2006 Award Winner

Postcard story writing – a unique blend of prose and verse – is an emerging genre that reflects our culture’s move to dramatic images and sharp ideas in economical form. The Writers' Union of Canada initiated its inaugural Postcard Story Competition in 1999 to discover, encourage, and promote writers of fiction and nonfiction in this form. The winning entry will be printed in postcard format and will be distributed with the Union's Newsletter.

This year, seven Union members donated their time and expertise to read over 268 outstanding submissions and distill them into a longlist of twenty-eight stories. These stories went on to a second round of four readers who selected the finalists to pass on to the 2006 Jury (M.A.C. Farrant, J. Jill Robinson and Kim Kinrade).

WINNER
“Clara” by Lynn Furs (Waterdown, ON)

”The wonderful sense of pacing helps the story achieve its greatest impact in the collision of humour and embarrassment. "Clara" is a story which is well-suited to the postcard length; it reads fluidly (and includes some arresting phrases); and has a strong sense of character." (jury)

Lynn Furs went back to her childhood passion of writing four years ago with much trepidation. Every once in a while things happen that give her the courage to keep at it. The honour of winning this contest is one of them. She moved to Waterdown, Ontario a few years ago. It appears that, for her, the call to write is in the bedrock of the Escarpment.

FINALISTS
"Eulogy for a Truant" by Joanne Bealy, Salt Spring Island, BC
"Canada, the 60s" by John Blackmore, Gloucester, ON
"The Wondrous Machine" by Maureen Foss, Lac La Hache, BC
"His Tenacious Grip" by John J Gallimore, Burlington, ON
"Just Lucky, I Guess" by Andrea Johnston, Toronto, ON
"What We Knew About Clive" by Pamela Kent, Surrey, BC
"The Price of Popularity" by Shannon Kernaghan, Red Deer, AB
"Puberty With a Side Order of Menopause" by Eva Lewarne, Toronto, ON
"Out With the Tide" by Del McNulty, Surrey, BC
"The Mission" by Sheila Newell, Truro, NS
"Turning Japanese" by Julie Paul, Victoria, BC
"Ayekis" by Lisa Wilson, Saskatoon, SK

READERS FOR THE COMPETITION
John Calabro, Virginia Edwards, Keith Garebian, Lynn Harrigan,
Dorothy Joan Harris, Robert H. Jones, Loris Lesynski, Angela Kathryn Narth,
Iris Nowell, George Payerle, Mary-Lou Zeitoun.

FINAL JURY
M.A.C. Farrant, J. Jill Robinson, Kim Kinrade.

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