Grain Magazine's Annual Short Grain Writing Contest History
Previous winners of our annual contest are arranged by year, starting with the most recent winners. If you're looking for a specific writer, you can also use the search function at the top right of this page.
23rd Annual Short Grain (with Variations) Contest Winners
Judges for the 23rd Annual Short Grain contest Zsuzsi Gartner, Fiction, and Jeramy Dodds, Poetry. Winning entries and judges’ comments will be published in Grain’s Winter 2012 issue, Vol 39 No 2. The deadline was April 1, 2011.
Fiction: judged by Zsuzsi Gartner
1st Prize, $1000— Pete Duval of Philadelphia, PA, USA
2nd Prize, $750—Zack Haslam of Victoria, BC
3rd Prize, $500 —Zoey Peterson of Victoria, BC
Poetry: judged by Jeramy Dodds
1st Prize, $1000—Tim Bowling of Edmonton, AB
2nd Prize, $750—Phoebe Wang of Toronto, ON
3rd Prize, $500 —Vincent Colistro of Victoria, BC
22nd Annual Short Grain (with Variations) Contest Winners
Judges for the 22nd Annual Short Grain contest were Lee Henderson, Fiction, and Jennifer Still, Poetry. Winning entries and judges’ comments are published in ARSENAL Grain’s 2011 Winter issue, Vol 38 No 2. The deadline was April 1, 2010.
Fiction: judged by Lee Henderson
1st Prize, $1250— “Thomas and the Woman” by Jennifer Stone of Mineville, NS
2nd Prize, $750—“The Central Zoo” by Tsering Lama of Surrey, BC
1st Runner-up, $500—“The Stooker” by Jim Gerwing of Victoria, BC
2nd Runner-up, $500—“Leaving” by Susi Lovell of Montreal, QC
Poetry: judged by Jennifer Still
1st Prize, $1250—“Happily Lost (previously 'Almost Postmodern')” by Hector Williamson of Calgary, AB
2nd Prize, $750—“Still Life with White Roses” by Lisa Martin-DeMoor of Edmonton, AB
1st Runner-up, $500—“snow (stolen poems, for Orhan Pamuk)” by Sean Howard of Main-à-Dieu, NS
2nd Runner-up, $500—“Learning to speak and not to speak” by Lisa Martin-DeMoor of Edmonton, AB
21st Annual Short Grain (with Variations) Contest Winners
Judges for this year’s contest were Elise Levine, Fiction, and Tonja Gunvaldsen Klaassen, Poetry. Winning entries and judges’ comments are published in TROPHY, Grain’s 2010 Winter issue, Vol 37 No 2. The deadline was April 1, 2009.
Fiction: judged by Elise Levine
1st Prize, $1250—“Snakeskin Boots” by Matthew Heiti of Sudbury, ON/Fredericton, NB
2nd Prize, $750—“Head-doors” by Marilyn Gear Pilling of Hamilton, ON
1st Runner-up, $500—“Hands Like Birds” by Laura Trunkey of Victoria, BC
2nd Runner-up, $500—“A Lioness Hath Whelped in the Streets” by Nicholas Eliot of Ottawa, ON
Poetry: judged by Tonja Gunvaldsen Klaassen
1st Prize, $1250—“How to Shoot Skeet with My Grandfather’s Lost Double Barrel” by Danny Jacobs of Riverview, NB
2nd Prize, $750—“The Tilled Field, Joan Miro” by Medrie Purdham of Regina, SK
1st Runner-up, $500—“directions for sleep (variations from an insomniac)” by Andrea MacPherson of Cloverdale, BC
2nd Runner-up—No prize awarded
20th Annual Short Grain Contest Winners
Judges for the 20th Anniversary of the annual Short Grain Contest were Sheri Benning, Non-Fiction, Billeh Nickerson, Prose Poem, Yann Martel, Postcard Story, and Lisa Moore, Dramatic Monologue. Winning entries and judges’ comments are published in TRANSITIONAL, Grain’s 2008 Fall/Mid-Winter issue, Vol 36 No 2. The deadline was February 29, 2008. Each winner was awarded $500.
Non-Fiction: judged by Sheri Benning
"Trebarwith Strand" by Sarah Fletcher
"Conspiracy" by Sandra Campbell
"Frank Slide" by Sarah Fletcher
Prose Poem: judged by Billeh Nickerson
"Who's to know" by Leah Horlick
"Firsts and Lasts" by Lisa Martin-DeMoor
"Sex: Reasons for Having It" by Patricia Young
Postcard Story: judged by Yann Martel
"Making Baby Nathaniel" by Joy Huebert
"Power" by M. Jennie Frost
"Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny" by Aeron Davies
Dramatic Monologue: judged by Lisa Moore
"Mamelah's Monologue" by Annie Dawid
"Antarctica" by Connie Vaughn
"Untitled" by Sarah Tolmie
19th Annual Short Grain Contest Winners
Judges for the 19th Annual Short Grain Contest were Steven Ross Smith, Prose Poem, Brenda Niskala, Non-Fiction, Steven Galloway, Postcard Story, and Curtis Peeteetuse, Dramatic Monologue. Winning entries and judges’ comments are published in LOOK AROUND!, Grain’s 2007 Fall issue, Vol 35 No 2. The deadline was February 28, 2007. Each winner was awarded $500.
Prose Poem: judged by Steven Ross Smith
"Slowly the Hour" by Susan Ingersoll
"Forest" by Lauren Holbrook
"Prelude to" by Natalie Thompson
Non-Fiction: judged by Brenda Niskala
"Isle of No Account" by Andrew Turner
"Escaping Emily" by Jessica Ruth Harris
"William Faulkner - I hope you've found a warm bed inside of my head" by Cristopher Crocker
Postcard Story: judged by Steven Galloway
"Landed" by Dennis Porsnuk
"New Millenium Child" by Janice Salkeld
"The Eviction" by Bridget Fallen
"Famous People" by Terri Favro
Dramatic Monologue: judged by Curtis Peeteetuce
"Hypothermia" by Art Collins
"Everyone But Me" by Pearl Myers
"Eulogy" by Robert Campone
18th Annual Short Grain Contest Winners
Judges for the 18th Annual Short Grain Contest were Lee Henderson, Postcard Story, Richard Lemm, Prose Poem, Pam Bustin, Dramatic Monologue, and Candace Savage, Creative Non-Fiction. Winning entries and judges’ comments are published in NOVEMBER/TWILIGHT, Grain’s 2006 Fall issue, Vol 34 No 2. The deadline was January 31, 2006. Each winner was awarded $500.
Postcard Story: judged by Lee Henderson
"Chequeov" by Nicholas Ruddock
"Judith" by Rhonda Waterfall
"You get used to it" by Terrance K. Miles
Prose Poem: judged by Richard Lemm
"Where You Go I Go" by Claire Litton
"Spring Dawning" by Brecken Rose Hancock
"Black Truffle" by Salvatore Difalco
Dramatic Monologue: judged by Pam Bustin
"El Gato" by Ross C. Travis
"Mother of Pearls" by Krista Boehnert
"Scram!" by Susan Siddeley
Creative Non-Fiction: judged by Candace Savage
"Draft One: Chapter One" by Monty Gendall
"Wrongness of the Day" by Eve Corbel
"Red" by Madeline Sonik
17th Annual Short Grain Contest Winners
Judges for the 17th Annual Short Grain Contest were Hal Niedzviecki, Postcard Story, Brad Cran, Prose Poem, and Annabel Lyon, Dramatic Monologue. Winning entries and judges’ comments are published in GLUE, Grain’s 2005 Fall issue, Vol 33 No 2. The deadline was January 31, 2005. Each winner was awarded $500.
Postcard Story: judged by Hal Niedzviecki
"Hilary Cooper: Bindertwine Queen" by C.E. Coughlan
"What is it: Twenty Questions" by Patricia Young
"Paris" by Deborah Willis
"The Last Appointment" by Janet Trull
Prose Poem: judged by Brad Cran
"some kind of immense indiscernible shift is going on in the world" by Julie Berry
"Tiger at the Hot Plate" by Jay Brown
"To be the teacher" by Julie Berry
"before he can write his name" by kath macLean
Dramatic Monologue: judged by Annabel Lyon
"Breastplate" by Jenifer Sutherland
"Bear Me Stiffly Up" by Ellen Elizabeth Arrand
"Appointment with God" by Donna Tremblay
"Boo" by Matthew Anderson
16th Annual Short Grain Contest Winners
Judges for the 16th Annual Short Grain Contest were J. Jill Robinson, Postcard Story,Tonja Gunvaldsen Klaassen, Prose Poem, Kit Brennan, Dramatic Monologue, and Zsuzsi Gartner, Non-Fiction. Winning entries and judges’ comments are published in Grain’s 2004 Fall issue, Vol 32 No 2. The deadline was January 31, 2004. Each winner was awarded $500.
Postcard Story: judged by J. Jill Robinson
“Wing” by Barbara Simler of Edmonton, AB
“Belly Down” by Shane Book of Nepean, ON
“Even Now” by Nancy Baele of Ottawa, ON
Prose Poem: judged by Tonja Gunvaldsen Klaassen
“notes on a lamb stanza” by Kelly Dignan of Brantford, ON
“Fear of Machines” by Barbara Klar of Ruddell, SK
“My Life On Prose Cards” by Gunilla Norris of Mystic, Connecticut, USA
“Dead Man Dreaming of the Unity of Body and Soul” by Clint Uhrich of Regina, SK
“A Cup of Sugar” by Susan Siddeley of Toronto, ON
“The Bushman Speaks” by Lucius Furius of Evanston, Illinois, USA
Non-Fiction (Long Grain of Truth): judged by Zsuzsi Gartner
Note: The judge in the Long Grain of Truth category chose one winner and two honourable mentions; all winners were awarded prize money equally.
Winner—“14 ½ Things To Do In Stockholm In the Dead of Winter: A Travel Guide” by Patrick Tobin of Billings, Montana, USA
Honourable mention—“Binding” by Kitty Hoffman of Victoria, BC
Honourable mention—“The Roots of Scars” by Tracy Hamon of Regina, SK
More updates to come soon...