Basil Sylvester to judge 2024 First Page student writing challenge
Grade 7-12 students can write write the first page of a speculative novel set 150 years in the future
Middle-grade author Basil Sylvester will judge the 2024 First Page student writing challenge!
The First Page student writing challenge asks students in Grades 7 to 12 from across Canada to write the first page of a speculative novel set 150 years in the future.
The challenge tasks young writers with imagining how current world issues and trends will evolve in the next century.
The First Page competition is divided into two categories — one for Grades 7 to 9 students and one for Grades 10 to 12 students.
The contest is open for submissions from Feb. 1 to Feb. 29, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Basil Sylvester is a non-binary author from Toronto. Alongside their father, Kevin Sylvester, they are the co-author of the middle-grade novel The Fabulous Zed Watson and the recently published second book in the series, Night of the Living Zed.
In 2021, The Fabulous Zed Watson was one of five finalists for the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text. In 2022, the book was a finalist for the Forest of Reading Silver Birch Award, a TD Children's Literature Award and a Lambda Literary Award. The Fabulous Zed Watson! features a non-binary lead character who embarks on "the literary scavenger hunt and road trip of a lifetime."
Sylvester is excited to read entries written by the readers they usually write for and about.
"I'm thrilled to be judging this year's First Page contest. I write about kids in middle school, and when I was in middle school myself, I had all kinds of ideas and was constantly scribbling things on napkins, my homework, notes from class...even the backs of my hands!" they told CBC Books.
To be able to read what students are writing today and give them feedback is a beautiful thing.- Basil Sylvester
"I'm really honoured to be trusted to read these pages from students across the country. To be able to read what students are writing today and give them feedback is a beautiful thing."
Sylvester will choose the two winners from 10 finalists in the Grades 7 to 9 category and 10 finalists in the Grades 10 to 12 category.
The winners will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, a monthly book delivery service, and will have their winning entry published on CBC Books. They will also receive 50 books for each of their school libraries.
Last year's winners were Christian A. Yiouroukis for his story Where the Maple Leaf Grows and Bee Lang for their story One Question.
If you're interested in other writing prizes, check out the CBC Literary Prizes. The 2024 CBC Nonfiction Prize is open now, the CBC Poetry Prize will open in April and the CBC Short Story Prize will open in September.
