The wait is over, Ontario! After careful deliberation, IFOA Ontario and Open Book: Ontario are pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Write Across Ontario creative writing competition. Open to students in grades 5 to 12 across the province, entrants were asked to write a story in 500 words or less, using the story-starter provided for their age group by one of four acclaimed Canadian authors. This year, Kate Cayley provided the story-starter for grades 5–6, Farzana Doctor wrote one for grades 7–8, Matt Lennox covered grades 9–10 and James Grainger created the story-starter for grades 11–12. The story-starter was used as a place for students to begin their story, but where the story went from there was in the hands of each individual.

Entries were narrowed down by the IFOA team, and the final winners were selected by Open Book: Ontario. One winner was chosen from each age group for a total of four (4) winners, who will each receive $500 (courtesy of IFOA) and the opportunity to have their work published online in Open Book Magazine. Winners were chosen based on creativity, ability to stay within the word count, style and overall quality of the piece.

Open Book Senior Editor and Write Across Ontario judge Grace O’Connell (author of Magnified World, Random House) had this to say about the contest:

“Every year, we’re amazed by the dedication and creativity we see on display in Write Across Ontario. It’s encouraging for us as book lovers to know that the next generation of Canadian writers is already blossoming – full of exciting ideas, fantastic turns of phrase, and innovative points of view.”

Winners:

Grade 5–6: Claire Whelan, Wilkinson Jr Public School, Toronto
Grade 7–8: Kate Robertson, Herb Campbell Public School, Inglewood
Grade 9–10: Katie Cooke, Collingwood Collegiate Institute, Collingwood
Grade 11–12: Claudia Lam, St. Augustine Catholic High School, Markham

Congratulations to all of the winners and also to the entrants! We enjoyed reading your stories.

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