artist, presently works part-time in the health care system and farms with her husband and two children near Southey, Saskatchewan. Long hours in the grain truck often lead to ideas for her fiction, which has been published in newspapers and magazines. She is currently working on several short stories as well as two novels for young adults.

FINALISTS

"Afternoon Visit to the Nursing Home/What I Bring” by Colette Maitland
"Child’s Play (Connect the Dots)" by Laura D’Amelio
"Drowning in Silence" by Amanda Rose
"Found Lost" by Edward Brown
"Let’s Get On With It" by Susan Di Laudo
"Mrs. Popescu’s New Hat" by Birgit Elston
"The Orange Bib" by Terry Lynn Johnson
"The Other Side" by M. Michelle Paradis
"Sour Cherry Regrets" by Maria vandenBosch
"The Tin Snips" by Pearl Myers
“True Love” by Marina Reed

READERS FOR THE COMPETITION
Judy Andrekson, George Anthony, Don Atkinson, Clayton Bailey, Yvonne Blackwood, Kathy Buckworth, Bradd Burningham, C.J. Carmichael, David Creighton, Betty Cullen, Beverley Daurio, Soraya Erian, Ann Farrell, Nancy Graham, Margot Griffin, Sue Harper, Pauline Holdstock, Maryann Kovalski, Monica Kulling, Ruth Latta, Kathy-Diane Leveille, Anne Logan, Paul Mackan, Anna Jean Mallinson, Anne Metikosh, Eleanor Millard,
Stephen Miller, Tololwa M. Mollel, Michael Mortensen, Mahtab Narsimhan, Iris Nowell, Lisa Pasold, Kelly-Anne Riess, Holley Rubinsky, Ahmad Saidullah, Bill Schermbrucker, Rene Schmidt, John Scully, Deborah Seed, Pamela Sleeth, Debbie Spring, Olga Dey-Bergmoser Thompson, Molly Anne Warring, Frank Westcott, Marg Wilson.

FINAL JURY
Anthony De Sa, Sylvia Gunnery, and Allan Levine.

The Writers' Union of Canada is our country's national organization representing professional authors of books. 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.

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For additional information:
Nancy MacLeod, Competitions Coordinator
The Writers’ Union of Canada
416-703-8982 Ext. 226
competitions@writersunion.ca