A Nightmare on George Street 2020

Just like last year, and the year before, we asked local writers “to put the quill to the quire, crafting up a spooky tale that would make HP Lovecraft have nightmares!”

As evidenced by the chilling submissions we received in previous years, there’s not only a lot of talent in the local writing community – there’s so much imagination and creativity bursting forth from your admittedly somewhat scary brains!

Congrats to our top five authors for our A Nightmare on George Street 2020 spooky story writing contest!
Our filmmaker extraordinaire Mike Hickey is currently in the process of working with these authors to record readings of these chilling stories, to be shared on the WANL Facebook page just in time for Halloween.

Without further ado, the top five submissions are (listed alphabetically):

Connie Boland – “Soliloquy”
Paul Carberry – “The Old Hag”
David Lynch – “Tell Me, Do You Know The Hag”
Colton Simpson – “My Little Hobby”
Debra Whalen – “Night Shift”

Congrats to all, and thanks to all authors who submitted! Stay tuned for terrifying tales!

Contestants were welcome to submit flash fiction original material of any genre to a maximum of 1,000 words. Writing format was open to all: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, monologues, etc.

An educated and professional jury of writers, actors, and horror fanatics are now adjudicating the submissions, creating a shortlist of the top entries.
The winners will then be chosen by the public via online voting.

Winners will record readings of their submissions, to be shared on WANL’s social media. Mike Hickey of Fright Hype will be editing these filmed readings to ensure peak spookiness, and as a bonus prize, the top five authors will receive an MP4 copy of their filmed reading that can be used for promotion on their own personal social media platforms.

With respect to social distancing protocols and event gathering limitations, this eerie event will take place virtually. WANL Executive Director and Filmmaker Extraordinaire Mike Hickey will detail our winning submissions via Facebook Live on October 31, broadcasted from The Black Sheep on George Street.

A HUGE thanks to our top prize sponsor this year, Hooligans Custom Tattoos, who donated a whopping $100 gift certificate for our first place winner!

We would also like to thank Unicornio, Fred’s Records, Tvål Skincare, Lester’s Farm, Boca Tapas Bar and Rocket Bakery & Fresh Food for their donated prizes for our second and third place winners.
But stay tuned – there are more prizes from more great local organizations and businesses yet TBA!

1st place: Josh Goudie
2nd place: Ryan Belbin
3rd place: Natasha Glover

Honourable mentions to Brad Dunne, Jon Dobbin, and Jen Corrigan.

View a playlist of all six videos from our amazing 2019 shortlisted authors by heading into the Videos tab!