This year the Pontiac Agricultural Society has added something new in the Homecraft / Fine Arts building. Among the quilting and many other competitions, creative writing has been added to the mix.
There will be 5 classes: Fiction; Non-fiction; Science Fiction/Fantasy; Opinion/Editorial and Poetry. The main criteria is length: 2 pages or 1,000 words. The submitted entries can be completed works or excerpts from larger pieces; excerpts should be identified as (for example): “Pages 19 & 20 of 42”.
This competition is for writers in either (or both) French and English. The entries will be judged on the following criteria: readability, presentation of the idea and how one entry stacks up against another in the same class. For example, non-fiction entries will be judged against all the other non-fiction entries, regardless of the language they were written in. The person tasked to be the judge will be completely qualified to assess the quality of an entry in either language and in class. The classes will be judged and ribbons given to the top 5 entries with a small monetary prize awarded to the top 3 in each class.
I would like to arrange for a “best in show” award that is given each year to one entry that the judge considers is a clear stand out. The award would only be given if the judge determined it was earned. I am looking for a sponsor; it should be someone who has a connection to the written word. If you read this and are interested or at least want more information my contact info is below.
Anyone who wants to get a better idea on the rules related to this new competition can go to the Shawville Fair website and check out the Homecraft link on the Fairbooks page; look for section 3A. The information is available on the web site in English and French.
If anyone has any questions or would like more information the fair board can be contacted through their website. I can be contacted personally via email at: mccann.thomas.david@gmail.com or through Facebook using a private message.
I would like to challenge all of the writers in the area, shy writers, experienced print journalism writers, digital bloggers, magazine columnists and word noodlers – bring the best you have. Let’s make this as interesting as possible.
Tom McCann
Clarendon
