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Vol. 9, No.6, June 2012 | CONTEST EDITION

Read interviews with the judges of our upcoming contests!

"Like thunder after the lightning": Will Johnson interviews the judge of our 2012 Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize, Madeline Sonik.

"Because you're crazy and you love to write poetry": Portia Carryer interviews the judge of our UVic 50th Anniversary Prize in the poetry category, Patricia Young.

"Write constantly. Read deeply": Tyler Laing interviews the judge of our UVic 50th Anniversary Prize in the short fiction category, D.W. Wilson.

"What would you write about other than what's driving you?" : Melissa Hiebert interviews the judge of our UVic 50th Anniversary Prize in the creative nonfiction category, Barbara Stewart.

"Such is drama": Tyler Laing interviews the judge of our UVic 50th Anniversary Prize in the dramatic monologue category, Michael MacLennan.

Malahat Twitter Monostich Contest!

Yes, we have finally dipped our toes into Twitter waters! What better way to embark on our tweeting adventure than to hold a Twitter Monostich contest!

Beginning June 18th, send your one-line, 140-character-or-less poems to us at @malahatreview.

We'll choose one winner every two weeks for six weeks, and a grand-prize winner at the end of the six weeks.

We have many great books (donated by Canadian publishers) to give away as prizes!

See full details, and information on prizes on our website.

Upcoming Malahat Contests

2012 Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize

Deadline: August 1, 2012 (postmarked)
Prize: $1000 CAD
Entry fee:
$35 CAD for Canadian entries
$40 USD for entries from the USA
$45 USD for entries from elsewhere
(entry fee includes a one-year subscription to The Malahat Review)

Submit 2,000 to 3,000 words of personal essay, memoir, literary journalism, or something so cutting edge no one's thought of it yet.

Read full guidelines on our website.


When mood, energy, and a window of uninterrupted time coincide: Vanessa Annand catches up with Anne Marie Todkill

Last year, Anne Marie Todkill won our Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize with her story, "Hoarding" (issue #177, Winter 2011). "Hoarding" has since been nominated for a 2011 National Magazine Award in the Personal Journalism category (winners will be announced June 7, 2012.)

Vanessa Annand: How has winning the 2011 Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize affected your writing? Do you scribble away with a new sense of affirmation, or do you still find yourself embarking on, as you've mentioned in a couple of interviews, numerous “false starts” when writing?

Anne Marie Todkill: The prize was affirming, which certainly didn’t hurt, but I don’t think it’s had any effect on my method or confidence while I write. Perhaps it’s messed with my head, just a little, by sharpening my sense of unease about not getting more writing done.

Read the rest of this interview on our website.

University of Victoria 50th Anniversary Prize

Deadline: August 15, 2012 (postmarked)
Prize: $2200 CAD in total prize money
Entry fee: $15 CAD (doesn't include subscription)

All UVic alumni, UVic students, and residents of the Victoria CRD are invited to enter this one-time contest to commemorate the University of Victoria's 50th year. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes will be awarded in each of four categories: poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, and dramatic monologue. Contest will be judged by UVic alumni.

Read full guidelines on our website.

Fast scrawling interspersed with slow thinking: Tyler Laing in conversation with Naben Ruthnum

Naben Ruthnum's novella, "Cinema Rex" won our 2012 Novella Prize and will appear in our Summer 2012 issue (#179)

Tyler Laing: First of all, congratulations on your novella victory! What was your first thought when you found out you had won?

Naben Ruthnum: Probably a thought with lots of happy profanity in it. I was pleased, certainly; I’d had a string of rejected stories in the past few months, so it was a nice turnaround.

TL: Do you often enter literary contests? If so, what are some of the others you have entered or plan to target?

NR: I’ve entered a few, mostly ones linked to Canadian literary journals. I took McGill University’s Peterson Prize a couple of years ago, but other than that, the Malahat win is my first. I don’t necessarily target contests—if I finish a story and feel that would be a good fit for a contest that’s on at that moment, I’ll send it in.

Read the rest of this interview on our website.

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