20 students from across Canada shortlisted for The First Page student writing challenge
CBC Books | | Posted: March 4, 2020 4:38 PM | Last Updated: March 4, 2020
Thousands of students wrote about topics ranging from the climate crisis to surveillance
Twenty young writers from across Canada have been chosen as finalists for The First Page student writing challenge, which asked students in Grades 7 to 12 to write the first page of a novel set 150 years in the future.
Students imagined how current day trends — from climate change to data privacy and surveillance — has played out in the year 2169.
The 20 finalists were chosen from nearly 2,000 entries submitted in the fall of 2019 — 1,285 entries were collected from the Grades 7 to 9 category and 702 entries from the Grades 10 to 12 category.
You can read the shortlisted entries below.
Grades 7 to 9 category finalists
- Children of Nine by Cheyenne Gawley, 14, from West Kelowna, B.C.
- The Lizard King by Rhiannon Krauthaker, 14, from Winnipeg
- City of Masks by Annabel Li, 13, from North Vancouver, B.C.
- The First by Victor Li, 13, from Mississauga, Ont.
- No Choice by Juliana Narváez Gutierrez, 14, from Greenfield Park, Que.
- The Shadow of the Green by Sebastian Romero, 12, from Calgary
- The Eye by Adam Schneider, 14, from Calgary
- Breathe by Sapphira Skuter, 13, from Victoria
- Reasonable Paranoia by Ava Swanson, 14, from Prince George, B.C.
- The Thing in the Cacti by Leyao Xiao, 14, from Toronto
Grades 10 to 12 category finalists
- Happiless by Lilith Brodt, 15, from Coquitlam, B.C.
- Rebellion by Alex Chen, 14, from Vancouver
- Shelf Life by Sobin Lim, 17, from Coquitlam, B.C.
- Blue Age by Lily Liu, 17, from Toronto
- Below Zero, Above Thirty-Two by Leonardo Mete, 15, from Kamloops, B.C.
- Press esc. to Exit by Anjali Rao, 17, from Aurora, Ont.
- Biodome E231 by Schuyler Siewe, 16, from Calgary
- Freedom of Tears by Lizzie Slogotski, 15, from Victoria
- Running to Mars by Sumayya Taher, 14, from Edmonton
- ERROR LOV3 by Victoria Thacker, 17, from Ottawa
Bestselling YA writer and author Kelley Armstrong will pick a winner in each of the categories.
Her standalone novels include Aftermath and Missing, but she is best known for her Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising series as well as her Cainsville and Otherworld series.
Both winners will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which sends fresh boxes of books to young readers across Canada on a monthly basis, plus an additional 50 books for their school libraries.
The winners will be announced on Wednesday March 11, 2020.
The First Page student writing challenge will return in the fall of 2020.
If you're interested in other writing competitions, check out the CBC Literary Prizes.