22 students from across Canada shortlisted for The First Page student writing challenge
Thousands of students wrote about topics ranging from the ethics of technology to climate change in our annual
Twenty-two young writers from across Canada have been chosen as finalists for The First Page student writing challenge, which asked Grades 7 to 12 students to write the first page of a novel set 150 years in the future.
Students imagined how current events and trends — from the ethics of artificial intelligence to climate change — have played out in the year 2174.
The 22 finalists were chosen from over 1,500 entries submitted in 2024. The winners will be selected by middle-grade writer Basil Sylvester and be announced on June 12.
You can read the shortlisted entries below.
Grades 7 to 9 category finalists
- 182 Days by Andrea Dobson, 15, from Acton, Ont.
- Tree Hugger by Anna George, 13, from Vaughan, Ont.
- How We Strived by Suhaira Haq, 12, from Saskatoon
- The World Outside by Isla Harrison, 14, from Winnipeg
- Lousy Poet by Marek Hetlinger, 14, from Calgary
- 95.2% Human by Gunjan Parmar, 14, from Edmonton
- Here Under the Yellow Sky by Amalie Schwarz, 14, from Winnipeg
- The Golden Rule by Drake Shoulak, 13, from Regina
- Fixed by Anya Thadani, 14, from Toronto
- Smoke Signals by Robert Wells, 14, from Toronto
- Respawn Button by Barnaby Yu, 14, from Vancouver
Grades 10 to 12 category finalists
- Rouge Wave: A Written History of The Rediscovery by Oluwatise Adeni, 17, from Ottawa
- A Culture Taken By The Stars by Jacqueline Ann Rosario, 15, from Edmonton
- Upgrade by Erin Bergman, 17, from Edmonton
- Unartificial Intelligence by Kamryn Binns, 17, from Sydney, N.S.
- There Are No Fires by Basil Carter, 16, from Toronto
- Drifting Away by Atlas Chow, 17, from North Vancouver, B.C.
- Offline Echoes by Stella McAloon, 16, from Lakefield, Ont.
- Pandora by Sophie McGowan, 15, from Burnaby, B.C.
- Forbidden Realities by Hayley Peters, 17, from Kleefeld, Man.
- Processing by Hannah Schoonderwoerd, 17, from Baden Ont.
- Ad Infinitum by Tarika Stitt, 16, from Nanaimo, B.C.
Basil Sylvester will select two winners, one from each category, from the shortlists. Alongside their father, Kevin Sylvester, they are the co-author of the middle-grade novel The Fabulous Zed Watson and the recently published second book in the series, Night of the Living Zed.
Both winners will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which sends fresh boxes of books to young readers across Canada on a monthly basis.
In addition, each winners' school libraries will receive 50 free YA books.
You can read the complete rules and regulations here.
Last year's winners were Christian A. Yiouroukis for his story Where the Maple Leaf Grows and Bee Lang for their story One Question.
