Annual youth writing contest underway

The Ottawa Public Library’s 21

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annual Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest is underway. This contest, for aspiring young poets and short story authors, is open to writers between the ages of 9 and 17. They are invited to submit poems and short stories in English or French. The contest deadline is February 15, 2016.

In order to help prepare participants to enter the contest, the following writing workshops will be offered: _ For ages 9-12 _ ** January 22 ** : Poetry (JC Sulzenko) - Beaverbrook ** January 22 ** : Short story (Catherine Austen) - Carlingwood ** January 29 ** : Poésie et nouvelles - North Gloucester _ For ages 13-17 _ ** February 6 ** : Poésie et nouvelles - St-Laurent ** February 13 ** : Poetry and short story (Caroline Pignat) - Greenboro

Contest winners will be announced, and prizes awarded, during a ceremony to be held on March 29 at 7:00 p.m. at the Centrepointe Theatre. For more information, please visit the OPL website at _ BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca/ _ _ AwesomeAuthors _ , call 613-580-2940 or email _ InfoService@BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca _ .

This contest is sponsored by the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA) who publish _ pot-pourri _ , an annual anthology of the winning poems and stories. _ pot-pourri _ makes a great gift. Visit the FOPLA website at _ OttawaPublicLibraryFriends.ca _ to place an order. _ The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) is the largest bilingual (English/French) public library system in North America, with 34 branches, physical and virtual at _ _ _ BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca _ _ _ , mobile libraries _ _ , _ _ and a vending machine library service. OPL’s mission is to inspire learning, spark curiosity, and connect people. Follow us on Twitter _ _ _ Twitter.com/OPL_BPO _ _ _ and like us on Facebook _ _ _ Facebook.com/BiblioOttawaLibrary _ _ _ . Contact us at 613-580-2940 or _ _ _ InfoService@BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca _ _ _ . If it’s out there, it’s in here! _