Aspiring writers: Sharpen your pencils, fill your pens with ink and practise those typing skills. It's time again to proclaim an affirmative "yes!" when the Times Colonist asks, So You Think You Can Write?
The Times Colonist is accepting submissions for its third annual writing contest, which will see four finalists compete for a trip for two to the Galiano Literary Festival.
Never published a booklength manuscript or significant body of work? Don't have a contract with a publisher? Have regular email access? Then you're eligible to enter.
Send a 250-word submission that contains the following words: Newspaper, island, ferry (or fairy), seal, bridge and coast. That's it. Stories, poems, essays, monologues: We accept them all, so pick your strength. But no leftovers, please - we only accept original work that has not been submitted for publication elsewhere.
New this year, the Top 25 entrants will win a $25 gift certificate to Bolen Books, so even if you don't make the finals you've got a shot at a prize.
A panel of professional writers will select four finalists based on those submissions, who will go head-to-head through four weekly assignments. In addition to the top winner, determined through a points system, the public will have its say by voting on the Readers' Choice Winner, who takes home a netbook computer.
Last year, more than 200 unpublished writers sent in submissions.
The winner of the fourweek contest was Maija Liinamaa, who worked as a correspondence writer for the Transportation Ministry.
Tanya Chasse, executive assistant in the Times Colonist advertising department, created and co-ordinates the contest.
The deadline for submissions is Sept. 13. Only one entry per person.
Submit by email to soyouthinkyoucanwrite @timescolonist.com and include your name, address, phone number and email address at the bottom of the page (or on a separate page, if you submit a PDF).
Submit by snail mail to: So You Think You Can Write, c/o Times Colonist, 2621 Douglas St., Victoria, B.C. V8T 4M2.
