Dorothy Shoemaker Awards

1st Place: Johanna Kiik

Mehetapja

“This short story of a woman on the run pulses with suspense. Mai flees to a rundown motel on the edge of a wood, where an unanswered phone rings, and a bloody knife appears in the bed. Like Mai, the writing is on the move, vivid, sensual, keeping us close to Mai’s fervid thoughts, pressed up against her actions, offering both mystery and just enough detail to sense what she’s done and what’s she about to do.”

Catherine Bush, author
2024 Dorothy Shoemaker Awards judge

2nd Place: Asha Destounis

The Hunter and His Prey

“In this lively rendering of a contemporary fairy tale, told in bright, clear language, a young man discovers that strength can be found in unexpected ways when he decides to rebel against familiar pressure to kill the fairy who falls to the ground in front of him. The writer renders his inner conflict with deft insight, as sympathy ultimately proves the greater strength.”

Catherine Bush, author
2024 Dorothy Shoemaker Awards judge

3rd Place: Katelin Ditner

Dandelion Tufts

“There’s an almost surrealist sensibility at work in this compelling story in which a narrator journeys through a series of unusual encounters in an unnamed city, questioning how we judge others and take in the world around us. Dandelion tufts look like snow and a fox bites the narrator’s hand as she searches for, and at last finds, a true sense of home.”

Catherine Bush, author
2024 Dorothy Shoemaker Awards judge

One Last Farewell
by Irem Surucu

I Even Love Your Wings
by Ziba Raheemi

Ribbons
by Ewa Zmurko

The Crippling Cliches of an Eldest Daughter and Her One Wish
by Aliza Nazir

Monster Innovation
by Lily Baty

Awards Judge

Catherine Bush is the author of five novels, including Blaze Island (2020), a Globe & Mail Best Book and Hamilton Reads 2021 pick, and The Rules of Engagement (2000), a New York Times Notable Book and a Globe & Mail and L.A. Times Best Book of the Year. Her books have been shortlisted for the Trillium and City of Toronto Book Awards in Canada and a new story collection will be published in 2025. Bush was a 2019 Fiction Meets Science Fellow at the HWK in Delmenhorst, Germany, and is currently the 2024 Writer-in-Residence Landhaus Fellow at the Rachel Carson Centre for Environment and Society in Munich, Germany. She teaches Creative Writing at the University of Guelph, lives in Toronto and in an old schoolhouse in Eastern Ontario, and can be found online at catherinebush.com.

photo credit: Arden Wray

About the Dorothy Shoemaker Awards

The Awards began in 1967 as a Centennial project, created by Dorothy Shoemaker, Kitchener Public Library's Chief Librarian from 1944 to 1971.

In 1996, when government funding for the awards was eliminated, Ms. Shoemaker made a significant personal donation to ensure the awards would continue. In 2000, Ms. Shoemaker passed away at the age of 94. However, her legacy of support for aspiring writers continues today through her ongoing endowment.

Kitchener Public Library thanks the Waterloo Region Community Foundation for their ongoing financial support of this long-running contest.