Catherine Austen
Creative Writing
Awesome Authors 2022 is on!
Summer 2022 update: Winners of this year’s Awesome Authors contest are announced here on the Ottawa Public Library’s YouTube channel. 🙂
*Original Post:
The Ottawa Public Library’s Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest is back! Young writers of the nation’s capital, get to work on your poems, short stories, and comics. You could win publication, glory, cold hard cash!
Learn all the details from the Awesome Authors page on the OPL website.
I’ll be judging English fiction in the 9-12 age category again this year — and I want to read your story!
Other judges this year are Apollo the Child; Amelinda Bérubé; Pierre-Luc Bélanger; and Éric Péladeau. Check everyone out on the Ottawa Public Library’s YouTube channel.
All judges are offering virtual writing workshops to help you get started, from January 29th through February 19th. Find the full schedule and registration links on the OPL Awesome Authors page.
Entries are judged in two age categories (9-12 and 13-18), two languages (English and French) and three genres (poem, short story, comic). Ambitious writers can submit one (but only one) of everything. The contest deadline is February 25th, 2022.
Be sure to read all the rules before submitting. And check out the winning pieces from past years anthologized in Pot-pourri, published annually by the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association.
Good luck!
16 Comments on “Awesome Authors 2022 is on!”
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Catherine Austen writes books for kids and teens, short stories for adults, and reports for corporate clients. She lives in Gatineau, Quebec.
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Catherine Austen 
Hi,
I was just wondering if it matters what type of font you write in. I’m entering the short story contest and I’m typing up my story on a google doc so I can enter it directly onto the Ottawa Public Library form.
Thank you
Hi. I don’t think it matters which font, but good advice is to always use something basic, like Times New Roman or Arial. A 12-point font size is standard, and black and white is always best. Colours, fancy fonts, or changing fonts might seem like they’d bring attention to a story, but it can be annoying. Something easy on the eyes and not distracting is best. Let the story attract attention, not the font. 🙂 Good luck!
Thanks! My font is Times New Roman and in size 11
That should be fine, Kara. Good luck. Remember to keep your name off the story itself (but put it on the submission form, of course) and stick to less than 1000 words. Cheers.
Hi, I also have a question. I was just wondering I’m using a google doc to type up my work ( like Kara ) but my story is about 900 words and it doesn’t fit on one page. Is that okay or will I get disqualified for using two pages
Hi Emily. For sure you can go over a page. There’s no page limit, just a word limit. It would be hard to squish 1000 words onto one page. 🙂 Good luck!
Thank you!
Hi, do you know when the winners will be announced?
Hi, do you know when the winners are going to be announced? Sorry if this comment comes up twice. I’m not sure if the first I sent was posted
Hi Emily. I’m not sure exactly when the winners will be announced. Late April at the earliest, more likely May, I would guess. You will have to be super patient. 🙂 I’ll post more here whenever I know more, but it won’t be for a while. Cheers.
Any news on when the winners will be announced?
Sorry, Rita, I’m not sure. But I know that the virtual ceremony video is being put together now by the OPL folks, so it shouldn’t be too much longer. Good luck!
Will the winners be announced tomorrow? I remember last year it was announced on the 26.
I’m not sure of the exact date, but soon.
They announced the winners. Go to the OPL youtube channel
So they did! Thanks for letting me know. People can find the results for the 9-12 winners in English at: https://youtu.be/Po4ITM1MKh8