Creative Writing Contest 2016 Judges

Toronto, ONTARIO (May 16, 2016) Ve’ahavta, the Jewish humanitarian organization, and the Toronto Writers Collective, would like to thank the following people for contributing their time to serve as judges for the 15th Annual Words from the Street Creative Writing Contest.

The contest invites submissions from people whose voices are often unheard in our city, including people who are homeless, youth at risk, abused women, Indigenous peoples and the LGBTQ communities. Submissions reflect the richness and heart of our city and are full of hope, incarnations of family and home, perseverance, humour and lessons learned.

The Creative Writing Contest culminates in an awards ceremony event to be held Sunday, June 26, 2016 from 2-4pm at the Koffler House Multi-Faith Centre, 569 Spadina Ave.

Sandra Campbell

Sandra Campbell is a writer, videographer and teacher. Her novel Getting to Normal was named as one of NOW Magazine’s best books. Since 2003, her creativity workshops for adults and youth have focused on the dynamics of the senses, memory and the imagination in the creative process.

Wendy Campbell

Wendy Campbell is pleased to be part of this literary adventure. She brings experience from running a creative arts program on the inpatient psychiatry unit at Toronto General Hospital and editing an online literary ‘zine’ at Sheena’s Place. Currently, she contributes a regular column to Moods Magazine and posts a monthly blog Creative Forces.

Puneet Dutt

Puneet Dutt is the author of the chapbook PTSD South Beach (Grey Borders Books), which was a Finalist for the 2016 Breitling Chapbook Prize. Her work has been published in a number of journals and in Imaginarium 4: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing. She resides in Toronto with her husband.

Paul Garfinkel

Paul Garfinkel is currently a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and staff psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) where he was CEO from 1997 to 2009. He is the author and editor of nine books including A Life In Psychiatry: Looking out, Looking in (2015). Dr. Garfinkel has received many honours for his work, including Officer of the Order of Canada.

Karen Goldenberg

Karen Goldenberg received the Order of Canada in 2014 for her outstanding contribution to research and the practice of occupational therapy, and her leadership in community services. A graduate of the University of Toronto, Karen has been the creator and leader of many community organizations, schools and charities and brings passion and excellence to her work.

Yoni Goldstein

Yoni Goldstein is an Israeli born filmmaker, cinematographer and editor of The Canadian Jewish News. His writing has also appeared in the Jerusalem Report, Maclean’s Magazine, the National Post, Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The Wall Street Journal and Haaretz.

Elissa Gurman

Elissa Gurman is a PhD candidate in the department of English at the University of Toronto. Her dissertation focuses on representations of women in love and problems of consent in British and American realist novels from 1860 to 1918.

Carrie Guss

Carrie Guss is a Toronto-based writer and artist whose work has appeared in Nat. Brut, The Collagist, NANO Fiction, Lucky Peach, and AOL News, among others. Her work in fiction has been awarded grants by the Ontario Arts Council and has previously been long-listed for the CBC Short Story Prize.

Jacqueline Markowitz

Jacqueline Markowitz is a writer and creative producer with a background in film, visual art and advertising. Her first novel, Conversations for Two, was published in 2015 by The Jam Press. She also writes a blog called Recipe for Life Club.

Jonathan Mendelsohn

Jonathan Mendelsohn is a freelance writer/journalist, a writing consultant and a professor of English language at York University. He has written book reviews, interviewed authors including The Art of Fielding’s Chad Harbach and covered cultural events such as The New Yorker Festival and Toronto’s International Festival of Authors.

Tom Miller

Tom Miller graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Geology. His writing career started after he retired from managing his construction company. He has published two books, and he is currently working on a third. He also writes a weekly travel blog that chronicles his and his wife’s travels on the rivers and canals of France on their barge Rabelo.

Brenda Zosky Proulx

Brenda Zosky Proulx is an independent writer, journalist, editor, non-profit volunteer founder and director, and an educator. She is co-founder of Leave Out Violence (LOVE), one of the leading national youth violence prevention not-for profit organizations in Canada. She was a feature writer at the Toronto Star, where she won a National Newspaper Award, and at the Montreal Gazette, and she is now working on a novel.

Dorothy Rusoff

Dorothy has been a facilitator with Ve’ahavta for the past four years. She has also begun facilitating writing workshops with the Toronto Writers Collective. Other volunteer work she is involved with is the Roots of Empathy program. She teaches part-time at Centennial College in the Social Service program.

Jacob Scheier

Jacob Scheier is the author of two poetry books with ECW Press and an ebook with The Toronto Star. He has won a Governor General’s Award for poetry, co-won a New York Community Media Alliance Award for journalism and has had a poem nominated for a National Magazine Award.

Sylvia Solomon

Sylvia Solomon has spent well over 30 years as an educator in schools, universities and the Ontario Ministry of Education. She has worked with students in Canada, the US, Israel, China, Guyana, Kosovo and Tanzania, and has published in numerous journals and books, including authoring For The First Time: One Women’s Journey from Career to Retirement. The mother of three and grandmother of four – soon to be five – Dr. Solomon’s commitment to education that prepares children to live in peace and harmony is unwavering.

Noemi Weis

Noemi Weis’s work as a director, writer and producer is guided by a keen sense for compelling storytelling, integrity, and a fearless passion to tackle important human rights issues in an intimate and emotional way. Her socially conscious documentaries continue to gain recognition, awards and distinctions but more importantly they make a difference by promoting awareness and giving a voice to the voiceless.

Margaret Wente

Margaret Wente is one of Canada’s leading columnists. As a writer for The Globe and Mail since 1992, she provokes heated debate with her views on health care, education, and social issues. She is winner of the National Newspaper Award for column-writing, and she has received numerous other journalism awards.

David Wintre

David Wintre is a retired business person with an interest in the law, philosophy, and literature. He is co-moderating a course at Ryerson University’s LIFE Institute in which he will encourage participants to see history and philosophy as “ourselves writ large” through the magnifying lens of great trials.

Learn more about the 15th Annual Awards Ceremony