Announcing the Winners of our 28th Annual Literary Contest

Congratulations to the winners of our 28th annual literary contest!

The winner of our Short Fiction prize is Ahmad Danny Ramadan for "My Name is Bridge." Our judge Carrianne Leung says, "Through lyrical story-telling, the author weaves together magic, myth and maternal love to describe women finding their power even as they struggle against the patriarchal powers that try to contain them. 'My Name is Bridge' is full of striking images and poetic prose to draw this poignant story of intergenerational love between women." The two honourable mentions are Michael Maitland's "The Rabbit" and Jacqueline Mastin's "Telling Lives."

The winner of our Ralph Gustafson Prize for Best Poem is Kim Trainor for "Paper Birch." Judge Phil Hall says, "This is an epistolary & braided poem that catches recent crises, scientific language, internet calls, & metaphor — all in its confident weave. Here is a passionate poem about interconnectedness & precariousness — skin & paper & bark as one." Judge Nyla Matuk adds, "This poem renders the last embers of a relationship, or a longing from a distance, into a meditation on the materiality of disappearing nature. The metaphor is beautifully spun out along the entire length of the poem and the language has the speaker finding a familiar but beautifully observed egotistical sublime." The two honourable mentions are Nolan Natasha's "Wingspan" and Alycia Pirmohamed's "Avian Circulatory System."

The winning stories and poems will appear in our Spring issue, no. 279, due back from the printer soon!

Thank you again to all writers who entered. And thanks again to our judges Carianne Leung, Phil Hall, Claire Kelly, and Nyla Matuk!