Writing award honours the late John W. Bilsland

The late John W. Bilsland is remembered as having been a born teacher. Bilsland, who died April 19, taught in the Department of English at the University of Alberta for 30 years, from 1955 to 1985, retiring as Professor Emeritus.

Following retirement he lead the creative writing group at the Strathcona Place Senior Centre in Edmonton as a volunteer for over 25 years. During that time more than 20 of the writers in the group had their work published.

The esteem in which his creative writing group students held Bilsland, known as Jack, led the Strathcona Place Seniors Society to inaugurate the John W. Bilsland Literary Award in 2015.

The award was established to celebrate and foster the creativity of older writers, and recognizes literary excellence among those aged 55 and older in works of fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction.

Bilsland was born and raised in Vancouver and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. He obtained his BA and MA from the University of British Columbia and his PhD from the University of Toronto.

At his death, following a series of strokes, Bilsland was 94 years old. According to his obituary in the Edmonton Journal, he was predeceased by his wife Rhona in 2003 and is survived by his five children.

A memorial service will be held in Edmonton on April 29, 2017, at 11 a.m. at Mill Woods Presbyterian Church, 6607-31 Ave NW, with the Reverend Ms. Jean Bryden officiating.
The John W. Bilsland Award is now in its third year and its geographical scope has widened. Writers aged 55 years and older who live throughout Western Canada are now eligible to submit work to be considered for this year’s award.  Prizes of $500 will be awarded in each of three categories: short fiction, short non-fiction and poetry.

The deadline for award submissions is June 22, 2017.

Entry rules and regulations are available at www.strathconaplace.com, where an entry form can also be downloaded. In addition, entry forms can also be picked up at Strathcona Place Seniors Centre, 10831 University Avenue. For further information email strathconaplace@outlook.com.