Sudbury Saturday Night by Emily Groot
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Emily Groot has made the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Sudbury Saturday Night.
The winner of the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and their work will be published on CBC Books. The four remaining finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.
The shortlist will be announced on April 10 and the winner will be announced on April 17.
If you're interested in other CBC Literary Prizes, the 2025 CBC Poetry Prize is currently accepting submissions. You can submit an original, unpublished poem or collection of poems from April 1-June 1.
The 2026 CBC Short Story Prize will open in September and the 2026 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January.
About Emily Groot
Emily Groot is a public health physician, born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., on the territory of Garden River and Batchewana First Nations. She now lives with her family in Sudbury, Ont. Her short stories and creative nonfiction have appeared or are forthcoming in Off Topic Publishing, CMAJ Encounters, Intima and Pulp Literature.
Entry in five-ish words
"That was a hard fall, eh?"
The short story's source of inspiration
"I wanted to honour people who use drugs in Northern Ontario, and recognize the systemic forces that harm our communities."
First lines
There's a taste to the air before a storm, heavy and thick. Dark clouds hug the horizon. But I ignore the coming snow, ignore the signs telling me to find shelter: there's a point in my pocket and my nose is dripping and my arms are gooseflesh. If I can only use this one last time, if I can just sit for a moment, me and the fetty — my head will clear and my guts will settle.
I need to get out of the cold, need to warm up my veins, need to hang up my coat, need to roll up my sleeves. I stand up straight, stare straight ahead, and walk straight into the old arena. Like I belong here, like maybe I'm picking up my kid from hockey practice. I used to belong here, used to pick up my kid from hockey practice.
Check out the rest of the longlist
The longlist was selected from more than 2,300 entries. A team of 12 writers and editors from across Canada compiled the list.
The jury selects the shortlist and the eventual winner from the readers' longlisted selections. This year's jury is composed of Conor Kerr, Kudakwashe Rutendo and Michael Christie.
The complete list is:
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