Calgary-Based Writer Shortlisted as Finalist for National Writing Contest

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - June 6, 2017) - Uzoma Uponi, a Calgary-based writer, has been shortlisted for the 2017 The Word Awards for her fiction manuscript, The Colour of Trouble.

Uponi, whose work is one of four nominations in the Best New Canadian Manuscript category, immigrated with her family from Nigeria to Canada in 2002 and has lived in Calgary since 2008. She works fulltime and writes in her spare time paced with taking Creative Writing Certificate program in University of Calgary. Her fiction manuscript, The Colour of Trouble explores the realities of discrimination in contemporary Africa and exposes underlying beliefs about illiteracy, sickness and healing.

The Word Awards was established by The Word Guild to encourage the pursuit of excellence in the art, craft, practice and ministry of writing and to recognize Canada's best writers who speak into our culture with a Christian worldview. Novelists, columnists, apologists, theologians and songwriters are among those who will be recognized in the 29^th Word Guild Awards Gala coming up on June 23, 2017 in Mississauga, Ontario. The 2017 gala sees the introduction of The Best New Canadian Manuscript Award category sponsored by Castle Quay Press.

Uzoma has two published novels, ColourBLIND and Whispers from Yesteryears. Her first novel ColourBLIND was shortlisted as finalist in the 2011 Commonwealth Writers Prize in the Africa Best First Book category. These novels are available at Amazon (Zymatt Books) and from the publishers, Essence Publishing and WestBow Press respectively.