Share your Superstack memories, get published

The Sudbury Writers’ Guild invites members of the public to submit poetry, prose, and photos of Sudbury’s unique Superstack landmark. 

The Sudbury Writers’ Guild is creating a chapbook or a magazine style book full of stories, facts, poems, and pictures of our beloved Superstack, and wants to hear what you have to say.

The Guild will provide information about the Superstack project during the monthly Open Mic at the Greater Sudbury Public Library at 6 p.m. on Jan. 12. SWG president Liisa Kovala and project manager Thomas Leduc will be available for questions.

In 2020, the Superstack was decommissioned by Vale. After 50 years in operation, it has made a permanent mark on the community.

Here are just a few interesting facts:

● It is 1,250 feet tall

● The estimated cost to build was $25 million

● Construction was fully completed on Aug. 21, 1972

● It was the tallest free-standing structure in Canada until 1975

● Following completion of the Superstack’s concrete shell, a top-to-bottom vertical steel ladder

was installed inside with rest platforms for maintenance

● On Aug. 20, 1970, it was still under construction when it was hit by a tornado, sustaining only

minor damage. All six workers who were on the platform at the time survived

In 2021, the Sudbury Writers’ Guild published a chapbook of stories, poems, and photos from the public, inspired by the colourful mural that transformed the Sudbury General Hospital. 

In addition to the book, “Painted Voices, “excerpts from the collection were also displayed on a series of posters for the public to enjoy.

Now, the group wants to hear your stories about Sudbury’s iconic Superstack. How has it been a part of your life? How has it represented you or the city? Maybe you worked on or around the stack or lived under it. Did you live here before the stack and saw the change it brought about? Was it a beacon of home? How did this concrete landmark impact you?

Submission requirements:

• French and English submissions accepted
• Entries should be submitted in Word or compatible document, with your name, contact information and title at the top
• Submission can include poetry (up to 3 poems), or fiction or non-fiction prose (up to 2,000 words)
•  Visual submission can include photographs, postcards, memorabilia, folk art, newspaper clippings, or others
• Previously published works are welcome
• Submit entries directly by email to [email protected] or online at www.sudburywritersguild.com. Click “Superstack Project, fill in the required fields and submit
• Honorarium dependent on project funding. Contributors retain copyright.
• Please include a cover letter with your name, the title(s) of your creative pieces, and contact information including phone number and email address.
• The deadline is May 12, 2023.