Sonia Suedfeld
Born and raised in the small town of Penetanguishene on the shores of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada,
Sonia Suedfeld
decided she wanted to be a writer
at the tender age of six.
She won many composition
awards in school for her essays,
went on to write angst-filled poetry in her teens and a few articles
for her high school newspaper,
studied journalism in college for two years and then spent a decade
working in the newspaper industry
- as a reporter, photographer, editor and graphic designer. She has also worked as a chambermaid, waitress, bartender, slot attendant and most recently, as a slot supervisor at a local casino.
But no matter what she
did to earn a living over the years, writing has always been an important part of her life. In 2000, she fulfilled a lifelong dream of writing fiction
when she penned her first
crime novel,
Dead in the Water,
over a three-and-a-half-year
span while looking after her
two sons and working full-time.
She turned to short story writing
about five years ago, fell in love with the genre, and has since enjoyed some steady success - many of her short stories have won awards and prizes and several have been
published online and in print (see the writing history at right).
These days Sonia Suedfeld
devotes her time between
family and writing,
and often finds herself working on a half dozen short stories at any one time, that is when she isn't chauffering her sons around or helping them with homework, preparing lunches and dinners, weeding the garden,
running errands, doing the laundry, or cleaning the house.
Oh, and trying to find a few
moments here and there to
work on a second novel.
*****
2009
"Storm"- short story under 1000 words published on www.everydayfiction.com on June 14, 2009
"Storm"
- 2nd place winner in the 2008 Wild Violet Writing Contest and published on the online literary magazine's website at www.wildviolet.net
"Night Moves"
- 750-word story short-listed in the top third of Polar Expressions Publishing's Short Story Contest and selected to appear in Below The Canopy, its second anthology of new Canadian fiction, due out in December 2009 and available from www.polarexpressions.ca
"The Picture in the Window"
- finalist in the fall 2008 Writer's Circle of Durham Region's Short Fiction Contest, announced in March 2009. Check out the list of winners at www.wcdr.org
"For a Change"
- 55-word micro story received an Honourable Mention in the fall 2008 One Hundred Words or Fewer Writing Contest, announced in February 2009. Go to www.100wordsorfewerwriting
contest.com to see the winners
"A Moment in Time"
- appears in "The Silken Tongue", the winter 2008-09 issue 14 of www.firstwriter.com, released in January 2009. The story received a Special Commendation in the Fourth International Short Story Contest in 2008
2008
"Expert Advice"
- won the People's Choice Award through public voting after it was selected as 1 of 5 finalists in the Summer 2008 Warren Adler Short Story Contest. Visit www.warrenadler.com to read the story
"Capture"
- selected in the top one-third and published in Frontier, an anthology of new Canadian fiction released in December 2008 and available through www.polarexpressions.ca
"A Moment in Time"
- selected as 1 of 10 Special Commendations in the Fourth International Short Story Contest sponsored by www.firstwriter.com. The story appears in issue 14 of the site's e-zine, released in January 2009
"Leaving"
- short-listed in the 2008 Flash Fiction Spring Contest sponsored by www.wow-womenonwriting.com
2007
"Thin Line"
- 55-word micro-story short-listed in the August 2007 Micro-Fiction Showcase sponsored by www.fishpublishing.com
"Break Down"
- second place winner in the 2007 Cape Fear Crime Festival's Short Story Contest; the story was published in chapbook form
"Maple Sugar Harvest"
- short-listed in the Scene of the Crime Short Story Contest (spring 2007)
"Black Ice"
- third place winner in the January 2007 showcase published on www.spinetinglers.co.uk and selected as 1 of 20 quarterfinalists in the 2007 Saint Louis Short Story Contest
2006
"Worse Things to Fear"
- selected as 1 of 20 quarterfinalists in the 2006 Saint Louis Short Story Contest
"Dead in the Water"
- debut crime novel received an Honourable Mention in the international Mount Arrowsmith novel-writing competition in 2006
"The Trash Collector"
- received an Honourable Mention in the 2006 Hidden Talents Short Story Contest and appeared in the Tall Tales & Short Stories vol IV anthology published by www.talltalespress.com
2005
"The Tin Box"
- received an Honourable Mention in the 2005 Hidden Talents Short Story Contest and appeared in the Tall Tales & Short Stories vol III anthology published by www.talltalespress.com
