Roslyn and Max Margles Young Writers Contest

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

The first Roslyn and Max Margles Young Writers Contest, presented by the Côte Saint-Luc Public Library and the Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF), recognizing outstanding story and poem writing by youngsters, was held May 22 at CSL’s Aquatic and Community Centre.

In 2022, the Max Margles Children’s Library at the Bernard Lang Civic Centre was inaugurated, following a $500,000 donation by his wife Roslyn Margles for children’s library programming.

On hand for last week’s event were Roslyn Margles, Councillor Lior Azerad, CSL Public Library director Janine West, CSL children’s librarian Bronwen Cathey, Lori Schubert of the QWF; and contest judges Marie Louise Gay, a children’s book writer and illustrator from Montreal; Westmount resident Anne Renaud, a children’s author who writes in English and French; and Paul (P.J.) Bracegirdle, a Montreal-based writer and artist.

West thanked Margles for “your inspiration and dedication to children’s literacy,” the city council in general for supporting the library “and all our young writers who took the time to write and submit your creations.”

Azerad paid tribute to Margles for her “philanthropic leadership in the community, but also the lasting monument to her husband Max, which honours the love he had for reading. The writing contest is a testament in action of her care for the community’s children and their development, and an investment in our city’s future.”

“I want to thank all the children,” Margles said. “Without all of you, we wouldn’t be here. Writing is very important. Writing down your ideas will help you think about things, clarify them, express your feelings, organize your thoughts. As you grow older, you will find writing well comes in very handy.”

Schubert announced that all eight contest winners and honourable mentions will have their work published in the QWF’s online literary journal, carte blanche.

The winners were:

• In first place for Grades 3 and 4, Cordelia Carrier-Sydor for the story Bluebell’s Problem, praised for being a “very creative fantasy story with good flow and a well-developed story arc.”

• In second place for Grades 3 and 4, Avraham Cremisi for the story Le monstre marin, which was praised for being well written and for offering a strong voice and rhythm.

• Grade 3 and 4 runners ups Cordelia W. King and Sawyer Soles. The jury found Cordelia’s story The Science Fair Disaster to be “inventive, funny and original, with strong dialogue,” while Sawyer’s Stuart’s Horrible Life at School “demonstrated strong storytelling,” and was praised for its humour, originality and character development.

• In first place for Grades 5 and 6, Mika Nadkami-Blain for Plastered: The Story of How I (Almost) Got Rich. The story was praised for being a “wonderful, well-paced thriller” that was “engaging and well developed, with clever, lively dialogue and complex characters.”

• In second place for Grades 5 and 6, Izzy Druckman for the story Betty Rubin, praised for being an “interesting biography of a creative, determined woman.”

• The Grades 5 and 6 runner-ups were Simona Bogdanova, for Weird Wires, praised as a “fun and imaginative poem with a creative, original voice”; and Tatiana Moran Verdule, whose poem Pink Painted Basketball was praised as a “cute and lively poem that reveals a young person’s emotions.”

“It’s really nice to see that there are this many enthusiastic young people writing,” Azerad told The Suburban. “These kids really put in the effort.” n