Virginia Laveau, of Barriere, and Janet Miller, of Kamloops, received the first-ever Dr. Robert and Elma Schemenauer Writing Awards at the Interior Authors Group summer social held at Chartwell Ridgepointe in Kamloops, on July 9, 2016.
Miller won in the category Writing with a Kamloops Theme. Her poem “Kamloops” captures the essence of the beautiful city in 100 words that strongly appeal to readers’ senses and emotions. The poem is written in the “1-10, 10-1” form she learned while attending a Downtown Kamloops Library workshop led by its creator, author Richard Wagamese.
Laveau won in the category Writing with a Nature Theme. Her article “Contemplations of a Mule Deer” movingly depicts the life, forested mountain home, and last days of a mule deer injured while trying to protect her fawns from a cougar.
“I watched the deer last fall for about three days,” tells Laveau, “She was wounded by a cougar and eventually moved on, most likely to die.”
The writer says she moved to Barriere from Winnipeg in August of 2015. Having a sister who works in Kamloops with the Arts Council, Laveau says it was an easy step to get involved with the Interior Authors Group about eight months ago, and to enter the writing contest.
“I have been writing forever – since I was a kid,” says Laveau, “I have a few things published and one little novella. I submit things here and there, and finally found the right market for my stories.”
Laveau says she is currently preparing to submit another one of her works to a contest in Penticton.
The yearly deadline for submissions to the Interior Authors Group writing contest is March 21. Each award is issued annually to a member in good standing of the IAG. There is no fee to enter.
Both the Kamloops Theme and Nature Theme awards consist of a cash prize and certificate. Accompanying each award is a cash donation to the Interior Authors Group(IAG) to support its growth and educational activities. For more about the awards, please see http://elmams.wix.com/awards. For more about the IAG, see https://interiorauthorsgroup.wordpress.com/