K.R. Byggdin is the author of Wonder World (Enfield & Wizenty 2022), a novel that explores the possibilities of queer belonging in a small Mennonite town. Their writing has also appeared in journals and anthologies across Canada, the UK, and New Zealand. K.R. is an alum of the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia’s Alistair MacLeod Mentorship program, the Banff Centre’s Emerging Writers Intensive, and Dalhousie University’s English and Creative Writing program. They have received an Honorable Mention for the Joy Kogawa Award for Fiction 2022. Born and raised on the Prairies, they now live in Kjipuktuk (Halifax).
Surrey Muse gatherings take place on the unceded Coast Salish territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Kwantlen Qayqayt, Tsawwassen, Musqueam Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
Surrey Muse Arts Society has announced the short and long lists for the five Surrey Muse Art & Literature Awards 2022. Below are the five Shortlist, in alphabetical order.
Shortlist
Joy Kogawa Award for Fiction 2022
‘Watching the Swans’ by Lucy E.M. Black, Port Perry ON
‘We Are Not Seahorses’ by K.R. Byggdin, Halifax NS
‘The Boy’ by Samantha Krilow, Surrey BC
‘Nightshade’ by Lynn Hutchinson Lee, Toronto ON
‘The Stoner Files’ by Cynthis Sharp, Vancouver BC
‘White Snow and Seven Dreams’ by Melissa Yuan-Innes, North Lancaster ON
Surrey Muse Arts Society operates from the unceded Coast Salish territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Kwantlen Qayqayt, Tsawwassen, Musqueam Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
Submit before midnight August 15, 2022
Send 10 pages of your original, unpublished (print or online) fiction in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format.
Short List: Top six entries
2nd and 3rd place Winners: Honourable Mention
First place Winner: $1000
Cathleen With is an author and educator who has published two books of fiction. Her novel, ‘Having Faith in the Polar Girls’ Prison‘, was a BC Book Prize winner, and her short story collection ‘Skids‘ was a Relit finalist that is now optioned for film.
Hannah Macready is a writer and editor whose articles and stories have been published in Canada, UK and the USA. In 2017, she received the Maurice Hodgson Award for Creative Distinction. She writes regular web content for Douglas College’s EVENT Magazine.
Joy Kogawa Award for Fiction is open to Canadian citizens, members of Indigenous nations, landed immigrants, permanent residents, refugee applicants, and international students in Canada.
We encourage people of colour, LGBTQ+, disabled, and financially challenged writers to participate.
Surrey Muse Arts Society operates from the unceded Coast Salish territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Kwantlen, Qayqayt, Tsawwassen, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
Boshra Rasti is an Iranian Canadian fiction writer, poet and educator who has published novels, short stories and poems. Her two novels Surrogate Colony, and its sequel, Surrogate Code, explore a post-pandemic fantasy world where, among other things, people’s right to love has been constricted. Her short stories have been published by Grattan Street Press, Literally Stories, and South Florida Poetry Journal. Boshra’s published poems include, ‘Connection in the City’, a poem about the city of Surrey in Canada, and ‘In the Chrysalis’, a poem on the COVID-19 pandemic published in Together…Apart, an anthology of creative works by HBKU Press. Boshra received a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership at Royal Roads University. Raised in British Columbia, she now lives and teaches in Qatar.
Surrey Muse gatherings take place on the unceded Coast Salish territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Kwantlen Qayqayt, Tsawwassen, Musqueam Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
Don McLellan is a Vancouver based journalist and writer who has published three volumes of short fiction. His most recent title, ‘Ouch: 20 Stories’ (Page Count Press, 2020) was a finalist for the 2021 Whistler Independent Book Award while his first short story collection ‘In the Quiet After Slaughter’ (Libros Libertad, 2008) was a finalist for the 2009 ReLit Award. In 2015, he published ‘Brunch with the Jackals’ at Thistledown Press. Don has worked as a journalist in Canada, South Korea, and Hong Kong. His literary or journalistic work has been nominated, listed, was a finalist or was honourably mentioned for a Western Canada Magazine Award, a Tabbies International Editorial Award, a Kenneth R. Wilson Memorial Award, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize (twice), and a Pushcart Prize.
Surrey Muse gatherings take place on the unceded Coast Salish territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Kwantlen Qayqayt, Tsawwassen, Musqueam Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
Surrey Muse 