There were a few winners coming out of Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival's 11th edition, held last weekend at Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury.
The event once again brought together Canadian literary talent, with more than 25 authors from across the country and more than 15 engaging sessions. In person attendance was up from the previous year, indicating a return to pre-COVID participation.
The annual Youthwords writing contest winners were announced at the festival opening, and acknowledgements were presented by MPP Jamie West, MP Vivianne Lapointe and Deputy Mayor Al Sizer.
Richard Andres Lopez, first place winner of the short story category, read his story Luggage to the audience. Wordstock Sudbury’s Youthwords Writing Contest is an annual writing contest open to high school students across Northeastern Ontario.
Short Story Category
- First Place: Richard Andres Lopez with their story Luggage
- Runner Up: Evie Lathangue with their story You for You (North Bay)
Poetry Category
- First Place: Kaylee Fisch, with their poem The Butterfly's Effect
- Runner Up: Ravi Aguilar, with their poem Filipino Heart in the Great White North
You can read the winners' pieces here.
The festival weekend was packed with panel discussions, masterclasses and the Annual Sudbury Poetry Slam, with honours going this year to winner Alexia Cousineau and runner-up Murgatroyd Monaghan.
The poetry slam featured local spoken word artist Lindsay Mayhew, who thanked the festival for her introduction to spoken word poetry and her first slam competition over six years ago.
“In 2019, I made my poetry slam debut at the Wordstock Sudbury Poetry Slam and won for the first time. Six years later, I was honoured to be a feature poet. At times, it was hard to grow as an artist in our Northern Ontario mining city, but Wordstock was one place where I could express myself, practice my craft, and find a literary community. The 2024 Annual Sudbury Poetry Slam was a beautiful full circle moment,” Mayhew shared.
The 8th Annual Sudbury Poetry Slam also featured award-winning poet Fareh Malik and two times national poetry slam champion Jennifer Alicia Murrin as the MC.