Catherine Austen
Creative Writing
Awesome Authors 2023 (Update)
The Ottawa Public Library’s Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest was a huge success this year, with more entries than ever. Over 700 young writers of poetry, comics, and short stories submitted pieces this winter, leaving judges like me with many difficult decisions (but many hours of delightful reading!).
Check out the library’s post of all the winners and honourable mentions in this year’s contest.
Read MoreMASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival 2023 (Update)
It was fab! In person! So many happy young faces! So many talented authors and illustrators!
This year’s MYAIF was a one-day event at Ottawa’s Science and Technology Museum. And what a day! Hosted by JustJamaal ThePoet, with over 140 kids attending, with workshops led by Tim Wynne-Jones, Philippa Dowding, Adrienne Kress, Soyeon Kim, Kean Soo, and me, plus readings, prizes, and lunchtime dancing — you can’t go wrong.
(Okay, I went a little wrong taking Boulevard Lucerne from Aylmer at rush hour with the Champlain Bridge down to one lane, and I was almost late for my own introduction — but all the rest went just right. :-))
Photographs by Martin Lipman, posted on the MASC Facebook page, capture the event better than I can describe, so check them out:
Be sure to keep tabs on the MASC website to find out when you can register for next year’s Young Authors and Illustrators Festival (MYAIF), and check out all their programs happening all year long.
Happy writing and illustrating!
Young Writers’ Markets
I’m resurrecting my old list of Young Writers’ Markets because there are so many young writers who are not eligible to submit to the Ottawa Public Library’s Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest. What are they to do with their awesome stories, poems, and comics? Well…
If you are a young writer in Canada with no local contests to enter, there is still a market for your work. Follow the link to the post below to get started in your search. (You’ll find an updated list of youth writing markets, plus several links to other lists. Good luck!)
MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival 2023
It’s back! In person! And I want to see you there.
Young writers and artists in eastern Ontario and western Quebec can sign up now for the MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival (MYAIF) to be held in Ottawa on April 4th.
Read MoreAwesome Authors 2023 is on!
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!
The contest opened on January 10th and it closes on February 24th. 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!
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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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