Writers Joel Scott, from Chemainus, and Margitta Maud, from Duncan, were among the winners at the first ever Cedric Literary Awards in Victoria Nov. 21.
Each was presented with a cheque for $3,000 as first place finishers in Fiction and Creative Non-fiction categories of the Cedrics, which are awarded to unpublished writers aged 50 and over.
Scott, 75, took the fiction prize for his novel Arrows Flight, which follows the fortunes of ‘a man with a past,’ who inherits a 12-metre sailing ketch, in which he is forced to flee for his life, pursued down the West Coast by unknown assailants.
The judges said Scott’s entry “is a well-written series of vignettes about characters all living in the same small coastal town – all unique and living believable lives. The book builds a convincing world and it was enjoyable to get a glimpse into each life.”
Of Maud’s book they said her third-person memoir about a character named Paddy reads like a novel. Paddy has a harrowing experience in his youth, and flees Ireland with an uncle to live with another uncle in England.
Winners in this inaugural Cedric contest were selected from amongst 168 submitted manuscripts in four categories: Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Poetry and First Nations.
“With no history to draw upon, we’ve created a spectacular beginning to The Cedric Literary Awards,” said Peter Dale, Chairman of Betterthan50 and founder of the writing competition.
The next Call for Submissions will be Feb. 1, 2016. “I look forward to seeing even more entries next year,” Osborn said.