Winner of the 29th Annual 3-Day Novel Contest

Reviews: "An emotionally powerful book and an intense read... Vancouver-based Brendan McLeod is better known as a spoken word poet in Canada, and in The Convictions Of Leonard McKinley he allows his storytelling talent to shine. McLeod's knack for realistic dialogue and for shaping young male characters bring this coming-of-age tale to life."
—Now magazine

"A very personal addendum to the scariest of biblical parables... McLeod's plot works away with quiet efficiency. Leonard comes apart as the book comes together."
--Jim Bartley, The Globe and Mail

"Brendan McLeod presents us with a protagonist who is at once mesmerizing and ridiculous, charming and offensive. He draws our attention like a really good house fire."
--Terence Young, Governor General's Award nominee

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About the Book
Young Leonard McKinley has an intense desire for virtue. But, by the age of thirteen, it seems his moral failings have caused his father's heart attack and triggered an epileptic fit in his dog. Can Leonard live up to his faith and still overcome the lure of girls, his strange family, the pressures of a small prairie town and his own increasingly subversive thoughts? In an effort to face his own inner darkness, Leonard propels himself through a series of increasingly dangerous ethical trials. And as his impulses grow more sinister, the stakes get higher in Leonard's constant struggle to be good.

About the author
Brendan McLeod is a writer, musician, spoken word artist and a former Canadian SLAM poetry champion. When he's not writing or performing solo, he tours with The Fugitives, a spoken word and music collective. Brendan was raised in Saskatchewan and Alberta, earned his MA in Philosophy at the University of Waterloo and now lives in Vancouver. Visit him on the web at www.brendanmcleod.ca or at his MySpace page.

2006 2nd Prize Winner

Terry Dove of vancouver, BC, for Rocketdial

2006 3rd Prize Winner

Carolyn Magner Mason of Tuscaloosa, AL, for Hopeless Causes

2006 Shortlisted Novelists

• Tom Alexander, London, UK
• Timothy Anderson, Edmonton, AB
• Emily Anderson and Marit Peterson, Chicago, IL
• Rae Calvary, Milwaukie, OR
• Patricia Chao, New York, NY
• Trisha Cull, Victoria, BC
• Jody Franklin, Victoria, BC
• Joe Goodwill, Vancouver, BC
• B. Gordon, Victoria, BC
• Thomas Gray, Olympia, WA
• Cammy Lee, Toronto, ON
• Colleen Marlin, Toronto, ON
• Kari McKay, Edmonton, AB
• Walt Morton, Venice, CA
• Richard Schwindt, Kingston, ON
• Andrea Wijayakoon Phillpotts, Richmond, BC
• Ron Yamauchi, Vancouver, BC