2005 Prize Winner

The Union initiated the Short Prose Competition in 1993 in honour of its twentieth anniversary. The Competition aims to discover, encourage, and promote new writers of short prose. Entry is limited to writers who are not yet published in book format, in order to provide opportunity and exposure to developing writers.

This year, twenty-four Union members donated their time and expertise to read over 260 submissions, distilling them to a shortlist of thirteen strong entries. The final jury – Alistair MacLeod (author of fiction, master of the short story, winner of the Trillium Prize and the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for No Great Mischief), Joan Baxter (nonfiction author of A Serious Pair of Shoes, which won the Evelyn Richardson Prize for Non-fiction, and Graveyard for Dreamers, which was shortlisted for the Evelyn Richardson Book Award), and Margaret J. Florczak (author of creative nonfiction titles, including “Magic, Pure Magic", Beginnings: Stories From Canada's Past and Brothers, and Borders & Babylon, September 11th, Canadian Perspectives) – chose the following winner from the shortlist of thirteen contenders.

WINNER
"What My Mother Wanted”
by Eleanor Verbicky-Todd

The judges noted that the quality of the stories was remarkable: “While there were many very strong contenders in the thirteen finalist entries, the jurors for the TWUC Short Prose Competition for Developing Writers felt that this story was revelatory and particularly compelling. The child narrator shows rather than tells the story, and is helpless in the face of the issues confronting her. That voice did not waver. There was strong and consistent imagery, excellent foreshadowing and the story rang absolutely true from beginning to end. Jurors said they hope to be seeing more from this talented writer in the future.” (Jury)

Originally from Edmonton, Eleanor Verbicky-Todd moved to Calgary with her husband and two children in the early 1990s. She writes fiction for adults as well as for children and is currently working on an historical novel for middle readers. In 2004, her story "Espionage" was a winner in CBC Radio's "Alberta Anthology" writing contest. She is also a professional researcher.

FINALISTS
“Paternity” by Beverly Akerman, Montreal, Quebec
“Butterflies Think” by John Blackmore, Gloucester, Ontario
“Homecoming” by Wendy Brandts, Ottawa, Ontario
“The Maestro” by Nadia K. Brown, London, Ontario
“Open Loop” by Ann Cavlovic, Ottawa, Ontario
“Halima” by Sadru Jetha, Calgary, Alberta
“The Dove Girls” by Amy Jones, Halifax, Nova Scotia
“Ways to Die” by Ashley Little, Victoria, British Columbia
“Sugar in Amman” by Amal El Masri, Montreal, Quebec
“Someone Has to Cry” by Sheila McClarty, Dugald, Manitoba
“The Pilot House” by Emily Southwood, Vancouver, British Columbia
“One Moment of Silence” by Tegan Winkfield, Stratford, Ontario

READERS FOR THE COMPETITION
Diane Baker Mason, Thelma Barer-Stein, Helaine Becker, Anna Camilleri, Christine Cowley, Pauline Couture, Jim Freedman, Carolyn Gossage, Crystal Hurdle, James Jackson, Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, Simon Leigh, Anne Logan McNamara, George Payerle, J. Jill Robinson, Bill Schermbrucker, Adam Lewis Schroeder,
Eva Stachniak, Peter Unwin, Welwyn Wilton Katz, Betty Jane Wylie.


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