Sechelt wordsmith wins prestigious writing contest

March 8 , 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The terror is fresh in her mind as though it happened yesterday. The room was transfixed as Sechelt writer Jancis Andrews breathed life into her piece Country of Evil, one of three winning entries in Event Magazine?s annual creative non-fiction contest. Andrews was one of several writers invited to read in celebration of the contest, held at Douglas College?s New Westminster Campus where Event is published.

?When I read, I step into the story,? says Andrews. ?I can feel the terror all over again. I?ll never forget it. The image of that man is vividly etched into my mind and that was over 60 years ago in wartime England.?

Andrews? winning story was about being stalked in an abandoned house by a man who she is now certain was out to rape and kill her.

?Little girl, I know you?re in there...? he called into the rubble. She was tempted to come out, but somehow she knew not to. By hiding for her life, she survived.

Andrews says her life has been anything but ordinary, and emerging as a winner in Event?s creative non-fiction contest is just the latest chapter. Event is an award-winning literary journal, one that actually pays established and emerging writers for their work.

Andrews netted over $700 for her win, $500 in prize money and $20 per published page. ?It came just in time to pay the taxes on my house,? says the 70-year-old former juvenile delinquent.

For someone so literally inclined, it?s surprising to learn she was a high school dropout. ?When I was 14, I just refused to go anymore.?

In her late 30s, Andrews started high school classes in Ontario. ?I just wanted to get my high school graduation, just to make myself feel better, but my teachers said, `No, Jancis, you?re university material.?? Eventually she graduated from UBC with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1987. At age 53, she believes she was the oldest person in her graduating class.

Now she divides her professional life between writing (she has had one book of short stories published called Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let Down Your Hair) and social activism.

Her main concern as an activist is urging the B.C. government to take action against the treatment of women and girls in the polygamous community of Bountiful near Creston, B.C.

Andrews is so engrossed in the battle that she hasn?t had as much time to write as she?d like, though she has framed the letter from Event and hung it on the wall.

?I was absolutely, utterly thrilled when I heard that I won the contest,? she says. ?My life isn?t ordinary. It hasn?t always been pleasant. But it?s never dull.?

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For more information, please contact:
Kimberley Fehr, Communications & Marketing Office: 604-527-5325
Cathy Stonehouse, Editor, EVENT magazine: 604-527-5293