BC Novelist Corinna Chong Wins CBC Short Story Award for "Kids in Kindergarten"

This morning, CBC Books announced the winner of their juggernaut annual short story prize, which carries a $6,000 prize purse and has helped propel a number of CanLit favourites forward, including past winners like Camilla Gibb, Michael Winter, and David Bergen. 

Kelowna-based novelist Corinna Chong captured the prize for her powerful story "Kids in Kindergaten", which explores pregnancy loss and was chosen from nearly 3,000 submissions from across the country. 

Chong teaches English and Fine Arts at Okanagan College in Kelowna and holds a Masters degree from the University of New Brunswick. Her novel, Belinda's Rings, was published in 2013 by Edmonton-based Newest Press. 

Jurors Souvankham Thammavongsa, Craig Davidson, and Lee Maracle praised Chong's winning piece, saying "Kids in Kindergarten is a story about the quietly devastating things we don’t say out loud...[it is] sharply observed, blunt, at times funny, unflinching, indelible. You won’t mind at all that the last line of the story will break your heart over and over again in just the right place."

As the grand-prize winner, Chong will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Along with her fellow finalists, she will also have her story published on the CBC Books website. You can read "Kids in Kindergarten" here for free. 

The four runners-up (Brooks McMullin, Miranda Morris, Ben Pitfield, and Saeed Teebi) each receiving $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts.

For more information on the CBC Literary Prizes, please visit CBCBooks.ca.