Caledon Public Library announce winners of teen short story contest

Written By ALYSSA PARKHILL

The Caledon Public Library (CPL) recently celebrated the 17th anniversary of the Elizabeth Scavetta Memorial Teen Short Story Contest, announcing three winners from this year's competition.

Elizabeth Scavetta was a promising and gift young writer, as staff at CPL say, who won first place in the Caledon Public Library Teen Short Story Contest in 2003. Elizabeth unfortunately passed away in a car accident in 2004, so the library named the contest in member of her. 

“The contest motivates teens to explore their creative sides and see a writing project through to completion,” said Laurie Groe, Manager of CPL's Youth Services. “It provides them with an opportunity to have their creative writing evaluated in tandem with their peers' work and strive to produce the best writing they can. Hopefully their participation in the contest encourages them to continue with creative writing in the future.

The winner of this years' contest wasSaskia Coosa, who secured first place with her story ‘Popular', about a high school girl overcoming the popular bullies and real friendship. Second place went to Neela Jalilian with ‘A Fake Death Turned Real', with third place going to Lukas Coosa for ‘The Writer'.

Teens submit their original stories to the library between March and December, and each story is read and ranked by three judges. One of the three judges include Cassandra Scavetta, who is the sister of Elizabeth Scavetta, who stands as an honorary judge among two other judges from the community who are involved with teens or the publishing sector of the library. 

“We were thrilled to receive such creative submissions from our local teens,” said Groe. “You never know who will become a best-selling author in the future.”

 CPL's writing contests don't stop there. A Flash Fiction Writing Contest for Adults and Teens will be closing on April 15. The contest is for two age categories including adults 19 years of age and older, and teens from 12 to 18 years of age. Winners will receive cash prizes as well as publication on the Caledon Public Library website and social media. 

For more information on upcoming contests and how to enter, please visit Caledon.library.on.ca.