Natalie Appleton can put another notch on her writer’s pen with the announcement she has been shortlisted for two writing competitions.
The expectant mother, and former member of The Morning Star newsroom, was shortlisted for the Writer’s Union of Canada’s 18th annual Short Prose Competition for Developing Writers.
Appleton’s piece was among 500 entries chosen from all across Canada.
All the shortlisted stories will now be sent to three Canadian magazine publishers for their consideration.
Appleton’s piece, Hair Like Hymn Pages, didn’t end up winning the grand prize of $2,500, however, the experience has motivated the Vernon resident to continue writing fiction.
“I’m really happy to simply be shortlisted for this prize,” she said. “Writing is such a solitary act and it’s hard to gauge whether or not what you’re doing is any good. And after writing non-fiction for almost a decade, attempting fiction was kind of scary. It’s nice to know I’m doing something right.”
Hair Like Hymn Pages is based on a family story about one of Appleton’s grandmothers.
“A neighbour girl was killed on the farm in Saskatchewan in the ‘60s, and she never forgave herself,” Appleton said. “She didn’t leave the house again until she died years later.
“Growing up, I remember hearing stories about her hair being longer than a horses’s tail and gray-yellow, like hymn pages, because she wouldn’t wash it or have it cut after the accident. The story was a departure from reality after that, though, and it’s told from the perspective of a young boy watching his mother go mad and his family fall apart.”
A freelance journalist and writer who just completed her memoir, How to Meet a Nice Man from Medicine Hat, Appleton recently completed her masters in creative writing at City University in London, England, and teaches several writing courses through the Okanagan College’s continuing studies department.
She has also been shortlisted for the 13th annual Okanagan Short Story Contest, hosted by the creative studies department at UBC Okanagan.
Three winners will be announced at a public reading with contest judge, Annabel Lyon, at the Kelowna library (1380 Ellis St.) Thursday, March 10 at 7 p.m.
