A group of students across the North Shore can now say they are published authors as their work and creativity are celebrated in a local library Teen Writing Contest.
The North Vancouver District Public Library and North Vancouver City Library announced the five winners of the contest earlier this month, ranging from students Grades 7 to 12, with each piece tying into the theme “echos of the past.” Each winning story was professionally bound and added to the collections for people to borrow.
Amelia Horwood won first place in the Grades 7 to 9 category for her piece, Timeless Lessons. Cates Rios received honourable mention for the story Forgotten in Flames. Rachel MacDonald-Lin won in the Grades 10-12 category for Once There Were Dragons, while Olivia Garnett’s piece The Potatoes claimed the honourable mention spot.
But there was also a title for overall winner. Grade 10 Collingwood School student Cynthia Yu said she started jumping around her house when she received an email letting her know that she was the overall winner for her short story, Cherry.
“It feels so amazing, because I’m finally taking the steps to pursue what was my hobby and is now becoming a dream come true,” Yu said. “It’s just a huge step that I feel like I finally accomplished something to what I hope can be my career to continue writing.”
Cherry follows the story of a 14-year-old girl in Middle Ages China who was chosen to be one of many empresses at the imperial palace, the Forbidden City. But she is driven insane during the process, being forced to undergo rigorous training and follow orders constantly.
Cherries were used a lot for painting, but also to symbolize the girls that were taken away from their homes due to their beauty, skills or talents, she said.
“I wanted to symbolize these girls as being picked like fruit for the pleasure of someone else,” said Yu, whose story clocks in at 4,500 words.
“I really think that today, as a community, we kind of bypass how brutal situations were for women in history,” she added. “We don’t go into enough depth in order to see how horribly women were treated in ancient, historical setting.”
NVDPL kicked off their writing contest in 2018, but last year’s contest marked the first of the district and city libraries collaborating. Sara Oremland, teen engagement librarian at NVDPL, said 27 stories were sent in for the recent contest, where entries were judged by library staff, members of both the district and city’s teen leadership groups and local authors.
“Youth have a lot of creativity, and I think writing is also a way to explore your own self and your own ideas,” Oremland said. “We just want to really give them a creative outlet.”
Growing up, Yu said she took a lot of Chinese courses, already having the basic knowledge to dive into the story. Yu hopes the story will help people learn about difficult but important parts of history while also uplifting untold perspectives.
“Especially going back to my culture, I understand that my relatives had to go through horrible situations like these, and I feel if I can speak their story in modern times, then I can speak for those in the past who [were] oppressed and cannot bring up the story in modern day,” Yu said.
A celebration was held for the winners at the North Vancouver City Library on Oct. 17, 2024. People can learn more about the winning titles at the district or city library’s website.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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