You're invited to a book launch this Saturday, Oct 2

Canadian Authors Association, Niaraga, invites you to a book launch for the Ten Stories High short story anthology.

We will be officially launching our latest edition of Ten Stories High in the Mills Room at the St. Catharines Public Library on 54 Church Street on Saturday, October 2nd from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.

This gala event will feature readings by this year's winning contestants as well as refreshments. We will also be offering copies of our anthology for sale at that time.

First Prize Winner is a local writer and current Canadian Authors Association branch member, Samantha Craggs with “The Sand Hills.” Samantha Craggs was raised in Norfolk County, Ontario, where her first job was working on a tobacco farm. Eventually she embarked on a career in journalism, working for newspapers, magazines, radio and websites. Her resume includes being a reporter at the St. Catharines Standard and a stint reviewing video games. She now works as a full-time writer and editor. Ten Stories High is her first fiction publishing credit.

Second Prize went to Sandi Plewis who wrote “Smoke Screens.” Primarily a short story/novel writer, Sandi Plewis had one first place win and two third place wins in the Alice Munro Short Story contest. She’s also had short stories accepted into several literary journals and currently writes play reviews. Her poetry has appeared in The Saving Bannister and The Price of Eggs.

Third Prize is shared two writers: Cecilia Kennedy  for “Roses and Rue” and Kim Skublics for “Going To Alaska.”

Cecilia Kennedy grew up in Wainfleet township . In 2004 Jaw Press published her first short story collection called The Robbie Burns Revival and Other Stories. Though set in eastern Ontario many places and landscapes of Wainfleet are embedded in these stories of a young cop with a rural beat. A follow up anthology is due out from Innis Lake Press in 2011. Visit her website at www.ceciliakennedy.ca.

Kim Skublics graduated from York University with degrees in Sociology and Fine Art and has taken creative writing courses at the University of Toronto and Sheridan College. When not writing short stories and young adult novels, she can be found piste fencing.

This year's Contest Judge was Lynda Simmons.  Lynda's six romance novels have been published by Harlequin/Silhouette, Kensington Books and Sun Media, and have been translated into more than ten languages. Her books have also been shortlisted for several prestigious romance awards including the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice and the Affaire de Coeur Reader’s Choice Award. Lynda's recent mainstream novel, Getting Rid of Rosie (reviewed here), was published in 2009 by Berkley Books (a Penguin imprint) and chosen as a Book Pick by Metro News. Lynda is releasing another book December 2010 called Island Girl set on Toronto Island.

For information about Brian Henry's writing workshops and creative writing courses, see here.