T.O. fundraiser wins story contest
Newly published author will balance his day job, family, writing program
John Hart’s most recent entry to the Toronto Star Short Story Contest wasn’t his first, but it was good enough to win him top honours.
“I keep trying,” said the 45year-old Toronto resident who makes his living as a fundraiser.
Being named in the top three — which Hart found out before learning he won first prize of $5,000, plus free tuition to a creative-writing program at Humber College — also means being a published author for the first time.
“It’s a bit unbelievable. It’s incredible. It’s an honour,” said Hart, who’s been writing “on and off” since he was young.
“I’ve tried to keep at it (writing). It’s hard with a day job and a family, but it’s something that’s important to me so I try to make time for it. I feel there’s stuff that just has to get out, so I’ll write it down and play with it and try to shape a story,” he added.
Hart said he reads a variety of authors, and counts two Canadians, the late Timothy Findley and Helen Humphries, among his favourites.
“I try to read a little bit of everything to see different styles. You get to explore where your voice is,” Hart said.
His short story, titled “Walk With Me,” is drawn from Hart’s own “special” relationship with his grandmother.
Lena Scholman, 39, of Hamilton came in second place with her story, “North of Us,” winning a cash prize of $2,000.
Scholman recently decided to switch from being a full-time high school teacher to an occasional elementary school teacher to make time for writing.
“I decided that I really wanted to take a kick at the can at writing, so I teach a couple of days a week and the days I’m not teaching, I’m writing,” Scholman said.
“I love reading, I’m a reader first and foremost and wanted to try (writing),” she said, noting her entry in the Star’s story contest was her first attempt.
Scholman said the story she submitted was drawn from a novel she wrote six years ago that has sat on the shelf after not finding a publisher. It involves a woman and her difficult but tender relationship with an ex-partner.
“The character in the story (kept) harassing me, so I pulled a chapter out of there that I loved and I reworked it and put it in the first person,” she said.
Nicholas Anthony James Pullen, 29, of Ottawa is the thirdplace winner with a story called “Famous Blue,” and received a cash prize of $1,000.
Pullen, who has had one previous short story published in a New York journal, said it was his first time entering the Star’s short story contest.
“I’ve been writing fiction since I was a kid for the joy of it mostly at first. (Coming third) is a nice little fill-up of confidence that I might have some future in this,” he said.
Pullen, who cites the late Farley Mowat as his favourite author, works as a public servant at Indigenous Services Canada and loves to write in the evenings after work.
“Famous Blue” is a nostalgic tale of friendship that draws on Pullen’s experiences as a younger man.
“It’s kind of a love letter to a time in my life that was fraught in a number of ways. (The story) draws heavily on my early 20s and the people I met and the situations I encountered. It’s my way of eulogizing that period of my life,” he added.
The Toronto Star Short Story Contest was launched in 1978.
The three finalists will be published in the Star’s Insight section over the next three Saturdays.