22 students from across Canada shortlisted for The First Page student writing challenge
Thousands of students wrote about topics ranging from the ethics of technology to climate change
Twenty-two young writers from across Canada have been chosen as finalists for The First Page Student Writing Challenge, which asked Grades 7 to 12 students to write the first page of a novel set 150 years in the future.
Students imagined how current affairs events and trends — from the ethics of advanced technology to climate change and human rights — has played out in the year 2173.
The shortlist was chosen by a team of readers made up of YA and middle-grade authors from across Canada. Over 1,200 stories were submitted for the 2023 competition.
You can read the shortlisted entries below.
Grades 7 to 9 category finalists
- War by Fiona Bagnall, 13, from Calgary.
- A Whole New World by Alvin Chen, 15, from Coquitlam, B.C.
- Jane Doe by Mackenzie Greene, 13, from Toronto
- Bailey by Leilei Lee Culham, 14, from Vancouver
- My Choice by Amelia Man, 14, from Vancouver
- Wishful Breeze by Isabel Porter, 12, from Toronto
- Not Theirs by Molly Teed, 13, from Moncton, N.B.
- 416 by Emily Yan, 13, from Calgary
- The Hidden Painting by Jessica Yang, 14, from Richmond Hill, Ont.
- Ugly Perfection by Jessie Yang, 14, from Coquitlam, B.C.
- Where the Maple Leaf Grows by Christian A. Yiouroukis, 12, from Oshawa Ont.
Grades 10 to 12 category finalists
- Is This Life? by Ruby Craig, 16, from Surrey, B.C.
- The Watcher by Talissa Gagnon, 16, from Sorel-Tracy, Que.
- The B-Shop by Alina Gao, 15, from Coquitlam, B.C.
- His and Hers by Audrey Gao, 16, from Vancouver
- A Bird's-Eye View by Akieziah Emerie Garcia, 16, from Winnipeg
- Choices by Jasmin Hasselkuss 16, from Lakefield, Ont.
- One Question by Bee Lang, 17, Edmonton
- Where the Abandoned Things Go by Ashley Levine, 15, from Whitby, Ont.
- The Death of Planet Earth by Zev Lifson, 16, from Montreal
- DesignR Infants Co. by Thomas Nixon-Langford, 18, from Nanaimo, B.C.
- There Will Never Be Another You by Antonia Starcevic, 16, Edmonton
Both winners will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which sends fresh boxes of books to young readers across Canada on a monthly basis. In addition, each winners' school libraries will receive 50 free books.
Two winning entries — one from the Grades 7 to 9 category and one from the Grades 10 to 12 category — will be chosen by bestselling author Courtney Summers.
The winners will be announced on Wednesday, May 31, 2023.
Summers is the author of several novels for young adults, including Cracked Up to Be, All the Rage and Sadie. She has won numerous awards, including the 2019 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult literature, the 2019 Odyssey Award and the 2020 Forest of Reading White Pine Award.
Last year's winners were Joshua Zhuang in the Grades 7-9 category for his story Fugees, and Victor Li in the Grades 10-12 category for his story Still Water.
