12 finalists named for the inaugural PWAC writing awards

The Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) has announced 12 finalists for its inaugural writing awards competition -- stories published in 2009 in print or on the web.

In the features category (over 1,200 words), the finalists are:

• Jenn Hardy for “Cleanup in Aisle One” (This Magazine)
• Kim Gray for “Magic Hour” (Alberta Views)
• Eve Lazarus for “The Parent Trap” (Enterprise)
• Kimberley Noble for “Why Garth Drabinsky is No Ordinary Fraudster” (Toronto Star)
• Kerianne Lauren Sproule for “Girls Interrupted” (Swerve Magazine)
• Carolynn Semeniuk for “Christina’s World” (Swerve Magazine)

In the short articles category, finalists are:

• Ann Chandler for “Royal Rewards” (More)
• Ann Chandler for “Sage and Stewardship” (Canadian Cowboy Country)
• Wendy Helfenbaum for “A Fine Romance” (Canadian Family)
• Giancarlo La Giorgia for “Good Eats, At Your Convenience” (The Globe and Mail)
• Philip Fine for “Her Tough Literary Voice and Frankness About Sex Masked a Fatal Vulnerability” (The Globe and Mail)
• Susan Pinker for “Extra Credit” (Psychology Today)

Judges were Stephen Kimber, Elaine Kalman Naves, Bilbo Poynter, Maxine Ruvinsky, Eric Siblin and Jennifer Walker. 2010 is the first year that PWAC has presented the PWAC Short Articles Writing Award and the PWAC Features Writing Award. PWAC has as members some 600 freelance writers and journalists.

“Interest in the competition exceeded our expectations,” said PWAC president Tanya Gulliver. The winners and runners-up will be announced at the luncheon on Friday June 4 at the MagNet conference in Toronto.