The Writers' Union of Canada is pleased to announce that Alison Hughes has won the thirteenth annual Writing for Children Competition, for the best story under 1,500 words, with her piece "The Late Show." The author will receive a $1,500 cash prize. In addition, the Union will submit the winning story and the other eleven finalists’ stories to four Canadian publishers of children’s literature for their consideration.

The Union initiated the Writing for Children competition to discover, encourage, and promote new writers of children’s literature. This year, twenty-four Union members donated their time and expertise to read over 800 outstanding submissions and distill them into a longlist of 115 stories. These stories went on to a second round of eighteen readers who selected the finalists to pass on to the 2009 jury: Norma Charles, Kathy-Diane Leveille, and Eric Walters.

WINNER:
"The Late Show” by Alison Hughes

The jury praised the story for having “an authentic narrative, capturing a vivid sense of time and place in a teenager's life,” and commended the “wonderful use of language and unusual images, perfect for this age level.” They also noted that it “authentically and visually portrays a brief scene – a still life played out before us as we sit in the shadows and watch.”

Alison Hughes lives in Edmonton after spending many years away in Ontario, Quebec, England, and Australia. She was awarded the gold medal in Arts for her degree in English literature, and various scholarships for her graduate degrees in law. Hughes began creative writing while staying at home with her three children. She now writes full-time, and has published magazine and newspaper articles, humour, and poetry. Her current project is a young adult novel.

FINALISTS

All the Comforts of Home, Nancy Miller
A Bicycle Story, Gabriel Shpilt
Blowing Bubbles, Kathleen Cherry
A Can of Beans, Allan Royal
Dear Terry, Ron Fromstein
Glycol Disappears, Joyce Kline
Mountain Song, Katherine Fawcett
Press Four for Francis, Catherine MacIntosh
Spaghetti Boo, Elizabeth Laswick
Troy’s Autumn into Winter Windsong, Sistahlois Jacob
Whiz Kid, Chad Lucas

READERS FOR THE COMPETITION
Meredith Andrew, Cheryl Antao-Xavier, Ray Argyle, Ann Birch, Lanny Boutin, Jill Bryant, Sean Cassidy, Jane Chartrand, Ray Conlogue, Olga M. Dey-Bergmoser, Marion Douglas, Ramabai Espinet, P.M. Foss, Kevin Marc Fournier, Lian Goodall, Crystal Hope Hurdle, Hazel J. Hutchins, John Jansen in de Wal, Monica Kulling, Anne Logan, Catherine Macleod, Anna Jean Mallinson, Mar'ce Merrell, Rich Meyrick, Stephen Miller, Susin Nielsen, Gail Nyoka, Caroline B. Parry, Sheila Pennington, Raquel Rivera, Gina Roitman, J.L. Scharf, Rene Schmidt, Ellen Schwartz, Gisela Sherman, Margie Taylor, Chieri Uegaki, Nancy Warren, Bryna Wasserman, Joyce LaVerne White, Marg Wilson, Linda Zeman-Spaleny.

FINAL JURY
Norma Charles, Kathy-Diane Leveille, and Eric Walters.

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