Laurier Stedman Prize awards $13,000 to young storytellers

May 27, 2026
For Immediate Release

BRANTFORD — Assumption College School student Seerat Virk’s short story The Same Wind has been chosen as the first-place winner in the Laurier Stedman Prize, one of Canada’s most generous creative writing contests for secondary school students.

Winners were announced during a ceremony at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Brantford campus on May 27. As the author of the first-place story, Virk was awarded a $3,500 cash prize.

Hosted by the English program in Laurier Brantford’s Faculty of Liberal Arts, the Laurier Stedman Prize welcomes original, unpublished works of fiction up to 1,500 words from high school students studying within the geographic boundaries of the Grand Erie District and Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District school boards, including those attending private, alternative or home schools. The biennial competition awards a total of $13,000 in prizes, including $3,500 for first place, $2,500 each to two second-place winners and $1,500 each to three third-place winners.

“Ranking the finalists is really tough because each of the stories is a work of art that grabs you with its creativity, craftsmanship and emotional punch,” said Ken Paradis, associate professor of English at Laurier’s Brantford campus and chair of the Laurier Stedman Prize jury. “Congratulations to all the talented young writers who participated in the contest and special thanks to the unsung heroes, their teachers, who helped cultivate and foster that talent.”

Established in 2018, the Laurier Stedman Prize is funded through an endowment and estate gift from the late Mary Stedman, who was a champion of Laurier’s Brantford campus and an executive member of the Canadian Booksellers Association. The Laurier Stedman Prize honours Stedman’s lifelong dedication to celebrating and promoting arts and culture.

“We are grateful and honoured to be able to share Mary Stedman’s generous legacy with these creative and impressive young people,” said Associate Professor Lisa Wood, coordinator of both the Laurier Stedman Prize and the English program at Laurier’s Brantford campus. “The record 54 entries we received this year are a testament to the impact that her gift has had on young writers, their schools and their communities.”

Entries were judged anonymously by five sub-juries. The top two stories from each sub-jury were then provided to a prize jury to rank the 10 finalists and select the winner. The 2026 prize jury was composed of award-winning authors, academics and previous Laurier Stedman Prize winners and contestants.

The top 10 submissions as ranked by the prize jury are:

First place - $3,500

• The Same Wind by Seerat Virk, Assumption College School, Grade 12

Second place - $2,500 each

• The Price of Fame by Emerald Bertran, Holy Trinity Catholic High School, Grade 9
• The Weight of the World by Julia Roberts, McKinnon Park Secondary School, Grade 12

Third place - $1,500 each

• Red Willow River by Yehati Antone, W. Ross Macdonald School, Grade 10
• Mouthful of Rust by Chris Hodge, Waterford District High School, Grade 11
• Punchline by Talia Mago, Delhi District Secondary School, Grade 12

Runners-up

• The Story We Tell by Arianna Chang, Brantford Collegiate Institute, Grade 12
• I Remember Grace by Leilah Janssen, North Park Collegiate and Vocational School, Grade 11
• The Department of Optimism by Ashwin Kronwald, North Park Collegiate and Vocational School, Grade 10
• The House That Will Never Forget by Michael Rose, Dunnville Secondary School, Grade 11

This marks the first time students from Delhi District Secondary School, Dunnville Secondary School and W. Ross Macdonald School have placed in the top 10.

Read the winning stories and additional information about the Laurier Stedman Prize at wlu.ca/LaurierStedmanPrize.

About Mary Stedman

Members of the Stedman family were active in the business, social and cultural fabric of Brantford and the County of Brant for more than a century. Mary Stedman’s father, Samuel W. Stedman, went into business with his brothers in 1904, establishing the first Stedman’s Bookstore on Colborne Street in Brantford. They went on to create a chain of five-and-10 cent department stores with locations across Canada. In Brantford, the Stedman name has become synonymous with generosity and community building.

Mary Stedman served as managing director of Stedman’s Bookstore Ltd. from 1950 to 1974 and was a member of the executive of the Canadian Booksellers Association. She was also the director and chair of the bursary committee of the Samuel W. Stedman Foundation.

Mary Stedman was an early supporter of the idea of a university in Brantford, providing an important kick-start as one of the first donors to Laurier’s Brantford campus in 1999. Gifts from Mary and the estate of her sister Ruth supported the construction of the university’s Research and Academic Centre.