Dorothy Shoemaker Literary Awards

 

 

 

The Kitchener Public Library is pleased to announce the 43rd annual
Dorothy Shoemaker Literary Awards Contest
Friday, May 1st to Tuesday, June 30th 2009.

 

 

 

The 2009 contest is now CLOSED.

 

 

 

 

 

Rules and Guidelines

 

Please read carefully.

Submissions which do not follow the Rules and Guidelines may not be accepted.

 

1. The 2009 contest officially opens Friday, May 1, 2009. Submissions received prior to May 1, 2009 will not be accepted. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, June 30, 2009.

 

 

2. Entrants may submit up to two (2) poems not to exceed 55 lines each and/or one (1) prose entry of up to 3,000 words. Submissions exceeding these limits will not be eligible.

 

 

3. Professional writers are not eligible.

 


4. * Entries will be accepted until midnight Tuesday, June 30, 2009. The number of entries we can accept is limited, so enter early.

 

 

5. Judges' decisions are final. There will be no correspondence between the judges and the entrants regarding any submissions.

 

 

6. Submissions must be submitted using the following layout:

 

Poetry
Font type & size: Arial 12
Alignment: author’s choice
Style guide: variations may be discussed with editor

 

Prose 

Font type & size: Arial 12 

Spacing: double 

Alignment: left (no indentations) Please leave a return between each paragraph.

Style guide: 2 spaces at end of sentence

 

Example:

 

“Why do I need to format my submission in the way you’ve described?” asked the author.

 

 

KPL replied, “Double-spacing makes it easier for the judges to read your submission and make notes.  Left-alignment without indentation makes it easier to format for publication.  KPL does not edit the winning entries that are published in The Changing Image, so please double-check grammar and spelling in addition to layout.”

 

 

7. Each submission must be emailed separately and completely. Entries which do not conform to the contest rules, or are incomplete, are ineligible. The following information must be included in each email:


Name:
Address:
Phone Number:
Email:
Category(prose or poetry):
Age(junior, intermediate or senior):
Title:
Microsoft Word document attached

 

Submissions must be emailed to literarycontest@kpl.org to be accepted.

 

 

8. Winning entries will be printed in the publication The Changing Image. By entering the Contest, the author is granting permission for their piece to be used by the KPL for publication and/or promotional purposes.

 

 

9. Winners will be notified by the second week of September, 2009.

 

 

10. The Awards presentation ceremony will be held at the Kitchener Public Library, 85 Queen St. N. Kitchener, on Sunday, November 8, 2009. Honourable mentions and winners will be invited, along with their family and friends to the Awards Presentation Ceremony, where excerpts of the winner's work will be read.

 

Following the presentations and readings, light refreshments will be available as well as the opportunity to purchase a copy of the 2009 The Changing Image, where all entries are printed. Copies of Mr. Pyper’s and Mr. Henderson’s books will be available for purchase (and autographing). Cheque and cash sales only.

 

 

This contest is supported by the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation.

 

* Due to the volume of entries, we accept email entries only.

 

If you do not have Internet access at home, free Internet workstations are available at all Kitchener Public Library locations.

 

 

 

 

About the Dorothy Shoemaker Literary Awards


The Awards began in 1967 as a Centennial project of the Kitchener Public Library and are named for Miss Dorothy Shoemaker, the former Chief Librarian, who was an ardent supporter of aspiring writers throughout her career.  During the 1980s, the contest was administered by the Southern Ontario Library Service and the area of participation grew to include much of South-Western Ontario. 

 

In 1996, when government cutbacks threatened the continuation of the Awards, Miss Shoemaker generously endowed the contest which she began and which was subsequently named in her honour through the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation. 

Sadly, Miss Shoemaker died on October 5, 2000 at the age of 94.  Her presence will be sorely missed, but the inspiration and encouragement she gave writers throughout the years continues through this Literary Contest.

 

Entry is FREE with $2700 in prize money available to be won in three age divisions and two categories (poetry and prose).  The contest is open to individuals in three age divisions:

Junior (12 years and younger)           
Intermediate (13 to 17 years)
Senior (18 years and older)

 

For more information, please visit our FAQ page.

 

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About the Judges

 

The poetry judge will be Brian Henderson and the prose judge will be Andrew Pyper.   

 

 

Andrew Pyper (Prose)


Andrew Pyper was born in Stratford, Ontario, and currently lives in Toronto.  His first novel, Lost Girls, was a national bestseller and won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.  Following this early success, his second novel, The Trade Mission, was selected by the Toronto Star as one of the Ten Best Books of the Year.  The Wildfire Season was published to acclaim in several countries and was selected by the Globe and Mail as a Best Book of the Year. 

Andrew's latest work is The Killing Circle, another instant bestseller, which was published simultaneously in the U.S. and United Kingdom.  Recently, the New York Times listed it as a Crime Novel of the Year.  Andrew’s books have been translated into many languages, and are currently being adapted for film.  

 Andrew Pyper

 

 

 

Brian Henderson (Poetry)


Brian Henderson is a local talent – born in Kitchener, he is currently the Director of Wilfrid Laurier University Press.  He is the author of eight collections of poetry, including a deck of visual poem-cards, The Alphamiricon.  His latest work, Nerve Language, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award for Poetry.  The Toronto Star described it as “a powerful jolt of a book... both harrowing and thought provoking.” 

 

In addition to his poetry, Brian has published articles and reviews in many literary magazines, and was the founding editor of RUNE.  His poems have appeared in several anthologies, including Twenty Canadian Poets of the Eighties, and he has been the recipient of several Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council awards.  When not working on his word images, Brian is a photographer.

Brian Henderson

 

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2009 Winners Announced!


The winners of the 2009 Dorothy Shoemaker Literary Awards Contest for Poetry and Prose have been chosen.  Winners will be presented with their awards on Sunday, November 8th  at 2:00 p.m. at the Main branch of the Kitchener Public Library.  Twenty-five poets and short-story writers will be recognized at this special presentation and receive prizes totaling $2,000.00 in this, the 42nd year of the Awards.

 

Winners were selected from hundreds of entries in three age categories: Junior (12 and under), Intermediate (13-17), and Senior (18 and older).  The contest was conducted in cooperation with numerous school boards, and public and regional library systems throughout southern Ontario, all of which actively promoted the Awards Contest.

 

2009 Winners

 

Poetry - Junior

Title

Author

First

Voices  

Julia Victoria Kuczynski

Second

Bird’s Eye View 

Claire Flanders

Third

Waiting for You

Damhnait Malone

 

Poetry - Intermediate

Title

Author

First

Forgot   

Alexandra Jones

Second

Silent Invaders

Deanna Sim 

Third

Industrial Fairytale

Shonnie Stevens

 

Poetry - Senior

Title

Author

First

Roots  

Lamees Al-Ethari

Second

West Ireland 

Patricia M. Coulter

Third

Glass Coffin

Jennifer Landry

 

 

 

 

Prose - Junior

Title

Author

First

Letting Go       

Destiny Miller

Second

A Sandwichful of Scottish Baloney   

Maya Keshav

Third

The Willow Tree

Lauren Filbey

Honourable Mention

The Greatest Adventure    

Claire C. Hallett

 

Prose - Intermediate

Title

Author

First

This is for you    

Koriiee Tuck

Second

Open the Box   

Victoria Yang

Third

The Bottom of the Bottle  

Alexandra Jones

 

Prose - Senior

Title

Author

First

Poppit Beads    

Esther Paul

Second

The Treehouse  

Brittany Smith

Third

Birds of a Feather

Kathleen Corrigan

Honourable Mention

Lonely

Sharon Gerger

Honourable Mention

Flesh Houses  

Candace J. Harrington

 

Congratulations to all our 2009 winners!

 

 

Dorothy Shoemaker Literary Awards Ceremony

 

with special guests Brian Henderson and Andrew Pyper


Celebrate the accomplishments of this year’s winners.  Prizes will be awarded and our judges will share their thoughts on the winning submissions.  Finalists will be invited to read their poems or an excerpt of their prose as part of the ceremony.


Sunday,  November 8 at 2 pm
Main Library Auditorium


Light refreshments will be served. Everyone Welcome!


Copies of Mr. Henderson’s and Mr. Pyper’s books as well as the commemorative booklet The Changing Image will be available for purchase.

 

 

 

 

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