Toronto Star and Toronto Public Library Launch 2016 Short Story Contest

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 7, 2016) - Do you want to be an author?

If you do, the Toronto Star 2016 Short Story Contest offers a great opportunity to test your writing skills and possibly to see your story published in Canada's largest newspaper.

The annual contest, which launches on Saturday, January 9, attracts approximately 2,000 entries a year. It is considered the largest short story contest in Canada and one of the most lucrative in North America. All submissions must be received by 5 p.m., Monday, February 29, 2016.

The first-place winner in the contest, which now is in its 38^th year, will receive $5,000, plus the tuition fee for the 30-week creative writing correspondence program at the Humber School for Writers, which has an approximate value of $3,000.

In addition, the second-place winner will receive a cash prize of $2,000 and the third-place winner will get $1,000.

The contest is open to all Ontario residents 16 years of age or older. Entrants can write on any topic they want. Stories must be original, previously unpublished and no longer than 2,500 words. Entries are limited to one for each person. There is no fee to enter the contest.

The Toronto Public Library has been a partner for the last seven years with the Star in presenting the contest. This is the fifth straight year that the Humber School for Writers has also been a partner in the contest.

"The Library is very pleased to continue encouraging writers of this wonderful literary form," said Vickery Bowles, City Librarian of the Toronto Public Library. "We know there are thousands of stories waiting to be told, and we wish all this year's entrants the best of luck."

A Humber School for Writers' panel will read all of the entries and narrow the submissions to a short list of 25-30 stories. The winners will be selected from the short list by a panel of distinguished judges, including Bowles, award-winning Toronto short story author Pasha Malla, Toronto Star books editor Deborah Dundas and theatre critic and author Richard Ouzounian. Winners will be announced in April and their stories will be published in full in the Toronto Star.

For full contest rules, please visit www.thestar.com/shortstory

About the Toronto Star:

The Toronto Star, founded in 1892, is read in print, online (thestar.com) and on tablets (Toronto Star Touch) by approximately 3.0 million readers every week. The Toronto Star is a division of Star Media Group, which includes Toronto.com, Torstar Syndication Services, and the Kit, a fashion and beauty publication. Star Media Group also includes the Metro free daily newspapers in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Halifax, and the jointly-owned 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 one of the world's busiest urban public library systems. Every year, 19 million people visit our branches in neighbourhoods across the city and borrow 32 million items. To learn more about Toronto Public Library, visit our website at torontopubliclibrary.ca or call Answerline at 416-393-7131. To get the most current updates on what's happening at the library, follow us on Twitter @torontolibrary.