(Lucy Hambly of Stittsville, middle of photo, won an Ottawa Public Library ‘Awesome Authors’ award on April 22, 2023. For the Stittsville young writer, this is her second win. Photos: Hambly family)
A warm atmosphere welcomed participants of the Ottawa Public Library’s (OPL) Awesome Authors writing contest to the Dominion-Chalmers Centre on Saturday, April 22nd. For the first time since 2019, OPL was able to present the awards in person. Among this year’s talented youth is Stittsville’s own Lucy Hambly, a student at South Carleton High School. Lucy was awarded 3rd place in the Short Story (English) ages 13-18 category. Quite an accomplishment.
For more than twenty-five years, OPL has organized the Awesome Authors writing contest to celebrate Ottawa’s young talents. Youth aged 9 to 18 are encouraged to submit their writing – whether poetry, short stories, or comics – with categories in both English and French in two age groups (9-12 and 13-18). While in recent years the Library received an average of 500 submissions, this year the Awesome Authors contest saw a record-breaking 739 entries.
Lucy Hambly has been entering the Awesome Authors contest for five years now, and this isn’t the first time her writing has gained recognition. In 2021, Lucy’s short story titled “Twilight Wind” received an honourable mention in the Short Story (English) 9-12 category. This year, Lucy was surprised to receive 3rd place, “I did not expect to place in the contest again this year, especially since I am in an older age group, but I am thrilled by the accomplishment!” At 14 years old, Lucy was judged among an older group of peers this year, competing in the 13-18 category – making her 3rd place award all the more impressive.
Lucy’s short story titled “Quiet Skies” follows a young girl named Lyra as she reminisces on a past event that changed everything in her life. Lucy explains that she stepped out of her comfort zone when writing her winning story, “My previous Awesome Authors entries have all been written with first person narration, but I decided to write my entry in third person this year. Though this was more difficult than I had anticipated, I am very happy with the outcome! This story deals heavily with topics of grief and the healing process that comes after suffering a great loss. Beginning to write about darker subject matter was quite a change as all of my previous entries have focused more on recovering from difficult situations instead of dealing with them. I also managed to connect this story with my passion for astronomy. I found that writing about something I loved made it easier to stay unaffected by the difficult themes I was exploring in the text.” (Check out Lucy’s articles on the joy of outer space right here on Stittsville Central!)
In addition to her recognition as an Awesome Author, Lucy recently placed in the Legion’s Remembrance Day essay competition. Once again displaying her talent for writing, Lucy submitted a touching essay related to Remembrance Day: “I decided to recount all of my past experiences with remembrance in the form of a narrative short story, discussing the feelings and thoughts that many brought up while recognizing the day.” Lucy’s entry won the local round and from there moved on to the Ottawa-wide level, where it also won. “Though I never expected to win this competition, it was a great experience! I ended up receiving the news of my first advancement on my birthday, which only made the day feel extra special.”
For the Awesome Authors awards ceremony, a celebratory atmosphere reigned. The Chair of the Ottawa Public Library Board, Trustee Matthew Luloff, City Councillor for Orléans, was on hand to applaud the participants. Also present was Sara Caverley, the Communications Director of Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA), the sponsoring organization. The Master of Ceremony for the award show was Ottawa-based poet and author (and trained lawyer) Leslie Roach, who was joined by the contest judges: Apollo the Child, Catherine Austen, Pierre-Luc Bélanger, and Amelinda Bérubé; all local writers themselves who led writing workshops for the contestants.
This ceremony not only celebrated the passion for writing and the talent of Ottawa’s young writers, but also highlighted the importance and impact of the Awesome Authors contest in the lives of young people in the community. Among the special guests was Emily Murray, winner of the 1997 Awesome Authors contest, who spoke to the youth and encouraged them to pursue their dreams and persevere in exploring and mastering their art.
The winning entries of the Awesome Authors contest will be published in an anthology called Pot-Pourri, which will be released at the end of the year. For the full list of the 2023 Awesome Authors contest, visit the OPL website.