Writer and children鈥檚 storyteller Laura Thomas has once again teamed up with Delta Parks, Recreation and Culture to offer a provincewide summer writing contest for budding authors.

The contest is free to enter and open to any B.C. resident between the ages of 10 and 17. There is also a special incentive category for children six to nine years old.

Last year, 50 young scribes from Prince George, Invermere, Vernon, the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island submitted short stories. Thomas 鈥� who has been donating her time and talents to this free-to-enter contest since she came up with the idea four years ago 鈥� hopes that even more aspiring writers will send in stories this year.

When asked what inspired her to create the contest, Thomas said, 鈥淚t was the new talent shows on TV. I don鈥檛 think we are ever going to see a show called 鈥楥anada鈥檚 Next Great Writing Star鈥� so starting a contest that encourages kids to try and get published seemed like the next best thing. I know from experience that it鈥檚 always more fun to write when you have a specific goal and know that someone will be reading your work.鈥�

Contestants are asked to send in three copies of an original short story of up to 1,000 words on any subject.

鈥淚 like to give young writers the freedom to write about what they care about,鈥� said Thomas. 鈥淭hose are usually their best-told stories plus, by opening the contest to writers throughout the province, we are bound to get a wide variety of tales that reflect the local differences that make B.C. unique.鈥�

Thanks to donations by Delta businesses, the contest is free to enter and the top six winners in each category will receive prizes

The contest closes Aug. 31. Entries can be mailed to JA Short Story Contest c/o South Delta Recreation Centre, 1720 56 Street, Delta, B.C., V4L 2B1. Winners will be announced late-September. Complete details are online at www.agentstory.net.