Ottawa Public Library announces winners of its Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest

Ottawa – The winners of this year’s Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest, which ran from December 2013 to February 2014, were announced tonight in The Chamber at Ben Franklin Place. The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) holds the contest annually, with sponsorship from the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA).

Prizes were handed out to honour Ottawa-area youth between the ages of 9 and 17 who submitted poems and/or short stories in French and/or English. Local authors Michel Lavoie, JC Sulzenko and Tudor Robins judged the submissions.

The following list, organized by writing category, includes each winner’s name, the title of their winning work, their age, their standing and the school they attend.

SHORT STORIES

Ages 9-11

1st place:

Damya Boukhtouchen (Age 9), Antina the Adventurous Ant

Elgin Street Public School

2nd place:

Daniel Barankevych (Age 10), A Noisy Winner

Regina Street Public School

3rd place:

Toby Streibel-May (Age 10), The Forgotten Person

Elgin Street Public School

Honourable Mentions:

· Catherine Tao (Age 10), Overshadowed

Woodroffe Avenue Public School

· Shiven Joshi (Age 9), The 3 Tests that changed my life

John Young Elementary School

· Bethany Rose Scherr (Age 10), The Legend of Ice Fang

Home School

Ages 12-14

1st place:

Justin Moll (Age 14), My First Words

South Carleton District High School

2nd place:

Belinda Xu (Age 13), Nobody's Home

Stephen Leacock Public School

3rd place:

Katriona Lane (Age 12), Fairy Story

MacDonald Cartier Academy

Honourable Mentions:

· Noah Zeibdawi (Age 12), The Nautilus

Greenbank Middle School

· Ava Munro (Age 12), Destined Home

Kars on the Rideau Public School

· Laura Li (Age 13), Fatty

W. Erskine Johnston Public School

Ages 15-17

1st place:

Benjamin MacLean-Max (Age 15), Desert Wolves

Glebe Collegiate Institute

2nd place:

Dian Yu (Age 17), The Universal Language

Colonel By Secondary School

3rd place:

Bethany McKinley-Young (Age 17), Summer Time

Canterbury High School

Honourable Mentions:

· Emmy Fu (Age 16), When It Rains

Lisgar Collegiate Institute

· Sonia Qin (Age 16), The Cookie Deal

Colonel By Secondary School

· Lia Codrington (Age 17), Click

Canterbury High School

POETRY

Ages 9-11

1st place:

Kaitlyn Chen (Age 10), The dreams

Farley Mowat Public School

2nd place:

Bastien MacLean-Valenzuela (Age 11), I am

Katimavik Public School

3rd place:

Sasha Hopkins (Age 11), The GIANT Cookie To: Lucy

Hopewell Avenue Public School

Honourable Mentions:

· Kate Gragg (Age 10), The Haiku

Manor Park Public School

· Julia Dolansky-Overland (Age 10), But - But - But...

Knoxdale Public School

· Fiona Christine McCallum (Age 10), New Brunswick

Elmwood School

Ages 12-14

1st place (tie):

· Kathleen McCulloch-Cop (Age 14), After I Fell For You

Canterbury High School

· Belinda Xu (Age 13), Flames to Embers

Stephen Leacock Public School

2nd place:

None awarded

3rd place:

Wayquay Rombough (Age 14), Bigger Person

Canterbury High School

Honourable Mentions:

· Irelynd Tackabury (Age 12), I am a thirteen year old girl

Goulbourn Middle School

· Isabella Crysler (Age 12), The Girl Behind the Sunglasses

Broadview Public School

· Mackenzie Huggins (Age 13), Walk in The Woods

Stephen Leacock Public School

Ages 15-17

1st place:

Madeline Cuillerier (Age 15), The Girl In The Mirror

Colonel By Secondary School

2nd place:

Kayla Rain (Age 16), (Gina thinks we are forever)

John McCrae Secondary School

3rd place:

Erin Jackson (Age15), After the lightning

Canterbury High School

Honourable Mentions:

· Lia Codrington (Age 17), Starting Fresh

Canterbury High School

· Kate Yeadon (Age 15), Explanations

Canterbury High School

· Sarah McNeely (Age 16), My Body

St. Peters Catholic High School

NOUVELLES

9-11 ans

1er prix:

Yasmine Zemni (11 ans), La vengeance d'une coccinelle

École élémentaire publique Séraphin-Marion

2e prix:

Irène Stripinis (11 ans), Pyramide disparue

École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Geneviève

3e prix:

Aucun remis

12-14 ans

1er prix:

Zoé Roy-Stang (12 ans), Le royaume de El' Mano

École élémentaire catholique l'Étoile de l'Est

2e prix:

Lea Papillon (13 ans), La revanche du clone

École secondaire publique De la Salle

3e prix:

Aucun remis

15-17 ans

1er prix :

Daniela Gonzalez Carrion (15 ans), Ce jour

École secondaire publique De la Salle

2e prix :

Sophie Bergeron (15 ans), Songe

École élémentaire publique Gisèle-Lalonde

3e prix :

Aucun remis

POÉSIE

9-11 ans

1er prix :

Charles Veilleux (11 ans), Le monde parallèle

École élémentaire catholique Terre-des-Jeunes

2e prix:

Mathis Hurens-Barrette (9 ans), Je tourne en rond

École élémentaire catholique Notre-Dame-des-Champs

3e prix: Aucun remis

12-14 ans

1er prix:

Chloé Baroody (12 ans), Éternité

Lycée Claudel School

2e prix :

Elise Boukhtouchen (12 ans), Le Cycle des Saisons

Glashan Public School

3e prix :

Melisa Eraslan (12 ans), Une Cascade D'espoirs Perdus

École élémentaire publique Kanata

15-17 ans

1er prix :

Daniela Gonzalez Carrion (15 ans), Un chapitre dans la vie d’un livre

École secondaire publique De la Salle

2e prix :

Angelica Kalubiaka (15 ans), Mourir en silence...

Collège catholique Samuel-Genest

3e prix :

Michelle Veilleux (16 ans), Ces choses qu'on ne dit pas

Collège catholique Franco-Ouest

Mention honorable :

· Camille Richard (16 ans), Danse

École secondaire publique De la Salle

· Danielle Eyer (16 ans), Juliette

École secondaire de l'Île

The winners’ works will be included this fall in pot-pourri, an anthology of short stories and poems published by FOPLA. To pre-order a copy of pot-pourri, call 613-580-2424 ext.14383.

For more information visit www.BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca or contact InfoService at 613-580-2940 or InfoService@BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca.

OPL is the largest bilingual library system in North America. Serving over 900,000 residents, OPL helps build a strong, vibrant and sustainable community by supporting literacy and life-long learning, fostering inspiration and enjoyment, and connecting people to each other and the world.

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