Youth Writing Contest

Shannon Ozirny is the Head of Youth Services at the West Vancouver Memorial Library. She has taught a children’s materials course as an adjunct at the UBC iSchool, reviewed young adult books for The Globe and Mail and contributes regularly to Quill & Quire as a feature reviewer of picture books. She has served as a juror for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Books and Odyssey audiobook awards and moderates kidlit events for the Vancouver Writers Fest and Kidsbooks.

Jamie Fong is a life-long supporter and patron of public libraries, starting his library career in high school as a student page at the Edmonton Public Library. Since 2013, he’s been a Children’s Librarian at Vancouver Public Library. He is a former committee member of the Young Readers’ Choice Awards Society of BC, home of the Red Cedar Book Awards. Fong also recently sat on the Canadian selection committee for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) third edition of The World Through Picture Books, a publication of favourite picture books recommended by librarians from around the world.

High School Winners

1st Prize winner: ‘A Final Sonata’ by Claire Hawley (Rick Hansen Secondary School in Abbottsford)

Judge’s verdict: “This short story has it all: a fresh perspective, unexpected villains, dark humour, and a pitch perfect final line. Plus lots of blood. This writer builds up so much suspense in such a short word count and the ending is just delicious.”

2nd Prize winner: ‘The Jar’ by Yolanda Zhang (Southridge School in Surrey)

Judge’s verdict: “This is such a brilliant piece of nonfiction that beautifully weaves together culture, metaphor and a young person’s desire to do their family proud. The writing is so warm, clear and resonant with vivid descriptions of food that rival some of the best culinary writers.”

Shannon Ozirny, judge of the 2022 High School Writing Contest, is the Head of Youth Services at the West Vancouver Memorial Library. This was her third year judging the high school contest and this is what she thought of this year’s submissions: “I am so grateful to the writers who took the time to submit their work this year. It was tremendously exciting to read the pieces and be reminded of all the young, local talent that will hopefully grace the Vancouver Writers Fest stages one day. Almost every genre was represented in over 200 entries and I’m confident that several of these writers have publication in their future.”

Elementary School Winners

1st Prize winner: ‘Telephone’ by Stephanie Lajara (St. Matthew’s Elementary School in Surrey)

Judge’s verdict: “Of all the entries, I kept returning to the unexpected story of this telephone and its longing to clearly hear and understand the snippets of conversations and murmurs that travel through its electrical signals. It bears witness but never fully comprehends the comings and goings of the humans communicating through it. Readers paying close attention should be able decipher the important life events being shared through the telephone. There’s a melancholic tone to the story that’s underscored by the near obsolescence of a telephone like this. I appreciated the unique perspective and applaud the author for making me feel feelings about this inanimate object!”

2nd Prize winner: ‘Takaya: The Story of a Lost Wolf’ by Eleni Blackstock (Lord Tennyson Elementary School in Vancouver)

Judge’s verdict: “This was an interesting weaving of fact and fiction, inspired by the real-life story of Takaya, a wolf who lived alone on an island across from Victoria for many years. It has the quality of a timeless fable and the author has done an impeccable job bringing Takaya’s thoughts and feelings to life. Even though I was familiar with many of the details of the true story, I was delighted by the artistic license taken in telling this story from Takaya’s own perspective and the surprising explanation of how Takaya perhaps came to be on that island.”

Jamie Fong is the 2022 Elementary School Contest judge, and the Children’s Librarian at Vancouver Public Library. He had this to say about the submissions for the Elementary contest: “Having read almost 150 entries, I’d like to thank all the students who took the time to write and share their stories. I noticed some recurring themes across multiple stories, including war, Covid, friendships, parents, school, and twins (this one surprised me). I feel privileged to have been given this glimpse into the minds of these young writers responding to and processing real-life events through creative writing. The short story can be a tricky medium since the writer has to be thoughtful and economical with their words to tell a complete story in a limited page count. I think the most effective writers find a way to creatively work within those constraints. There were many worthy entries and it was definitely a challenge to narrow it down to these two winners.”