The NWT’s Northern Quill Publishing and NorthWords festival have named the first winners of a new contest that seeks the territory’s best works of short fiction.
The Flash Fiction competition called for stories on the theme of “edges.” The contest launched in the spring and authors had until late June to submit an entry of about 1,000 words.
The inaugural Flash Fiction winner from more than 30 submissions is Derek Wagner, a press release stated on Wednesday.
Wagner’s submission, Edgework, “follows a young hockey player and his stoic father in a moving exploration of silence, legacy and love,” organizers wrote.
“A speculative and literary fiction writer originally from Yellowknife, Derek’s work often blends the strange and the familiar to uncover quiet moments of transformation.”
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Submissions were evaluated by a panel of guest judges who weren’t told the names of the authors.
Second place went to Hannah Ascough for Pinehood.
“While her recent writing has largely been academic, Hannah was inspired by the NorthWords Writers’ Festival to revive her undergraduate degree in creative writing from Dalhousie University,” Wednesday’s press release stated.
“She is grateful to live and write in Somba K’è, and to see firsthand the important role of storytelling in fostering climate change resilience.”
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Third place was awarded to an anonymous entry titled The Caretaker.
“With no background in publishing, this short story marks the author’s first public submission, shared with the hope of sparking curiosity, conversation, and above all else bringing enjoyment to the reader,” organizers wrote.
Wagner’s winning entry is available to read in full in this month’s issue of Up Here Magazine.
