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Two New $10,000 Prizes for Short Stories and Poems

We wanted to let you know about two new literary prizes:
THE ROSS AND DAVIS MITCHELL PRIZE FOR FAITH AND WRITING

One of the reasons we know about it is that Sue is honoured to have been asked to be one of the judges in the Short Story Category!

“The Ross and Davis Mitchell Prize for Faith and Writing is designed to help give voice to these individuals and communities and to help re-awaken Canadians to the powerful truth, goodness, and beauty that belief brings into our shared lives. Poetry and fiction that draw from the deep wells of religious tradition can provide those brief moments where the familiar world becomes strange, and those strange gods become familiar.

PURPOSE OF PRIZE

In A Secular Age, Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor writes that many modern people have imagined the gods away and so live in a disenchanted world. Yet despite this, they continue to be haunted by moments of wonder (or fear) that tempt them towards belief. Could there be something more to the world than meets the eye?

Of course, many  Canadians have an idea about what this something might be. And they live their lives within communities that have sought to understand it, share it, live according to it, and pass it on to their children and grandchildren. These are the thousands of Canadians of faith communities, Canadians who participate in the myriad of religions that make up the social landscape of Canada.

Yet it’s sometimes easy to forget about all these individuals and communities of faith, and to imagine Canada as one increasingly “secular” – by which we often mean irreligious – nation. The Ross and Davis Mitchell Prize for Faith and Writing is designed to help give voice to these individuals and communities and to help re-awaken Canadians to the powerful truth, goodness, and beauty that belief brings into our shared lives. Poetry and fiction that draw from the deep wells of religious tradition can provide those brief moments where the familiar world becomes strange, and those strange gods become familiar.

But this prize is not designed to paper over conflict or erase distinctions. There are important distinctions between Muslims and Christians, Hindus and Orthodox Jews, and others that should not be erased, but understood. In fact, another goal of this prize is to encourage a posture of charitable listening which does not discourage disagreement or persuasion; rather, it hopes to make it more robust within the boundaries of mutual respect. If we are to live together in difference, we must allow difference the room to flourish.

Finally, this contest does not want to ignore the deep wounds given and received by the religious communities in Canada. Such wounds often fester quietly under the surface of communities who have been oppressed, alienated, and left out of the public life. This prize encourages poets and writers to share these stories as well lest the oppression continue through their silence and absence.

If you are a writer who is Canadian or you currently reside in Canada, we warmly invite you to read the guidelines for submission and submit an entry before our June 30th 2017 deadline.

PRIZE DETAILS

  1. There will be $25,000 CD of Prize money awarded.
    1. 1st place for short story: $10,000
    2. 1st place for suite of poems: $10,000
    3. 2nd place for short story: $2,500
    4. 2nd place for suite of poems: $2,500
  2. Also: All the shortlisted nominees will have their work published in an anthology to be published in 2018.
  3. A Prize Gala will be held in the Fall of 2017 to honour the shortlisted authors and Prize recipients.

Click here for a PDF:
2016-10-therossanddavismitchellprize1

Or click this link to read about it on the FAITHINCANADA150 website:
http://faithincanada150.ca/initiatives/mitchell-prize