Press Release:
For immediate release, June 30, 2006

Contact: Violette Malan, 613-272-3591

Winners Announced For Scene Of The Crime Short Story Contest

This year's Wolfe Island Scene of the Crime short story contest saw entries from across Canada as the event continues to grow in popularity.

"We were delighted to see more Canadians turning to crime," jokes contest co-ordinator Violette Malan. "Since Canadian crime writing started with a Wolfe Islander, it seems fitting the Island be a centre for promoting new writers from across the country."

The contest, part of the Scene of the Crime Writers Festival taking place on Saturday Aug. 19 on Wolfe Island, Ont., attracted entries from as far away as Burnaby, B.C., as well as close to home. The winners were chosen by a three-person panel through blind judging.

First-place finisher Margaret Abela of Scarborough, Ont., won for her story "The Strange Case of Camellia Sinensis". The second-place finisher, who hails from Kingston, is Christina Decarie for her story "Dark Coming on Quick". Third-place goes to Dave Eves of Harrowsmith, who penned "The Forestvale Grave Robbery". Honourable mention goes to Kingston writer Dorothyanne Brown for "The Idle Crows".

First prize is $50 and publication in the fall issue of Kingston Life magazine. Second and third prizes are $25 gift certificates from Kingston's Novel Idea bookstore.

The annual Scene of the Crime Festival is dedicated to celebrating Wolfe Island's heritage as the birthplace of Canada's first crime writer, Grant Allen. Born on the Island in the mid-19th century and the first Canadian to write crime fiction, Allen invented one of the most popular plot conceits of the genre, the thief who is actually the hero of the story. He was also a good friend of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

Set for Saturday, Aug. 19, on land Grant Allen's family donated to the Island around the time of his birth, this year's Scene of The Crime includes:

• A talk on a daring 1930 escape across the ice from Kingston Penitentiary to Wolfe Island by DAVID ST. ONGE, Curator of the Penitentiary Museum.
• Attorney and author Jeffrey Miller will regale us with tales of curiosities and capers in the courtroom.
• This year's invited guests, award winning author Tim Wynne-Jones, member of the Ladies Killing Circle Joan Boswell, and well-known crime/fantasy writer Tanya Huff will read "5 Minute Mysteries" written especially for the Scene of the Crime.
• The Grant Allen Award: An intimate interview with James Powell by Roy Bonisteel, followed by the presentation of the third annual Grant Allen Award. Held at historic Trinity Anglican church, where Grant Allen's father was the first minister.

This year, the short story awards will officially be presented at the festival's luncheon, where Canada's top crime writers join festival-goers at the table for a home-cooked meal.

It's all done with a home-style flare that emphasizes the small-town feel of Wolfe Island, the largest of the Thousand Islands. Festival events take place in the Island village of Marysville, and are all within walking distance of the free ferry from Kingston.

Information and tickets are available at on this Web site or by contacting Maureen Lollar at 613-385-2540 or by email at [email protected].