Congratulations to our 2024 Writing Contest writers!
Click the links below to read the winning prose and poetry submissions.
Prose
First Place
by Suhaa Sheikh
Suhaa Sheikh is a writer of short stories, a fervent fan of insects, and a collector of shiny things. They primarily write in the surrealist, New Weird, and horror genres, with an emphasis on the natural world and environmental anxieties. At any given moment, you can probably find them on their 3rd cup of coffee.
Second Place
The Silk-Cotton-Tree, opens a new window
by Khadijah Jabari
Khadijah Jabari is a writer who claims Toronto origins despite spending the last 18 years of her life living as North as Barrie & as East as Kingston. She is a U of T alum studying English literature with an Afro-centric focus and French. When she isn’t at the computer behind the fluffy behind of her orange cat Tanji she can be found at anime conventions or in pottery studios. She is a middle school teacher who enjoys getting her students to let their creativity blossom while exploring social justice issues. Her work brings fantasy to life for the readers who have typically been left behind.
Third Place
Little Boy in a Dress, opens a new window
by Nathan Stevenson
Nathan is just starting a journey in the writing community. Nathan is also an artist and has been for a while, and can be found drawing, reading, listening to music or working on a personal writing project.
Honourable Mentions
by N.E. Rule
N.E. Rule attended Metropolitan Toronto University for both creative writing and business communications. Her writing portfolio includes software specs, marketing copy, and training materials; however, her passion is fiction. Readers Digest, Black Hare Press, Blank Spaces, and Off Topic Publishing are some publishers who have kindly accepted her work for inclusion in their anthologies. To access her work visit nerule.com
Alone No More, opens a new window
by Purabi Sinha Das
Purabi Sinha Das is the author of three books. What Will It Be This Time, a collection of personal essays, explores an immigrant’s life unfolding in a new country that can be daunting yet exhilarating. Her early nineteenth century set in India debut novel Moonlight-The Journey Begins shines a light on female bravery amidst heavy odds. Twenty Two For 22, a collection of stories, poetry, magical travel vignettes upholds hope through adversity. Purabi earned her Honours BA in English literature from Ranchi University, India. Connect with Purabi at www.purabisinhadas.com
Poetry
First Place
Black Paws , opens a new window
by Khadijah Jabari
Khadijah Jabari is a writer who claims Toronto origins despite spending the last 18 years of her life living as North as Barrie & as East as Kingston. She is a U of T alumni studying English literature with an Afro-centric focus and French. When she isn’t at the computer behind the fluffy behind of her orange cat Tanji she can be found at anime conventions or in pottery studios. She is a middle school teacher who enjoys getting her students to let their creativity blossom while exploring social justice issues. Her work brings fantasy to life for the readers who have typically been left behind.
Second Place
Dead Canary, opens a new window
by Samantha Woods
Sam is a full time janitor, perpetual student, lifelong writer, avid reader and lover of all things creative.
Third Place
And This is the End, opens a new window
by Sara Ghasemi
Sara has always loved writing, but would not consider themself a writer. This particular piece is a story of an older sibling who wished to disappear, but when time comes to collect their bet, they realize that this was not what they wanted.
Honourable Mentions
Grief, Hope and Negligence, opens a new window
by Bithiah Simon
Bithiah Simon is your local wandering artist figuring things out one day at a time. She enjoys painting, writing poetry, and learning other avenues of creativity. If interested, here is her Substack where she posts other pieces of her work: https://substack.com/@bithiahwrites?r=4p7qnn
Silly Romance, opens a new window
by Wayne Wong
Wayne Wong was an orphan, has been married for close to 40 years & has two of the best daughters you could ask for. Wayne considers himself to be a very lucky man, to have been adopted when he was 4 years old to a wonderful mother & father that he had until he was 19 & 20 when he lost both to cancer. He also saw the Leafs win 4 Stanley cups!
It's never too early to plan for 2025!
Check out our Writing Contest Submission Guidelines below:
Submission Guidelines:
Poetry
- You may submit only ONE (1) poem for consideration.
- Please do not submit anything longer than 100 lines.
Prose
- You may submit ONE (1) prose piece for consideration.
- Please do not submit anything longer than five (5) pages double-spaced.
- Prose can be fiction or creative non-fiction. Please note that we cannot accept journalistic pieces.
You may submit one piece in each category (one poem and one short story). Please submit your work as a Word document (.doc or .docx) in a legible font (Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri etc.).
Please include a brief third-person biography (100 words maximum) along with your submission; feel free to include any information you’d like to be shared!
By submitting to the Pickering Public Library’s Writing Contest, you consent to having your work temporarily featured on our website and social media. All writers retain the rights to their work, accepted or otherwise.
We will not accept any work that in any way inflicts harm upon marginalized groups. Do not submit work that is racist, homophobic, misogynistic, ableist, ageist, or transphobic, it will be rejected immediately.