| In 1977, a group of Vancouverites decided that, rather than spend their Labour Day long weekend with anything so mundane as barbecues or road trips, they would write novels. That weekend spawned the 3-Day Novel Writing Contest, now entering its 29th year. The contest is open to absolutely anyone, including you – but you’ll have to hurry. The registration form and fee need to be postmarked by September 1, 2006. Check out www.3daynovel.com and get moving!
The contest is self-explanatory: novel-writing starts at 12:01 a.m. on September 2nd and finishes by midnight on September 4th. The prestigious prizes – including a publishing contract for the 1st place winner – give some participants concern about cheaters. Not to worry, says competitor Felicia Pacentrilli. "Since the judges have been doing it so long, they know what a 3-day novel looks like. I guess some guy once sent in a 1000-page, perfectly edited novel. He was disqualified."
Not only will Pacentrilli, a Calgary native, have to write a novel in three days, but this year the stakes have been raised. BookTelevision, intrigued by the contest, decided to give it a reality TV twist by assembling 12 writers at an Edmonton Chapters-Indigo location, where they’ll toil in front of crowds and cameras. "After the first application, I had to drive up to Edmonton for an interview with the producers," says Pacentrilli. "They asked me some questions, then tossed me a pad of paper and said, ‘Okay, you think you can write a novel in three days. Can you write a short story in 3 minutes?’"
At 20, Pacentrilli is the youngest BookTelevision contestant. "I’m totally intimidated," she admits. "I think I was chosen because I’m young and inexperienced. Everyone else is a writer with books published, while I’ve done nothing at all." She’s being modest – though young, Pacentrilli is the editor of NoD Magazine, the vice president member development of her sorority and a reporter for The Gauntlet, as well as being in the midst of her English honours degree (with a concentration in creative writing and a minor in Italian) at the University of Calgary.
Accomplishments aside, Pacentrilli is up against some steep competition, including esteemed Calgary journalist, and this year’s recipient of the Bob Edwards Award, Catherine Ford and local poet Ali Riley. "At the interview, we were supposed to bring some objects that were important to our writing," says Pacentrilli. "I brought my signed copy of Ali Riley’s book, Wayward. They saw that and said, ‘Oh, Ali Riley – she’s being interviewed right after you!’" Filling out the dozen will be Timothy Anderson, Wayne Arthurson, Jill Battson, Mark John Hiemstra, Laura Kjolby, Mar’ce Merrell, Tyler Morency, Ron Yamauchi and Darren Zenko.
Judged by Todd Babiak, Minister Faust and Jenn Farrell, the broadcast winner will receive a one-week mentorship at a writer’s retreat and publication in Westword Magazine. But before they get the glory, they’ve got some hurdles to jump. "There will be challenges," says Pacentrilli. "They had to make it more exciting than 12 people typing for 3 days. They won’t tell us what the challenges are, but they keep talking about ‘The Thirteenth Machine’ and laughing ominously." Though it’s not a "challenge," per se, the diligent novelists will also be subjected to public scrutiny. "We’re going to be rotated onto a computer hooked up to a big screen," says Pacentrilli. "As I’m writing, my words will appear on the screen for everyone in Chapters to read."
On another note, Pacentrilli tells me that NoD Magazine is now accepting submissions for its October issue. The theme is paranormal phenomena, so get your supernatural submissions together. Send six to eight pages for poetry or visual art, up to 1,500 words for prose, to nodmagazine@gmail.com.
Aside from that, there’s actually not a heck of a lot going on in literary-land this week. Enjoy the end of summer! Frolic! Swim! Bask! Barring that, I hear you can melt zombies’ faces with a hot frying pan in Dead Rising for Xbox 360. You can also take pictures of them stumbling around blindly, which sounds like a blast. Invite me over if you’re playing.
Or, since you’ve suddenly got loads of free time that would otherwise be spent attending literary events, maybe this is your chance to write something! Maybe even a novel. |
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