Here鈥檚 an opportunity for wordsmiths in the 50-plus age group to channel into their inner Hemingway.

Senior writers from 91原创 and across B.C., as well as Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Yukon will get an extra month to submit their work to the third annual Cedric Literary Awards.

The Cedric Literary Awards is a juried writing competition that encourages and celebrates the creative talents of writers, aged 50 and older, who have a lifetime of experience to share.

More than 300 emerging writers have entered work in the writing competition since 2015.

A prize of $3,000 will be awarded to the winner in each of the four categories: Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Poetry and First Nations Writing.

Senior English and French-speaking writers of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, as well as First Nations writers, are asked to log on to www.thecedrics.ca/submissions to review complete competition guidelines, with a view to submitting their manuscripts no later than midnight June 1, 2017.

The deadline extension to June 1 is due, in part, to an increase in expressions of interest following the expansion of the competition beyond B.C. to Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Yukon.

Cedric Literary Awards鈥� executive director Veronica Osborn noted that the increase in inquiries about this year鈥檚 competition, especially those from writers in the three additional jurisdictions, 鈥渢ells us there is definitely interest in taking part, but that we perhaps didn鈥檛 allow enough time for the good news to reach everyone.鈥�

The competition鈥檚 organizers also believe that the previous May 1 deadline was not realistic, given that early spring can be a particularly busy time for many people.

About the cedrics

Originally conceived and funded by Dr. Peter Dale, chair of Betterthan50, 鈥渢he Cedrics鈥� have been incorporated as a non-profit organization, with charitable status pending.