Students from Summerland Secondary School participated in the school鈥檚 writing contest on May 1, in the school library.
A total of 13 students, from Grades 10 to 12, participated in what is hoped to become an annual event.
The contest began with Adam Lewis Schroeder, creative writing instructor at University of British Columbia 鈥� Okanagan, providing students with tips and leading them through a story starter activity.
The students then spent the next two and a half hours crafting their first drafts.
Students then had the opportunity to share their ideas, update fellow participants on their progress and reflect on the direction of their stories.
Alison Braid-Fernandez, a former Summerland Secondary School graduate and a published writer, along with Jeremy Beaulne, Okanagan College English instructor and Schroeder, took participants through the editing process.
Each of the three mentor writers provided students with editing advice. Students then received a one-on-one editing session with members of the Summerland Secondary School English department.
The students then edited and polished their final drafts. The submissions were judged by the three mentor writers.
Julianna Tkachuk鈥檚 submission, God loves Michael + Francis, was selected as the winning story. The judges appreciated how she took a small, everyday encounter, and created a richly layered story with believable and compelling characters. It was the story that stayed with them long after reading it.
Lily Adamson鈥檚 story, Smoking Kills, received runner-up honours. The judges were impressed by her attention to specific detail and her rendering of the character's complex interior life.
The program was sponsored by the Summerland Credit Union.
