The Word Guild announces a competition memorializing the passing of David Kilgour (1941-2022)
David Kilgour (1941–2022) was a widely respected Christian campaigner for human rights worldwide and a Member of Parliament in Canada for 27 years. He was the 2021 winner of the Leslie K. Tarr award.
In his memory, The Word Guild is sponsoring a new contest for an unpublished news story of roughly 1,500 words on what Christians are doing to help with a global issue—for example child labour, forced labour, human trafficking, the plight of refugees, or religious persecution.
The winner, selected by a panel, will receive a prize of $300. Editors from the national Canadian magazine Faith Today have also committed to work with the writer to further develop and polish the manuscript for possible publication in Faith Today (www.faithtoday.ca) or coach the writer on submitting it to another publication.
The contest is intended to spur on a new generation to continue the work Kilgour was known for. Tributes to him and his work have recently been published by Catholics and Protestants alike, including a touching memorial from Benedict Rogers in Hong Kong. Rogers, who is co-founder and Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch, said:
“In David Kilgour, no human rights defender, no refugee, no person fleeing or challenging persecution could ever have found a more steadfast, passionate, energetic, compassionate, enthusiastic or wise friend. Losing David, so suddenly, deprives the whole worldwide movement for human rights of one of our most extraordinary champions.”
Perhaps Kilgour’s best-known work was on the issue of forced organ harvesting in China (Bloody Harvest, 2009).
Background information on David Kilgour and his work.
https://www.catholicregister.org/item/34269-david-kilgour-faith-hope-and-love-in-politics