2026 WRITE ON! CONTEST WINNERS
Congratulations to all our finalists! Thank you to everyone who submitted!
POETRY WINNERS (Poetry Judge: JESSICA LEE MCMILLAN)
Poetry First Place: Spencer Keene – Burn Season
Poetry Second Place: Gjoa Andrichuk – One Pot, Many Bowls
Poetry Third Place: Jennifer Getsinger – Loess is More
Poetry Honourable Mentions
Angela Rebrec – Postmortem
Diana Hayes – Your Gravity Fails and All the Sorrows Line Up at Your Door
Diana Hayes – How Do You Spell Joy?
NON-FICTION WINNERS (Non-Fiction Judge: CATHALYNN LABONTÉ-SMITH)
Non-Fiction First Place: Donna Terrill – Forever Esther
Non-Fiction Second Place: Kim Harrison – Crisis Line 2003
Non-Fiction Third Place: Lesley Hebert – Death in the Caribbean
Non-Fiction Honourable Mentions
Janaya Fuller Evans – Fallible
Mark LeBourdais – Northern Onterrible Summer
Marie-Claude Arnott – The Wait
FICTION WINNERS (Fiction Judge: EDIE REANEY CHUNN)
Fiction First Place: Kim Harrison – Road Blockade
Fiction Second Place: Kimberly Lawton – Space
Fiction Third Place: Ashley Nobeashi – Yamabiko
Fiction Honourable Mentions
Kim Harrison – The Bear Hide
SheLa Nefertiti Morrison – Looking for Pinky Small Fry
Robin Lamarche – Time for Sophie
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For further information email writeon at rclas dot com
We are delighted to announce the judges of our 2026 Royal City Literary Arts Society`s WRITE ON! Contest:
Jessica Lee McMillan, Poetry Judge
Edie Reaney Chunn, Fiction Judge
Cathalynn Labonté-Smith, Non-Fiction Judge
Each of our three judges were last year`s first place winners!
The 2026 Write on! Contest is open for submissions July 15 to Sept 15.
Email inquiries to writeon@rclas.com
Jessica Lee McMillan (she/her) is a teacher and poet with an English MA from Simon Fraser University and a Creative Writing Certificate from The Writer’s Studio (SFU). Recent/forthcoming poems can be found in Contemporary Verse 2, The Malahat Review, Crab Creek Review, QWERTY, and Canadian Literature. Her chapbook a shine like a dime in the dirt under the moon was published by Pinhole Poetry in Spring 2026. In addition to being a board member at RCLAS, Jessica is also an Editorial Director at Sapperton Community Arts Association and sits on the English Program Advisory Committee for Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Jessica lives on the land of the Halkomelem-speaking Peoples (New Westminster, BC) with her little family and large dog. jessicaleemcmillan.com
Cathalynn Labonté-Smith is the President of SCWES, a retired high school English teacher, and author of the BC Bestseller Rescue Me: Behind the Scenes of Search and Rescue (Caitlin Press), I’m Not A Mormon (Anymore) (Caitlin Press), and Feebee’s Magical Figure Skater’s Tea. She’s the founder and coordinator of the Book Awards for BC Authors contest, founder and administrator of the Not An Island Seniors (55+) Literary Contest, former judge for the Whistler International Independent Book contest, and former coordinator of the Annual North Shore Writers’ Literary Contest.
Edie Reaney Chunn is a poet, musician, and playwright based on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations. Their poetry can be found in filling station, Maisonneuve, untethered magazine, and elsewhere. Edie enjoys working collaboratively & inefficiently on theatre projects, and other pursuits.
