A brand-new writing competition has been launched to recognize and encourage the creative talents of British Columbia authors age 50 or better.
The Cedric Literary Awards have been created specifically to attract unpublished B.C. writers of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. This is a first-of-its-kind literary awards program in Canada and it is already gathering interest on the part of writers, as well as organizations that support and promote Canadian authors.
The Cedric Literary Awards is the brainchild of Dr. Peter Dale, chairman of Better Than 50, a web-based initiative created to achieve a more connected world for the 50-plus demographic.
"The Cedric Literary Awards is a natural extension of what we've been doing previously by tapping into the creative talents of B.C. writers who bring a lifetime of experience to their work," said Dale.
The Cedric Literary Awards will be a juried writing competition with selection panel members drawn from B.C.'s diverse and established writing community. Each of the category winners will receive a monetary prize along with a special memento of their participation in the competition, and a special prize for First Nations storytelling will also be awarded.
"There are so many people in B.C. who have been writing or storytelling all their lives, but perhaps didn't think anyone would want to read their work, let alone publish it," said Executive Director Veronica Osborn.
A formal call for submissions will be issued Feb. 1. Authors interested in taking part should go to www.thecedrics.ca or email Osborn, at vosborn@thecedrics.ca