Okanagan College is bringing back its popular 3-Hour Short Story Contest for the ninth consecutive year.

Students from Grades 11 and 12, as well as Okanagan College students, from across the Okanagan Valley, are invited to enter the contest.

Aspiring authors looking for a challenge will need to make careful use of the 180 minutes they will  be given to craft a compelling original short story at the contest, which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13 from 1 – 4 p.m. at each of the College’s campuses in Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon and Salmon Arm.

The clock won’t be the only obstacle during the competition.

Photo Credit: ContributedHannah Stanley was the winner of the 2017 3-Hour Short Story Contest sponsored by Okanagan College. This year's event will take place next Saturday, Oct. 12 at Okanagan College campuses in Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon and Salmon Arm.

Students will also be required to work a mystery phrase into their story, revealed at the start of the contest.

Participants in previous years had to incorporate phrases such as “frozen fish sticks,” “downy mustache,” “soggy bread” and “under the weather” into their story.

“The clock forces writers to not second guess themselves and trust their instincts while writing,” said Dr. Sean Johnston, contest organizer and an English professor at the College, in a news release issued Friday.

“Quite often they’ll produce a surprising result that undoubtedly helps to advance their artistic development and style. The pressure is liberating and I think that is why we see budding authors of all ages and levels enter the contest.”

Photo Credit: Facebook Okanagan College

Writers will be competing for funds they can apply toward tuition.

A judging panel made up of members of the College’s English department will review stories and select four winners, one from each region.

Each winner will receive a $250 tuition credit and an overall grand prize winner will take home an additional $500 tuition credit and have their story published in a limited fine-press edition by the Kalamalka Press – the College’s printing press located at the Vernon campus.

It took 7,200 seconds and 919 words for last year’s winner, Hannah Stanley, to take home the top prize of $750 for her original story called The Best Years of Our Lives.

“I woke up in the morning feeling very uninspired and I went into the contest without any prior story ideas or anything worked out in my head in advance,” said Stanley, a recent OC Associate of Arts graduate. “It wasn’t until the clock started and I heard the mystery phrase that I found inspiration and knew what I was going to write about.”

The contest is free to enter and registration is open until midnight on Friday, Oct. 12.

For more details, contest rules and to register, please visit Okanagan.bc.ca/3hourwriting.