Toronto Star and the Toronto Public Library to Kick Off Canada's Largest Short Story Contest

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 5, 2011) - Did you ever dream of being a published author?

If you are an aspiring writer, the Toronto Star 2011 Short Story Contest offers a golden opportunity to see your story published in Canada's largest newspaper and to study with some of the best creative writing teachers in the country.

Starting Saturday, January 8, writers and aspiring authors who live in Ontario can enter the contest, which is the biggest of its type in Canada and one of the largest in North America. The winners will be selected by a distinguished panel of judges.

The winner of the contest, which is now in its 33rd year, will receive a grand prize of $5,000 plus the tuition fee for the creative writing correspondence program at the Humber School for Writers, worth approximately $3,000. In addition, the second-place winner will receive a prize of $2,000 and the third-place winner will get $1,000.

For the second straight year, the Toronto Public Library will be a partner with the Star in presenting the prestigious contest, which last year attracted nearly 2,000 entries.

"The Library is very pleased to partner with the Star in encouraging aspiring writers. We know many, many writers have used the library as an incubator for their work, and we wish all this year's entrants the best of luck," said Jane Pyper, city librarian of the Toronto Public Library.

The Humber School for Writers will also be a partner in the contest.

The judges for the 2011 contest will be Sarah Selecky, author and 2010 Giller Prize finalist; Jane Pyper, city librarian of the Toronto Public Library; Matthew Church, chair of the Toronto Public Library Board; Richard Ouzounian, theatre critic for the Toronto Star and author of six books; and Geoff Pevere, the Star's entertainment critic who has been reviewing, writing and teaching about film and books for more than 25 years.

The winners will be announced in April during the Library's annual Keep Toronto Reading Festival. Their stories will be published in the Star.

Deadline for submitting entries is Feb. 27. For full contest rules, visit www.thestar.com/contests.

About the Toronto Star

The Toronto Star, founded in 1892, is read in print and online (thestar.com) by 2.8 million readers every week. The Toronto Star is a division of Star Media Group, which includes Toronto.com, Torstar Syndication Services, Eye Weekly, Sway Magazine and The Canadian Immigrant. Star Media Group also includes the jointly owned Metro free daily newspapers in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Halifax, and the Chinese language newspaper Sing Tao. Star Media Group is a division of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, which is a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation.

About Toronto Public Library:

Toronto Public Library is the world's busiest urban public library system. Every year, more than 17.5 million people visit our 99 branches and borrow more than 31 million items.