2020 CBC SHORT STORY PRIZE FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
April 16, 2020 – CBC BOOKS, CBC’s online home for literary content, together with its partners the Canada Council for the Arts and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, have announced the finalists for the 2020 CBC Short Story Prize.
The finalists are:
- Lyle Burwell of Sudbury, Ont. for Highballin'
- Brenda Damen of Calgary for Gibson
- Sarah Fulton of Oshawa, Ont. for But Not to Call Me Back or Say Goodbye
- Julia Jenkins of Nanaimo, B.C. for I Am Aani Littlecrab
- Julia Zarankin of Toronto for Black-legged Kittiwake
The stories were selected from more than 2400 entries received from across Canada. The public can read the shortlisted stories on CBCBooks.ca. The winner of this year’s prize will be announced on April 22.
The jurors for this year’s CBC Short Story Prize are David Bezmozgis, Alix Hawley and Rawi Hage.
David Bezmozgis is the author of the story collections Natasha and Other Stories and Immigrant City and the novels The Free World and The Betrayers. He has been nominated multiple times for the Governor General's Literary Award and made the shortlist for the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize for Immigrant City.
Alix Hawley's first novel, All True Not a Lie In It, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and won both the Amazon.ca First Novel Award and the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Her first book, the story collection The Old Familiar, was longlisted for the ReLit award. She won the 2017 CBC Short Story Prize for Witching and was also a CBC Short Story Prize finalist in 2012 and 2014. Her story Pig (For Oma) won the 2014 Bloodlines memoir contest. Her most recent book is the novel My Name is a Knife.
Rawi Hage’s first novel, De Niro's Game, won the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for the best English-language book published anywhere in the world in a given year. It was also shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General's Literary Award. His most recent novel, Beirut Hellfire Society, was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award and the Rogers' Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
In addition to a cash prize of $6000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Grand Prize winner will receive a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and will be published on the CBC Books website. The four other finalists will each receive $1000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and will be published on CBC Books.
For more information on the CBC Literary Prizes, please visit CBCBooks.ca.
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About CBC Books
Home to Canada Reads, Writers & Company with Eleanor Wachtel, The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers, Canada Writes and the CBC Literary Prizes, CBC Books connects Canadians with books, encouraging a shared love of reading and writing. For book news, writing challenges, reading lists, book recommendations and more, visit www.CBCbooks.ca.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic and Chinese, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. The Council champions and invests in artistic excellence through a broad range of grants, services, prizes and payments to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations. Its work ensures that excellent, vibrant and diverse art and literature engages Canadians, enriches their communities and reaches markets around the world. The Council also raises public awareness and appreciation of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities. It is responsible for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, which promotes the values and programs of UNESCO in Canada to contribute to a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable future. The Council’s Public Lending Right (PLR) Program sends yearly payments to creators whose works are in Canada’s public libraries. The Canada Council Art Bank operates art rental programs and helps further public engagement with contemporary arts.
About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to society through cross-disciplinary learning opportunities, world-class performances, and public outreach.
For further information, contact:
Frances Bedford
Public Relations, CBC
frances.bedford@cbc.ca
416-205-7673
Diane Hargrave
Diane Hargrave Public Relations
dhprbks@interlog.com
416-467-9954
