Competition entries were received from across the country and illustrated well the diversity of the immigrant experience in Canada. Entries were submitted in both official languages as well as in Hungarian; used a variety of genres, ranging from short detective stories to personal accounts, essays and short fiction; and covered many themes such as the challenges of integration and accommodation, the difficulty of facing racism, accepting a multiple identity, questioning one’s identity and place in society. Many contestants did not shy away from the difficult questions that are raised by uprooting and finding one’s way in the realities of a new country. We would like to thank all those who participated in this competition.
We are pleased to announce the following prizes and awards:
In the post-secondary category awards are as follows:
First Prize of $1000 to Coriana Constanda of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. for her essay, “But Why Can’t We Have Real Fruit Loops?”
Second Prize of $500 to Raphael Guévin Nicoloff of Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario for his essay: “Le dat sur les accommodements raisonnables, un an après son apogée”.
Third Prize of $250 to Visnja Milidragovic of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. for her autobiographical narrative: “Jumping and Landing”.
The above winning entries have now been uploaded on this site and can be read by clicking on the titles above.
In the secondary school category awards are as follows:
A special class prize of $250 and copies of Pier 21: Stories from Near and Far by Anne Renaud to the Grade 9 students (‘français langue maternelle’) of Heritage Regional High School, St. Hubert, Quebec and their teacher, Madame Johanne Boursier, in recognition of the class effort as a whole.
A special jury prize of $250 and a copy of Pier 21: Stories from Near and Far by Anne Renaud to Leila Khalili of the Emery Adult Learning Center, Toronto Ontario for her narrative essay, “My Life as a New Canadian” for authenticity in her description of the newcomer experience.
Hungarian Embassy book prize: Magyarország városai. (Cities of Hungary) to high school student Tünde Kiss of Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, Toronto, Ontario for her bilingual personal essay “Torontonian Story/ Torontoi történet”.
Special mention:
Commendation for Paulina Robak of York University, Toronto, Ontario for her documentary film “Somewhere in Between”. The jury noted that she made a good attempt to treat a complex issue with honesty and without sentimentalism. Paulina is to receive a DVD copy of the documentary Freedom’s Fury and her video can be viewed here.
Hungarian Embassy book prize: Histoire Illustrée de la Hongrie to Laura Patakfalvi from College Bois-de-Boulogne, Montreal, Quebec for her prose “The Spirit of the Mosaic & the Tricolour”.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the contest jury members:
Christopher Adam, lecturer at Carleton University and PhD candidate in history at the University of Ottawa
Tibor Egervari, D’origine hongroise, un professeur émérite au Département de théâtre de l’Université d’Ottawa
Judy Stoffman, Hungarian-born Toronto journalist; former arts reporter and book review editor of the Toronto Star
Thanks are also due to the Embassy of Hungary for book donations; and to Lobster Press (Montreal) and author Anne Renaud for copies of Pier 21: Stories from Near and Far.