Latest news with #2025CBCShortStoryPrize
CBC
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Halifax writer Dorian McNamara wins 2025 CBC Short Story Prize for story about trans man on Toronto streetcar
Social Sharing Halifax writer Dorian McNamara has won the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize for his story You (Streetcar at Night). He will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. McNamara's story was published on CBC Books. McNamara will also be interviewed by Mattea Roach on an upcoming episode of Bookends. You can read You (Streetcar at Night) here. If you're interested in other writing competitions, 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 You can submit an original, unpublished poem or collection of poems from April 1-June 1. Dorian McNamara is a queer transgender writer currently living in Halifax. Originally from Toronto, he graduated with a BA in psychology from Dalhousie University. He is currently working on his first novel as well as publishing the creative newsletter Dear You. This year's winner and finalists were selected by a jury composed of Conor Kerr, Kudakwashe Rutendo and Michael Christie. "From its opening lines, we were captivated by the deft and corporeal imagery of You (Streetcar at Night), with its lush descriptions of travelling via streetcar, and all the rhythm and music that one becomes enmeshed in along the way. But beyond its flowing narrative and lyrical writing, lay the story, and that is what called to us. You (Streetcar at Night) follows a trans man's recollection of his first relationship, the narrative establishing itself as an address to his former partner, taking a novel route through aspects of transition," the jury said in a statement. "Highlighting the nuanced duality of a Before and After, connected through a frank and vulnerable interiority. It is a requiem of sorts, a call to the past, that simultaneously grounds itself in a present of acceptance and true belonging. Where one can look at a stranger on a streetcar and see a whole history in their eyes. This story resoundingly illustrates — at a time when it could not be more needed — that within everyone, outside of all our external features and presentations, is a prevailing interiority and humanity, and that trans people are not a threat. "This story resoundingly illustrates — at a time when it could not be more needed — that within everyone, outside of all our external features and presentations, is a prevailing interiority and humanity, and that trans people are not a threat." You (Streetcar at Night) tells the story of the before and after of a trans person. The protagonist reflects on his first relationship as he and his fellow riders roll through the Toronto streets at night. "Growing up in Toronto, I've always loved the streetcars. When I come home to visit my family, I find I am often on the streetcar. There's always a lot of memories tied to them, but after coming out, I got anxious that people who knew me before would recognize me then. Part of me wanted them to remember me and see me now, but another part of me was afraid of how people I used to know would react," McNamara said. McNamara joins a long list of writers who have won CBC Literary Prizes, such as David Bergen, Michael Ondaatje, Carol Shields and Michael Winter. The CBC Literary Prizes have been recognizing Canadian writers since 1979. To be given the opportunity to share my writing with others and to be understood and to even perhaps have my writing understand others is an incredible gift. "Winning the CBC Short Story Prize is a monumental honour, one that still feels beyond me. Getting the news, I felt all the joy in my body well up in my throat and I did not know whether I was laughing or crying. Writing for me is a practice of trying to understand and often making peace with my inability to do so, be it regarding myself or others," said McNamara. "To be given the opportunity to share my writing with others and to be understood and to even perhaps have my writing understand others is an incredible gift. I am so grateful for being given the chance to further my process and dedicate myself to my practice." The other four finalists are Vincent Anioke of Waterloo, Ont. for Love is the Enemy; Trent Lewin of Waterloo, Ont. for Ghostworlds; Emi Sasagawa of Vancouver for Lessons from a peach and Zeina Sleiman of Edmonton for My Father's Soil. They will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts. The longlist was compiled by a group of qualified editors and writers from across Canada from more than 2,300 submissions. The readers come up with a preliminary list of approximately 100 submissions that are then forwarded to a second reading committee. It is this committee who will decide upon the 30ish entries that comprise the longlist that is forwarded to the jury. The jury selects the shortlist and the eventual winner from the readers' longlisted selections.
CBC
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Personnel Unknown by John Sudlow
Social Sharing John Sudlow has made the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Personnel Unknown. 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 John Sudlow Born and raised in Toronto, John Sudlow has an Anglo-Irish background. A father of two adult children, he and his wife live in Oakville, Ont. He studied literature at York University (MA). He taught English and the history of rock and roll for several years. He loves literature, baseball and rock and roll. He has participated in several writing workshops and has written an unpublished collection of short stories set in east end Toronto. Entry in five-ish words "Found song parallels man's life." The short story's source of inspiration "A trip to Île d'Orléans and the magic found there." First lines Today, in an old suitcase I had been lugging around for years, like unexploded ordnance, I found Viktor's T-shirt. I had the same address for twelve years. In the last 10, eight. Just spaces. But Viktor's T-shirt is a record, the objective truth about who, where and when, but silent about what and why. It's the size of a large handkerchief, red cotton, made thin by repeated laundering. The image of the chieftain's head and script, once crisp and white, are faded and worn, like what happens to coins, letters, and headstones. But I know what was written there, "Le Domaine des Sorciers" and "St. Jean." 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:
CBC
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
How To Watch Your Daughter Die by Jessica Wegmann-Sanchez
Social Sharing Jessica Wegmann-Sanchez has made the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for How To Watch Your Daughter Die. 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 Jessica Wegmann-Sanchez Jessica Wegmann-Sanchez grew up in Edmonton, traditional territory of the Cree, Anishinaabe, Blackfoot, Métis, Dene and Nakota Sioux. She has a PhD in English from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and has published academic articles in critical race theory and medieval studies. Recently, she's transitioned to studying creative writing. She considers magical realism an analgesic to life's more harsh and brutal moments and is having fun writing a novel with her husband about a Mexican migrant and his daughter who are haunted by a troublesome psychic inheritance. Wegmann-Sanchez's story Eyeball Tacos was longlisted for the 2024 CBC Nonfiction Prize. Entry in five-ish words "One illness shatters many lives." The short story's source of inspiration "Through years of caring for a critically ill loved one, I attended support groups and heard the stories of many family caregivers. There is a crippling helplessness in watching a mental health or substance abuse disorder — or even a physical disease like dementia or cancer — come close to killing someone you love again and again. This is the first time I've ever written a story with a second-person narrator, but it seemed especially on point here to show that this nightmare experience represents not that of one fictional narrator with a child who is ill, but rather an ordeal that anyone could have to face." First lines Tell her to stop eating gluten. Tell her to hold an ice cube in each hand to learn distress tolerance. It's because you are too lenient. It's because you are too strict. It's because your husband is too emotionally absent. It's because you are too emotionally enmeshed. It's because of that time you responded impatiently to her at eight fifteen on a Thursday night seven years ago. The orderly leads you through the locked psych ward to the second secured portal. It looks like an airlock in a Hollywood movie spaceship. Your gaze drops as though the real solution and reason for your daughter's metamorphosis might be deciphered in the freckles bespeckling your folded hands. 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:
CBC
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Dirty Gert by Pamela van der Woude
Pamela van der Woude has made the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Dirty Gert. 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 Pamela van der Woude Pamela van der Woude writes fiction in Prince Edward County, Ont. She was the winner of the 2015 Writers' Union of Canada short story contest, shortlisted for the 2018 Room Magazine short story contest. Her most recent publication can be found in the 2024 inaugural edition of Common Measure. She has honed her writing craft for the last two decades and is currently revising her second novel that takes place in Prince Edward Island. Entry in five-ish words "A memory shaped by two." The short story's source of inspiration "Re-reading Annie Proulx's Close Range: Wyoming Stories on the beach last summer and being struck anew by the raw and exquisite nature of her writing about love and loneliness in settings that read like characters." First lines The two farms in Prince Edward Island, on Park Corners Lane, faced each other like opposing sisters, one rich, one poor. The poorer farm kept its curtains closed, its dogs tied up, its bushes untrimmed. The Wagner family came and went from here, necks bent, chins tucked, always looking down. This peculiar way of walking betrayed their identity. You could tell it was a Wagner just by looking at them with those heads positioned like tired turtles. On an early fall day, the Wagner mother called out to our mom. My mom ran over, nodded, rushed inside our house, ran to the Wagner's. My sisters and I watched, waited. Clumped together, like we did when we were curious, uncertain or maybe scared. Mom finally walked down the uneven steps of their side porch, head bowed like a Wagner. 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:
CBC
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Grocery List for the Common Witch by Claire Scherzinger
Social Sharing Claire Scherzinger has made the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Grocery List for the Common Witch. 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 Claire Scherzinger Claire Scherzinger is from Markham, Ont., and currently lives in the woods of Washington State. Previous publications include science fiction magazines such as Giganotosaurus, Planet Scumm, Andromeda Spaceways and Mythaxis. Their poetry has been published in the Canadian arts and literature magazine Carousel, and they won first place in the 88th Writer's Digest Contest in the non-rhyming poetry category. Previously, Scherzinger hosted the podcast Overly Dedicated, where they traveled across Canada to various artists' studios to survey the current state of Canadian art. She was also the writer, producer and sound designer for the podcast Arca-45672, a science fiction audio drama. Entry in five-ish words "Learning how to feel full." The short story's source of inspiration "I'm intrigued by the concept of hunger and feeling full, literally and philosophically. I'm always researching witches because that history is vital to understanding my sex; how the world used to treat women and how women will likely be treated tomorrow. I love to write stories in unconventional formats and I am always making lists to stay on top of tasks because I am endlessly busy and somewhat absent-minded. My partner also cooks extremely well, and so all of these things culminated in the form of two characters who I'd call 'difficult people' experiencing hunger. I would say my way of writing and developing characters is a form of list-making — they are based on a list of things I am interested in at a given moment." First lines Gala apples (x 4) Do you remember this? It's our text chain the day after I miscarried: 5:46 pm No Honeycrisp, pleaseeeeeee!!! When I eat them I feel like I'm rubbing my molars with Kleenex!!! Also get toilet paper, I've been using Kleenex since we ran out last night 5:47 pm I suppose if you want one Honeycrisp for the charcuterie plate we're doing this week, fine as long as you slice it thinly and we eat it with Iberico cheese, Medjool dates, and prosciutto and green olives. That's the only way I'll eat the apple. 5:48 pm …crackers. also get crackers 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:
