Meet the 2024 CBC Short Story Prize readers

The longlists for the CBC Literary Prizes are chosen by a team of writers and editors across Canada. Meet the 12 who will be working on the 2024 CBC Short Story Prize, which is open for submissions until Nov. 1.

These writers will be determining the longlist for the 2024 CBC Short Story Prize

CBC Books Posted: Sep 28, 2023 9:14 AM EDT | Last Updated: September 28, 2023

A collage of 12 faces — These are the writers from across Canada that will determine the longlist for the 2024 CBC Short Story Prize. (See below for individual photo credits)

Every year, CBC Books enlists the help of established writers and editors from across Canada to read the thousands of entries submitted to our prizes.

Our readers compile the longlist, which is given to the jury. The jury will then select the shortlist and the eventual winner from the longlisted selections. You can meet the readers for the 2024 CBC Short Story Prize below.

The 2024 CBC Short Story Prize is currently accepting submissions until Nov. 1, 2023.

The winner will receive $6,000 from theCanada Council for the Arts, have the opportunity to attend a two-week writing residency atThe Banff Centreand have their work published onCBC Books.

CBC Short Story Prize open for 2024 submit your new fiction now!

Here are the 12 writers who will be reading the submissions to the 2024 CBC Short Story Prize.

Lisa Alward

An illustrated yellow book cover with the image of a woman superimposed onto the shape of a flower. A black and white portrait of a woman with bangs smiling to the camera — Cocktail is a short story collection by Lisa Alward. (Biblioasis, Maria Cardoso Grant)

Lisa Alward's short fiction has appeared in The Journey Prize Stories 2017, Best Canadian Stories 2017 and Best Canadian Stories 2016. She is the winner of the New Quarterly's 2016 Peter Hinchcliffe Short Fiction Award as well as the 2015 Fiddlehead Short Fiction Prize. She lives in Fredericton. She was on the 2018 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Orlando 1974 which is included in her bookCocktail.

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Cocktail is a short story collection that explores some of life's watershed moments and the tiny horrors of domestic life. Beginning in the 1960s and moving forward through the decades, Cocktail tells intimate and immersive stories about the power of desire and the cost of pursuing it.

Jamaluddin Aram

An artsy black and white photo of a man with short hair and glasses staring thoughtfully into the camera. — Jamaluddin Aram is a filmmaker, producer, and writer from Kabul, Afghanistan who now lives in Toronto. (Simon & Schuster, Abdullah Tawakoli)

Jamaluddin Aram is a Toronto-based documentary filmmaker, producer and writer from Kabul, Afghanistan. Aram's short story This Hard Easy Life was a finalist for RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers in 2020. He was selected as a mentee by Michael Christie for the Writers' Trust of Canada Mentorship program for his book Marchoba, which became Nothing Good Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday.

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Set in 1990s Kabul, Afghanistan, against the backdrop of civil war, Nothing Good Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday is a journey through the town of Wazirabad, which overflows with every kind of character imaginable. From a daughter selling scorpions to keep her mother from having to sell herself to the militiamen trying to solve a string of burglaries, to Bonesetter who reads his cat poetry, Aram provides a portrait of a community in its most mundane and extraordinary as the people of Wazirabad try to carve out a home and a life amidst war.

Baharan Baniahmadi

The book cover with pieces of dark hair entwined in pieces of paper and the author photo with a woman with long dark curly hair flying in the wind — Prophetess is a novel by Baharan Baniahmadi. (Vehicule Press, Pierre Obendrauf)

Baharan Baniahmadi is an actor, author and playwright from Iran. She studied theatre at the Art University of Tehran, has worked with many international directors and has published a play and novel in Iran. Baniahmadi lives in Montreal. Her most recent book is the novel Prophetess.

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Prophetessis a novel that explores trauma.When seven-year-old Sara witnesses the horrific murder of her sister in the slums of Tehran, she develops a strange allergic reaction to men. Every time a man approaches her, hair covers Sara's face. As strange developments interrupt her life, Sara must learn how to live with her sister's memory in a world that abuses women from a very early age.

Ali Bryan

Illustrated book cover of a town sign on a hill with the title of the book and the author photo of a woman wearing a beige sweater with long dark blonde hair and her hands clasped in front of her mouth — The Crow Valley Karaoke Championships is a novel by Ali Bryan. (Macmillan, Phil Crozier)

Ali Bryan is a writer from Nova Scotia. Her first novel, Roost, won the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction. Her second novel, The Figgs, was shortlisted for Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour in 2019. She published two books in 2023:Coq and The Crow Valley Karaoke Championships.

Ali Bryan explores the small town world of competitive karaoke in her new novel

The Crow Valley Karaoke Championships follows five key characters connected to karaoke legend Dale Jepson. The community of Crow Valley decides to put on a karaoke competition in his honour. One night before the championship event. Amidst mid-life crises, the news that a murderer has escaped the local prison, stolen cars and more, the residents of Crow Valley must come together to put on their very best show.

Coqis a cross-country family drama that explores the roles each member takes up in grief after loss and later, in acceptance as the family reforms.Claudia is used to juggling many family problems at once, whether it's the unruliness of her teenaged children, her brother's broken marriage or her ex-partner's desire to get back together. What Claudia finds she can't tolerate is her father remarrying ten years after her mother's death. This change prompts the family to take a trip to Paris to reconcile their differences. However, things quickly go astray and the trip that is meant to bring them together could be what pulls them apart.

Rebecca Fisseha

The book cover of a side silhouette in front of a blue background and the author photo a Black woman with curly dark hair up in a bun and smiling towards the camera — Daughters of Silence is a novel by Rebecca Fisseha. (Goose Lane Editions, Serkalem Mekonnen)

Rebecca Fisseha is author of the novel Daughters of Silence. Her short stories, creative nonfiction personal essays and articles appear in various publications. Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Fisseha currently lives in Toronto where she is working on her second novel.

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In Daughters of Silence, a volcano eruption strands Dessie, a Canadian flight attendant, in Addis Ababa where she was born. She visits her grandfather Shaleqa's home where she uncovers buried truths about her recently deceased mother and learns about the ways her family was shaped by history.

Nicholas Herring

The book cover is a drawing of a white-and-red sailboat traversing massive, rolling waves. — Some Hellish is a book by Nicholas Herring. (Norma Jean MacLean, Goose Lane Editions)

Nicholas Herring is a writer and carpenter from Murray Harbour, P.E.I. Some Hellish is his debut novel and won the 2022 Atwood Gibson Writers's Trust Fiction Prize. Herring's writing has also appeared in the Puritan and the Fiddlehead.

Fishing is a metaphor for life in Nicholas Herring's novel Some Hellish

Some Hellish is about a lobster fisher named Herring who is facing the existential dread of what he feels is a boring, mundane existence. That is, until one December day when he decides to cut a hole in the living room floor and alter the course of his life as he knows it. Through a myriad of absurd and confronting experiences, including his wife and children leaving him and Tibetan monks rescuing him after a near-death experience, Herring is forced to reckon with himself, his fear and what it means to be alive.

Jessica Johns

Composite image of a red book cover and a woman with dark hair and glasses standing in front of a blue wall and looking to the side — Bad Cree is a novel by Jessica Johns. (HarperCollins Canada, Loretta Johns)

Jessica Johns is a Vancouver-based writer, visual artist and member of Sucker Creek First Nation in Treaty 8 Territory in northern Alberta. Johns won the 2020 Writers' Trust Journey Prize for the short story Bad Cree, which evolved into the novel of the same name.

Jessica Johns's novel Bad Cree is a story about grief, guilt and healing

Bad Cree is a horror-infused novel that centres around a young woman named Mackenzie who is haunted by terrifying nightmares and wracked with guilt about her sister Sabrina's untimely death. The lines between her dreams and reality start to blur when she begins seeing a murder of crows following her around the city and starts getting threatening text messages from someone claiming to be her dead sister. Looking to escape, Mackenzie heads back to her hometown in rural Alberta where she finds her family still entrenched in their grief. With her dreams intensifying and getting more dangerous, Mackenzie must confront a violent family legacy and reconcile with the land and her community.

Leo McKay Jr.

A composite photo of a book cover featuring yellow and white concentric circles with black text and the book's author, a man with short hair, glasses and a pageboy hat. — What Comes Echoing Back is a novel by Leo McKay Jr. (Vagrant Press, Jodi O'Brien)

Leo McKay Jr. is a writer and a high school teacher. His novel Twenty-Six won the Dartmouth Book Award and was chosen for the One Book Nova Scotia event. His debut collection of stories, Like This, also won the Dartmouth Book Award and was a finalist for the Giller Prize. His latest book is the novelWhat Comes Echoing Back.

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In What Comes Echoing Back, Sam and Robot share a few things in common. First, they are both in the same high school music class. Second, both of them became infamous for the worst things that ever happened to them. While the Internet moves on and small town rumour mills keep cycling, they can't. That is, until a friendship forms and they find music just might be the key to continue playing along.

Geoffrey D. Morrison

A sparse yellow and green book cover with black text and a photo of the book's author, a man with longer brown hair and wire-rim glasses. — Falling Hour is a book by Geoffrey D. Morrison. (Coach House Books)

Geoffrey D. Morrison is the author of the poetry chapbook Blood-Brain Barrier and co-author of the short fiction collection Archaic Torso of Gumby. He was a finalist in both the poetry and fiction categories of the 2020 Malahat Review Open Season Awards and a nominee for the 2020 Journey Prize. He lives in Vancouver. His latest book is the novelFalling Hour.

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Falling Hour follows Hugh Dalgarno around a public park as he tries to determine the contents of his mind. An early 30's clerical worker, Dalgarno spends all day and night with his thoughts, walking through the park ruminating on such topics as the theory of quantum morality, nosiness, the CIA and the beauty of nature.

Wayne Ng

The Family Code is a book by Wayne Ng. (Guernica Editions)

Wayne Ng is a writer and social worker from Toronto, now based in Ottawa. He is currently working on his fifth novel forthcoming in 2024. His previous titles include Letters from Johnny, Finding the Way: A Novel of Lao Tzu and his latest The Family Code.

The Family Code is a family drama featuring the troubled life of a young single mother dogged by the brutality of past traumas and a code of silence that she must crack in order to be free or else lose everything. With her life crashing down, Hannah Belenko is driven by desperation in order to survive.

Janika Oza

A blue book cover featuring gold and red flower-like illustration and the book's author a woman with dark long curly hair wearing an olive coloured top and smiling at the camera — A History of Burning is a novel by Janika Oza. (Jennifer Griffiths/McClelland & Stewart, Yi Shi)

Janika Oza is a writer, educator and graduate student based in Toronto. She won the 2019 Malahat Review Open Season Award in fiction for her short story Exile, the 2020 Kenyon Review Short Fiction Award and the 2022 O. Henry Award. Oza made the 2019 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for her story The Gift of Choice, which is a chapter in her debut novel A History of Burning.

Janika Oza's A History of Burning is a multigenerational saga exploring the impacts of colonialism and exile

A History of Burning is an epic novel about how one act of rebellion can influence a family for generations. It's 1898 and a 13-year-old boy in India named Pirbhai needs to make money to support his family, and ends up inadvertently being sent across the ocean to be a labourer for the British. He has a choice to make, and what he does will change the course of his life, and his family's fate, for years to come. The story takes readers to Uganda, India, England and Canada in the wake of Pirbhai's choice as the novel explores the impacts of colonialism, resistance, exile and the power of family.

Emi Sasagawa

A book cover featuring orange and green painted circles and a photo of the book's author, a nonbinary person with glasses and short curly hair, tattoos on their arms and wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. — Atomweight is a novel by Emi Sasagawa. (Tidewater Press, Valeria de la Vega)

Emi Sasagawa is a Vancouver-based communications manager, journalist and writer. Her writing has appeared in a range of publications including Washington Post and Room. Atomweight is her first novel.

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In Atomweight, Aki prides herself on being "good" in every role she inhabits: daughter, student, friend, girl. Moving away from her strict parents proves demanding between school, new friends and a relationship with a closeted woman, but Aki is a good girl, she will figure it out. That is, until Aki discovers her anger in a moment of danger and fights back. She also discovers it feels, well, good. Away from home, Aki begins a double life: studious friend and daughter in the day and bar fighter at night.