21 students, 24 dystopic futures: finalists for The First Page speculative fiction challenge revealed

Twenty-one young writers from across Canada have been chosen as finalists for The First Page student writing challenge, which asked Grade 7 to 12 students to write the first page of a novel set 150 years in the future.

Students imagined how current affairs events and trends — from the ethics of advanced technology to climate change — have played out in the year 2172.

The 21 finalists were chosen from over 1,800 entries submitted in the winter of 2022 — 1,309 entries were collected from the Grades 7 to 9 category and 530 entries from the Grades 10 to 12 category. 

See this year's finalists and read their entries below.

Grades 7 to 9 category finalists

• The Lost Boy of Niihau by Jasjeet Bacheer, 13, from Milton, Ont.
• Farmed by Glen Chen, 14, from Thornhill, Ont.
• Death of a Tree by Denise Howatt, 13, from Manitou, Man.
• A Postcard from the Past by Esmé La Lusis, 13, from Toronto
• Filtered by Ashley Levine, 14, from Whitby, Ont.
• Life After the End by Ashley Levine, 14, from Whitby, Ont.
• The Collector by Ashley Levine, 14, from Whitby, Ont.
• My Fault by Ariadni Lianidaki, 15, from Brossard, Que.
• The Concluder's Apprentice by Esmé Mac, 13, from Vancouver
• Grayscale by Anna Pan, 14, from Richmond Hill, Ont.
• Engineer 294 by Anna Ryde, 14, from Toronto
• Embers by Tracy Wang, 15, from Vancouver
• Fugees by Joshua Zhuang, 15, from Toronto

Grades 10 to 12 category finalists

• Milk by Lillian Snell, 17, from Toronto
• Bottom Feeders by Victor Li, 15, from Mississauga, Ont.
• Still Water by Victor Li, 15, from Mississauga, Ont.
• An Arm And A Leg by Mya Metivier, 16, from Charlottetown
• Reminder: You Are Dreaming by Mira Peregud, 18, from Vancouver
• Solastalgia by Sofiyah Shariff, 16, from Edmonton
• The Deciding by Linden Shi, 14, from Vancouver
• Tegenaria Incorporated by Amelie Snowdon, 16, from Edmonton
• Red-Brick by Jack Trott-McDermott, 15, from London, Ont.
• Survival of the Efficient by Asher Vanden Enden, 17, from Toronto
• A Modern Failing Romance by Vivian Zhi, 17, from Markham, Ont.

The shortlist was selected by a team of writers across Canada. The winners will be selected by bestselling YA writer Sarah Raughley.

The winners will be announced on May 31, 2022. Each will receive a donation of 50 books for their school libraries and a year of OwlCrate, a Canadian book subscription service.

Last year's winners were Burnaby, B.C.'s Sophie McGowan in the Grade 7 to 9 category for Pollinator and Calgary's Caris Simmons in the Grade 10 to 12 category for Chasing 1%. 

Special thanks to publishers Penguin Random House, Raincoast Books, Scholastic Canada, Annick Press, KidsCan Press, Groundwood Books, Orca Books and Simon & Schuster for donating books for the prize.

If you're interested in other writing competitions, check out the CBC Literary Prizes. The CBC Poetry Prize is accepting submissions until May 31, 2022.

Meet the readers

Thank you to all the readers who participated in narrowing down over 1,800 entries to 24:

• Marty Chan, Alta., author of Willpower
• Gabrielle Prendergast, B.C., author of The Overwood
• Shane Arbuthnott, Sask., author of Guardians of Porthaven
• Angela Ahn, B.C., author of Peter Lee's Notes from the Field
• Andre Fenton, N.S., author of The Summer Between Us
• Tash McAdam, B.C., author of The Ooze
• Regina Hansen, P.E.I., author of The Coming Storm
• Angela Misri, Ont., author of Valhamster
• Hetxw'ms Gyetxw Brett D. Huson, B.C., author of The Wolf Mother
• MJ Lyons, Ont., author of Murder at the World's Fair
• Nadine Neema, Que., author of Journal of a Travelling Girl
• Alex Lyttle, Alta., author of From Ant to Eagle