Pens at the ready
illustration by Devin Beauregard
U of O students take on the ultimate writing challenge
ON YOUR MARK, get set, write. Students across several U of O faculties will plan out and write the best stories they can cook up as the Undergraduate English Students’ Association (UESA) 48-hour gets underway. Beginning Friday, Oct. 23 the contest gives students an opportunity to pen an entirely original piece, with only two days and 18–25 pages to work with.
Though the UESA has put on the annual contest for several years running, many students are daunted by the idea of being locked in a room until the competition reaches its close.
“Unfortunately, that’s probably unethical,” jokes Aaron Kozak, vp literary of the UESA, stating that he would like all students to rest assured—it isn’t that intense.
Once contestants submit the required application form, they are free to set up shop wherever they please to create their masterpiece. Though one of the most important rules of the contest is that a student must not have written anything down before the contest begins, the UESA has always run the event based on a system of complete trust.
“There [haven’t] been any major issues in the past,” says Kozak. “And never [with] finalists.”
Though cheating has not caused any considerable problems to date, the UESA has considered establishing a theme for entries, to be revealed only once a participant submits their application form. The hope is that designating a theme would both make things more interesting for contestants, and assist in enforcing the rules.
There is a significant incentive for participants to stick to the guidelines, however. The winner of the contest receives a small monetary prize of $50, in addition to having their story published in a pocket-sized chapbook with its own ISBN. The UESA usually prints 150–200 copies of the winning work and distributes it to both professors and students across campus.
Former contestant Dave Atkinson, whose comedic work Death and Donuts took the prize last year, has found this latter part of the prize to be the best reward for his hard work.
“It hasn’t helped me pick up chicks or anything,” says Atkinson. “[But] it’s really cool to be a published author.”
Though the win hasn’t exactly skyrocketed Atkinson to local fame, he did enjoy a brief moment in the limelight following the competition when the English department’s wine and cheese event provided him with an opportunity to promote his newly published work.
“I actually had to sign a couple of copies of my book for people, which weirded the hell out of me,” Atkinson admits.
Though the winner isn’t likely to become the next Stephen King overnight, it’s important to note that the contest has been growing in popularity over the past few years. It has even managed to attract the attention of CBC Radio, which interviewed some of last year’s competitors.
Writing a novella in two days is quite a feat, even for the most experienced and talented of writers. With a novella now under his belt and an online sitcom in the works, Atkinson offers a few tips to those who are thinking of participating in this year’s event.
“Don’t plan to do anything else that weekend. It’s going to take longer than you think,” he explains. “You should [ideally] have a first draft by the end of Saturday and by Sunday you’re just [revising] it.”
For the procrastinators amongst this year’s contestants, Atkinson offers another bit of wisdom.
“Get a coffeemaker if you don’t already have one,” he advises. “Coffee goes well with carpal tunnel syndrome.”
Applications for the contest are available in room 321 of the Arts building, open from 4–6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23. For additional information, contact Aaron Kozak at lit.uesa@artsuottawa.ca.
