We write so others can read. Literally!
by Kevin Craig
2010 Winner: Young Adult
Lately, people cry whenever they come near me. Whenever I come near them.
My life wasn’t always this way. They used to be indifferent. Before the accident, I sometimes wondered if I even existed at all. Not anymore. Now, all I have to do is walk into a room and someone is bound to burst into tears. Guaranteed.
I don’t really blame them. I haven’t been able to look in a mirror since the 6th of May, myself. I can’t bear to do it. [Read more…]
By Jennifer Turney
2018 Winner: Young Adult
Merim and Janus clawed through another mound of soft, wet moss, the earthy scent causing each of them to sneeze in turn. She, wearing the last small pair of gloves and he, shouldering the bag and insisting she move faster at their task. It wasn’t often that they found a pocket of such fresh, lush greenery, deep in the thick and mountainous Asian landscape. They were eager to collect it before someone else came to claim it, not that the nomads ran into strangers often. It also wasn’t often that Merim and Janus were able to work together companionably.
By Lenore Butcher
2019 Honourable Mention: Adult
Thursday dawned with ominous dark clouds in the sky. Krystia, always sensitive to barometric pressure changes, had a headache and seemed out of sorts. She had planned to head over to the spa site to check on the progress but ended up deciding to stay home in bed all day and see if she couldn’t soothe it away. Thursday night was family night and she didn’t want to ruin it by feeling ill. [Read more…]
by Kevin Craig
2008 Winner: Adult
My mother was always losing things. She once lost my dead sister. She spent years looking for her, but by the time she had lost Deja she was far too gone to realize there’s no finding the dead. When you lose sight of them, they are gone forever.
I was ten years old when Deja died. She was the oldest Reason child—gifted, bright, and headstrong. She had just finished high school and was contemplating her next steps in life, pondering her choices. [Read more…]
by Kevin Craig
2007 Winner: Adult
I first met the poet in 1973. I was a child, cleaning up after one of my father’s infamous parties. I can still recall that encounter. I found the poet passed out on our living room couch. He was sprawled in such a way I had to move his arms to clear the mess on the coffee table. His hand was resting inside the detritus of an overflowing ashtray. Putting my collection of beer bottles down on the table, I tried to move his hand without waking him. [Read more…]
by Brenna Pinckard
2013 Young Adult Runner Up
It is the middle of June. School has ended, and there is a sense of enchantment in the air. The dream of summer has become a reality; the mere thought of it causes my body to buzz with energy. This buzz is reflected on Katie’s face as she looks over at me from her place in front of the mirror. I can see it in her – she’s lighter, happier. School isn’t just over for the year, it’s over forever. And that makes the idea of this summer, the fact that we have ten beautiful, hot weeks stretching out in front of us, seemingly for eternity, all the more appealing. [Read more…]
by Christina Kilbourne
2003 Winner
November 10
Dear Diary;
Everything is black, so black I can’t see through it. When it first started closing in around me, I thought I’d be okay, that I’d let it creep in a little way and then fight it back when I had the energy. The thing is, I didn’t realize it was stronger than me and now I’m afraid I won’t ever win. [Read more…]
by Christina Kilbourne
2002 Over-all Winner
After Hamar died, I took the kids into town for pizza. Gunner had been to the pizza restaurant lots of times before, but the other kids never had. So we dressed up in our best clothes, the same we wore to the cemetery for Hamar’s funeral, and piled into the truck. Gunner drove with the twins and me in the front seat: the boys sat in the truck bed with their backs against the cab and their arms hugging their knees. It was a warm day and the sun was burning strong. I felt good with a bit of Hamar’s money tucked in my pocket and my kids smiling and chattering with excitement. Gunner looked proud to be driving us, going out to dinner like a family from a TV show, and I was proud of him, my eldest. I knew I wouldn’t often spend the money on stuff like this, but now and then I thought we deserved it.
by Sharon Frayne
2019 YA Winner Excerpt
Mama’s voice trails off as I stare at a crack in the sidewalk and imagine myself fall and smash my face on the concrete.
“You need to read his letter,” she says and hands me a sealed white envelope with my name in Papa’s handwriting. I grab it, shake my head and stuff it down into my leather bag with my epi-pen and sketchbook.
“I hate him. He’s dead to me.” [Read more…]
Dear Writers and Friends of the Muskoka Novel Marathon,
We invite you to join writers – from all over – on our new Forum! The MNM spirit can now live all year around. [Read more…]