Area high school students with a flair for creative writing will get a chance to earn a prize for their efforts.
The biennial Laurier Stedman Prize returns for 2022, encouraging young writers to submit an original, unpublished work of fiction of 1,500 words or less.
All high school students in the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic and Grand Erie district school board catchment areas are eligible to enter.
“We see this competition as a chance to help foster the writing talent of high school students in this area,” said Ken Paradis, associate professor of English at Laurier’s Brantford campus and co-ordinator of the Laurier Stedman Prize. “It’s also a chance for us at the university to forge connections with the English teachers of this region who do such a great job preparing their students.”
The competition was created by the university to honor the wishes of local philanthropist Mary Stedman, who desired to celebrate and promote arts and culture.
Stedman, who passed away in 2014, was a proponent of establishing a university campus in Brantford. She left an estate gift and endowment to Wilfrid Laurier University that funds the Laurier Stedman Prize, first offered in 2018.
A jury of Laurier Brantford faculty members will select 10 finalists to be reviewed by a prize jury of authors, university administrators and local politicians that will choose a winner.
In all, $10,000 will be awarded, including one first-place prize of $3,000, two second-place prizes of $2,000 each, and three third-place prizes of $1,000 each. The remaining finalists will receive a merchandise prize.
The deadline for entries will be in April 7.
Each high school can select four stories to enter in the contest.
Winners are to be announced during a virtual celebration on May 26.
“The prize money offered for this is really unheard of,” said Kate Johnson-McGregor, teacher-librarian at Brantford Collegiate Institute.
“I love that it encourages students to think and write creatively because, a lot of the time, when they’re writing their scholarship essays, they’re a lot more pragmatic. It’s not a focus on creative writing. It’s wonderful to have them use their imagination and share some great work.”
She said the Stedman family’s long history as generous benefactors promoting higher education through their foundation, coupled with Laurier Brantford’s support of the pursuit of excellence, is a nice partnership.
For more information, visit the Laurier Stedman Prize section of Laurier’s website (wlu.ca).