First Prize Winner of the 2022 Guyana Prize for Literature: Fiction:  A taxi driver sees changes in Independence Boulevard after freedom from Britain. A free-wheeling spirit spends time gambling and engaging in riots. A man is sentenced to death for the murder of his lover. Two women escape racial conflict and seek a better life at home and abroad. A housewife faces the last straw with her abusive husband. A mailman is caught in the Word Trade Centre attack. These are some of the characters encountered in this engaging collection of sixteen short stories from Ken Puddicombe

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Madawaska Highlander Connection

Ken Puddicombe is one of the judges in the Madawaska Highlander's Short Story Contest. He is a Guyanese-Canadian author living in Brampton and a member of a number of writers circles including the Brampton Writers Guild where he met Garry Ferguson and fellow Short Story judge, Michael Joll. He is a retired accountant who founded MiddleRoad Publishers primarily to provide a platform for "struggling authors" and to ensure that literary works—especially those reflecting Caribbean and Canadian experiences—"see the light of day."

 

His motivations were driven by a mix of personal history, a desire to mentor others, and the practical challenges he observed in the publishing world. This philosophy matches what the Short Story Contest is all about. 

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