A Vernon writer has impressed the judges of a national writing contest.
Natalie Appleton is among 32 writers from across Canada long-listed for the 2016 CBC Creative Non-Fiction Prize, which includes memoir, biography, humour writing, essay (including personal essay), travel writing and feature articles.
Her story, Fourth Son of Fourth Wife, is set in an historic Chinese apothecary in Lethbridge, Alta.
The story came to Appleton while she was doing research for another writing project about the Prairies in the early 1900s. She read a story about Lethbridge’s Albert Leong, and his business, Bow On Tong (translation: good health), that has been in his family for the past century.
“With tales of ghosts, cemeteries, four wives, and the ingredients and customers of a Chinese apothecary/gambling house, the Bow On Tong, it was too fascinating to ignore,” said Appleton.
“Albert, the keeper of all these stories, recently had to leave his family’s historic property in Lethbridge’s Chinatown, and a group (Save Chinatown Lethbridge) is working to raise money to restore the Bow On Tong as part museum, part residence for Albert.”
Although Appleton wasn’t able to get into some of the more recent events in her story because of the contest’s 1,500-word count limit, she says she is excited about having it on the long-list to raise awareness and funds for the Bow on Tong project.
Originally from Medicine Hat, Appleton is a graduate of the University of Regina’s school of journalism and a former reporter with The Morning Star, among other newspapers.
Her writing has appeared in publications around the world, including The New York Times and The Globe and Mail.
She has her master’s in creative writing from City University in London, U.K., and now runs her own business, Read Head Copywriting. She has also taught creative writing courses at Okanagan College.
The shortlist of the CBC Creative Non-Fiction Prize will be revealed Sept. 14 and the winner Sept. 21.