Guess what happened during the Intermission of Festival 2015...! (Hint: Think "writing contest")

Festival 2015 was a huge success - but so was our annual writing contest, and we had an opportunity to recognize and honour our winners during the Intermission (to great applause from audience and authors!)

The results of this year's contest can be found here: 2015 EWF Short Story Contest Winners

Contest Chair Jean Mills with Anna Armstrong, who won an
Honourable Mentionin the Adult category for her story "To the Island and Back"
(Photo Dale Mills)

Melanie Scott is presented with Second Prize in the Adult category
for her story "The Surrogate"
(Photo Dale Mills)

But that list doesn't begin to describe the excitement - and sometimes astonishment! - of the accomplished writers whose stories were selected by our panels of judges.

And speaking of judges, let's take a moment to acknowledge their efforts in reading, considering and selecting the winners. They told me judging was a real challenge because of the many excellent stories to choose from.

The incredible line-up of judges this year included Kitchener-Waterloo writers Sharon Blomfield, whose travel articles have appeared in many Canadian and international publications, Lisa MacColl, a busy freelancer and blogger, and Heather Wright, author of a series of fantasy novels for kids as well as three writing guidebooks, including Writing Fiction: A Hands-On Guide for Teens. Also among the judges were Guelph’s Kira Vermond, whose books for young readers, The Secret Life of Money and Growing up Inside and Out were nominated for the OLA’s Red Maple award; short story author LisaMcLean; Guelph poet and author Bieke Stengos; playwright and author Heather Debling; Wellington Advertiser award-winning columnist Kelly Waterhouse; and Fergus’s Lisa Dalrymple, author of the children’s picture book Skink on the Brink. 

Oh yes - and let's not forget another valuable member of our judging panel: 2015 Elora Writers' Festival author Barbara Kyle!

Our sponsors also deserve a round of applause. The Elora Arts Council has sponsored our Teen writing category for many years, an indication of how much creative writing matters to our local arts community and its leaders. And every year, the Community Resource Centre of North and Centre Wellington shows its support for youth literacy and creativity by sponsoring our Youth category. We are grateful for the generosity and support from these two organizations.

In the week before the Festival, I had the opportunity to visit a school in Waterloo Region to meet three young writers who had won prizes in the Youth category. Yes, three writers from one school, all in the top five!

And in the week after the Festival, a teacher at another school contacted me to ask if her class could read the winning entries - so that they could have a better idea of what to work on for next year's contest. (After receiving approval from some of the winning writers, I sent those stories along. One teacher who helped facilitate the process said: "The girls were beaming with pride!")

Creative writing is important. That's what our little contest is all about. Thanks to everyone who contributed in some way - writers, teachers, parents, judges and those of you who applauded so enthusiastically while the winners were announced and prizes presented. 

Stay tuned for news of our 2016 contest!

Wake up! The EWF Short Story Contest deadline has been extended!

Source images: Wallpaper-Zoom and photos-of

If you’re just coming out of hibernation and are worried that the 2014 EWF Short Story Contest deadline is too tight – relax!
     Spring has been so long in coming, our internal calendars are fried... or maybe frozen. It still feels like winter and the thought of getting something written in time for the Short Story Contest deadline was probably way down on your list of things to do -- somewhere closer to getting the lawnmower out; or going outside without a hat and gloves...
     So here's your second chance!
     As long as your entry is in the mail by Thursday, April 17, you can still submit your story on the theme “Home” to our annual contest. The judges are ready, and our wonderful sponsors – the Elora Arts Council, the Community Resource Centre of North and Centre Wellington, and the Writer’s Life blog – are waiting to award prizes to the best short stories in the Adult, Teen and Youth categories.

Check out the Elora Writers’ Festival blog site for details.

Coming soon...

A word from our judges. Four of our contest judges share what they look for in a story.
Questions? Feel free to contact Contest Chair, Jean Mills at: ewfwritingcontest@gmail.com

EWF Short Story Contest – Deadline nearly here!

The submission deadline is fast approaching for the 2014 EWF Short Story Contest – it’s April 4, April 17 a much earlier deadline than our previous writing competitions – so we encourage local writers to follow the advice of Mary Heaton Vorse, who said:
“The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.”

The link EWF Short Story Contest 2014 will give you all the details, but in brief, here’s what you need to know:

• Three categories (Adult 20+, Teen 15-19, Youth 14-under)

• One entry fee (Adults only, $15)

• Local writers (Wellington, Waterloo, Dufferin, Grey-Bruce, Halton, Hamilton-Wentworth counties/regions) 

•  Theme: Home (whatever that means to you – a place? a person? the name of your cat…?)

• And finally - Prizes! 

Send your submissions to:

EWF Short Story Contest

c/o Elora Arts Council

 Box 3084

 Elora ON N0B 1S0 

... by April 4, 2014.

Need more information?

Feel free to contact the Contest Chair, Jean Mills, at:

 EWFwritingcontest@gmail.com

The EWF Writing Competition: We’re taking a break

"Thanks to all those writers who have contributed in the past to the EWF Writing Competition. In case you’ve been wondering why you haven’t seen any information about entering the contest this year, here's the scoop: we're taking a break.
     Our writing contest has slowly been taking on a life of its own, growing to include eight categories - poetry and prose for four age groups - which all need judging, prizes, presentations, marketing and more. The administrative duties have grown, as have the expenses in postage, prizes and volunteer time. The organizing committee has decided to streamline the entire Festival this year, and we're putting any sponsorship money towards the Festival itself, which is, after all, where the focus should be.
     The increasingly unwieldy contest needs a renewal, and this just isn't the year to do it. We've decided to step back, take a break, and find a new Chair or (I hope) Chairs/committee to re-invent the writing contest for our 20th Anniversary next season.
     Writers of all ages – and the teachers and parents who have supported our young writers, especially – we thank you for your efforts and contribution. Please don't run away! The new Contest Chair(s) will be reaching out to you next year.
     As the outgoing Contest Chair, I very much appreciate the contribution you have made to the EWF Writing Competition and the support you've given me in my role over the past six years. Stay tuned – and keep on writing!"
— Jean Mills, Contest Chair

This year the Elora Writers' Festival will bring a more accessible tone to an event that is already renown for its intimacy. In previous years we have allowed attendees to purchase a value-added, DINNER ticket that provided for a reception and sit-down meal with our six authors.
     This year every member of the audience will get to break bread, clink a glass and "schmooze" with the authors.
     So join us on Sunday, May 26 and top off a relaxing afternoon of readings by six of Canada's finest authors with an informal reception; replete with appetizers, rollicking conversation and fine Canadian wine.

For more information about the 2013 Elora Writers' Festival go here...

For information about another competition go here...

“The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.” — Mary Heaton Vorse

From: Emilialua

If you’re a writer – or you want to be – then the time has come to adopt 20th century American writer Mary Heaton Vorse’s credo as your own because, yes, it’s writing contest season.
     Start thinking about this year’s contest theme: "A Journey." Let your imagination wander. Feel the creative energy start to flow. Then apply the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair, and write!
     Enter your short story (1500 words maximum) or poem (75 lines maximum) in the 2012 Elora Writers’ Festival Writing Competition by Friday, April 27.

You can find entry details on the contest flyer here...
and a list of Frequently Asked Questions here...

Go to a related article here...

Questions? Contact Contest Chair, Jean Mills, at jrmills@rogers.com

One Step, One Word at a Time...

Photo: Tristan Mills (Tombstone Territorial Park, 2010)

Once more it's time to take advantage of the blank page we call the "New Year" and resolve to take all those scraps of thoughts and snippets of ideas that we know, deep in our souls, will one day turn into poems or short stories and commit them to paper.
     The 9th annual Elora Writers' Festival Writing Competition is up and running—so you now have a deadline to aim for: Friday, April 27, 2012. The theme of this year's competition is "A Journey."
     On your mark, get set, go...

     Have you had trouble accessing contest information? We've fixed it: find the links to all the info you need here... at Writer's Life, the blog of Contest Chair, Jean Mills.

     For tips on taking that first step go here...
  
     And here are some other articles that might help you get going: Start by starting... ; And now a word from our Judges... ; The Job of Writing; and "You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind." — Author Unknown

For information about the 2013 competition, go here...

          If you have even more questions, contact our Competition Chair Jean Mills at jrmills@rogers.com

Pictures from our Young Writers Contest Event at 11:00 A.M. on May 29

Young Writers Contest Coordinator Jean Mills with Christopher Davis,
winner of an Honourable Mention in the Junior Prose category

Young Writers Contest judges Kira Vermond (on left) and Heather Wright
(third from left) with a clutch of avid writers