In January 2020, the Sable Island Institute launched its second writing contest:
Sable in Words 2020 – A Writing Contest for Youth
The contest closed on March 13th and all the submissions have been reviewed. Once again, we are delighted by the interest and enthusiasm of everyone who sent in stories and essays. The quality of the submissions has been so encouraging that we will hold the contest again next year.
The winning submissions were chosen on the basis of creativity, research and writing skills, these three criteria being equally important. It was not an easy choice as some entries had wonderful story ideas but were weak in grammar and structure, and others were very well written but lacking in research. However, the winning stories were strong in all criteria. Unfortunately, we did not receive many entries in the 15-17 years age group, and only one of the entries stood out in all criteria.
The winners in each age group are:
12 – 14 years:
Harriet Ritchie for “Ipswich, a Tragedy”
Laurie for “Perling, Horse of Sable“
15-17 years:
Fumairia for “The Mysteries She Holds“
The three winners receive a cash prize, two books about Sable Island, a set of Sable Island note cards, and a membership in the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia. One of the three memberships was most generously donated by the WFNS.
We are very grateful to Harriet, Laurie, and Fumairia for allowing us to share their work through publication in this website.
Thank you to everyone who submitted their stories to the contest. They were all interesting to read and provided some unique perspectives and insights, and some surprises. We hope everyone will consider entering again.
This being the Sable Island Institute’s second writing contest, we appreciated guidance provided by those more experienced. Special thanks to Barry Wilson, English Language Arts Consultant, Department of Education, Province of Nova Scotia, for sharing information about the contest with teachers; to Katherine Sharp, Branch Coordinator, South Shore Public Libraries, for notifying Provincial Librarians; and to Marilyn Smulders, Executive Director, and Annick MacAskill, Programming and Membership Officer, Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia.
Janet Barkhouse and Zoe Lucas
for the Sable Island Institute, April 2020
Last year’s writing contest Sable In Words 2019
Last year’s winners:
Harriet Ritchie’s “Sable Through the Eyes of a Pony”
Quleanja Laureijs’s “Sable Island—My Home!”
Last year’s special mention:
Jorja Taylor’s “A Pale Lady, Five Kids and a Missing Finger“.
