Rising Spirits: Anthology

The NOTL Writers' Circle was launched in March of 2013 to bring together people in our community who love to write. Our group is diverse; novices to professionals, men and women, from different parts of the world and from a variety of backgrounds. It is this diversity and the richness of experience that brings vitality to our meetings. Being part of a writing community that supports our efforts and provides us with constructive feedback keeps us motivated and challenged. It allows us to continue learning and honing our craft, The First Annual Rising Spirits Creative Writing Contest was launched last year. We chose the name Rising Spirits for a number of reasons. The first was that our theme is Halloween and our Awards Celebration was planned for October 31st. We believed that this approach would spark the imaginations of our contestants and, as Niagara-on-the-lake is considered one of the most haunted towns in Canada, it would be a natural extension of our town's 'brand' and our history. Secondly, Halloween is rooted in the traditions associated with harvest time when people enjoyed the fruits of their labour and came together to pay respect to their ancestors who laid the foundations of their communities. As Niagara is still very much an agricultural community, the name also pays homage to those who have built the community and symbolically represents the coming together of our community to celebrate our creative efforts. So, Rising Spirits also refers to the growing creative spirit in the community. The Rising Spirits Creative Writing contest invites residents of the Niagara region to submit short stories and/or poetry related to the theme. The winners have their work published in our anthology and are presented with awards at the Celebration on Halloween's Eve. This year we were excited to include a Youth Category in the contest for 14-18 years olds (high school students. Our goal is to continue growing our reach in the community and spread the joy of reading and writing. We envision that our annual Rising Spirits Celebration will not only honour the winners of our contest but bring together the creative energies of our community to celebrate the unique spirit and spirits that exist in Niagara.