Writer’s Digest Mystery…Solved! 7th place in Literary Fiction!

          Ok, while I had hoped it might rank even higher, my short story, “The High Price of Fish,” won 7th place in the 82nd Writer’s Digest Competition. There were a heavy number of entries, so I’m quite happy about this!

          I’ve really been concentrating on reading great short fiction writers this year and learning technique (especially stories by recent UVic grads like Cody Klippenstein and Eliza Robertson, and, most recently, work by Shaena Lambert), so I’m pleased to find a bit of success with this piece.  “The High Price of Fish,” despite having a nautical setting, and not one involving the prairies, was actually inspired by a classic story by Sinclair Ross: “The Painted Door.” The fact that he’s another born and bred Saskatchewanian only adds to his influence on me, I’m sure. Which reminds me, I’m a prairie boy who moved to the coast…it all makes sense now…