Young writers from kindergarten to Grade 12 in School District No. 46 (SD46) have the chance to get published this summer.
Submissions are now being accepted for the third installment of Coastal Voices, a collection of student writing published annually by SD46, with assistance from the Festival of the Written Arts (FOWA).
The book highlighting young authors was a dream of teacher John Lussier, who, together with teacher Bev Craig and Jane Davidson of FOWA, made it a reality in 2011.
"We wanted to give students in the district a voice, a place they could get their writing out," Lussier said. "We have lots of opportunities in athletics and students have artistic ways they can present themselves through talent shows etc., and I thought, 'Let's do it through the written arts as well.'"
There were more than 300 submissions from interested students the first year Coastal Voices was compiled; however, last year drew just around 200 entries.
Lussier chalked up the smaller entry pool to the teachers' job action, as the educators usually alert students to the upcoming contest.
He's sure more students will hear about Coastal Voices this year.
"I think we're getting the word out sooner and more often so I hope that translates into getting submissions," he said.
Submissions from students must be fiction (poetry or prose) and a maximum of 500 words long. They must be typed or handwritten in black ink or dark pencil and must contain the student's name, school, grade, teacher's name and title of the piece.
Students in kindergarten to Grade 3 may dictate their works to an adult.
Entries should either be given to classroom teachers or emailed to Lussier at jlussier@sd46.bc.ca no later than April 5.
The winning entries will be chosen by a panel of judges and then printed in the 2013 edition of Coastal Voices before the end of June.
Students with selected works in the book will receive three copies each. Copies will also be available at schools, public libraries and the FOWA office.
