Shelaine Strom of Abbotsford has won a national award in the category “Article-Personal Experience.”
Her piece, “Waiting: A Passionate Pause” was published online with Truth Media, here: http://powertochange.com/experience/spiritual-growth/waiting-a-passionate-pause/
Strom began writing in earnest when a chronic jaw injury forced her to quit her work as an instructor in a career retraining program. The pain that public speaking caused forced her to find the avenue of writing to share her ideas and keep helping people. The article that won the competition addresses Strom’s journey in debilitating pain, job loss, and finding purpose in it all.
The winners of this year’s writing competition were announced on June 11 at a black-tie awards gala at World Vision’s headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario. The contest received nearly 100 entries from writers across Canada. The 28 award categories include non-fiction books, novels, articles, columns, poems, and song lyrics. Strom’s article was in competition with 18 other articles.
“I am overwhelmed to have won this award,” Strom said, “given my relatively recent experience as a writer. I hope my article gives voice to anyone going through career change brought on by medical complications. My desire is that readers can gain hope for their future and discover meaning in hardship.”
The Word Guild, the organization that sponsored the award, consists of more than 300 writers and editors across Canada who write from a Christian perspective and publish work in a variety of genres. They also sponsor Canada’s largest Christian writers’ conference, Write Canada.
