‘Leaders & Legacies’ SeriesWriting Contest
‘An Early Adventure of Paul Martin’
For Immediate Release
Ottawa High School Student to Rewrite Paul Martin’s Early Life
Fifteen-year-old Girl Wins Book Publishing Contract
with Fireside Publishing House
A Grade 10 Ottawa student will soon rewrite the early life of former Prime Minister Paul Martin.
That’s because she just won the Early Adventure of Paul Martin contest, a national writing competition which offered the grand prize of a book publishing contract with Fireside Publishing House.
To win the competition, students drawn from secondary or post-secondary schools had to submit a proposed first chapter of the book, as well as a book outline. Now, Caroline Woodward, 15, and a Canterbury High School student, has won the right to pen the historical fiction adventure of the former prime minister.
The book will be set in Colchester, near Windsor, Ontario, and focus on Martin at age 12. Despite moving to Ottawa by this time, the former prime minister usually returned to the Windsor area to live during the summer months.
The book will eventually become part of the Toronto-area publisher’s Leaders & Legacies series on Canada’s leaders as mystery-solving, adventure-loving youth. The award-winning Book One in the series, The Mystery of the Moonlight Murder: An Early Adventure of John Diefenbaker, was released last September and set in Borden, Saskatchewan. Book Two, ona youngJohn A. Macdonald, will be released this fall.
Fireside Publishing House owner, Roderick Benns, said the high school student’s entry stood out for its clarity, historical research and for conveying a sense that she knew where she wanted to take the book.
“We created this contest because we wanted to support a young person’s dream of becoming a writer. At the same time, we continue with our dream of hooking kids early on Canadian history by providing fun, action-packed, accessible stories.”
As for the former prime minister, he couldn’t be happier to be a pseudo action figure from his own youth.
“I want to congratulate Caroline on winning the competition. To think that she is just 15 and yet demonstrated the skill and the will to win says a lot about her. I just can’t wait to find out what happened to me,” joked Martin. “Guess I had better buy the book.”
Caroline will also win a professional author membership in the Crime Writers of Canada, a national non-profit group dedicated to promoting Canadian crime writing.
Contacts:
Roderick Benns
Owner
Fireside Publishing House
(905) 666-1249
Caroline Woodward
Student winner
(613) 260-0654
