CBC Books Announces 35-Writer Nonfiction Prize Longlist, including Kevin Chong & Adrienne Gruber

Yesterday CBC Books announced a whopping 35-writer longlist for the CBC Nonfiction Prize. One of three literary awards run by CBC (in addition to a poetry and a short fiction award), it's one of the most prestigious prizes in the country for a single piece of writing. Past CBC Literary Award winners include the likes of Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields, and more recently, new generation CanLit stars like Amy Jones and Becky Blake. 

The prize is presented in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts, who sponsors the $6,000 grand prize, and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, where the winner receives a two-week residency. On September 24, the shortlist will be announced.

Notable on the list is Sheila Brooke of Gabriola Island, B.C., who had two stories selected. As well, acclaimed authors Kevin Chong and Adrienne Gruber, both based in Vancouver, each have pieces on the list. All entries are judged without identifying information about the author. 

The 2020 CBC Nonfiction Prize Finalists:

• The Imposter by Penelope Arnold (Hillsburgh, Ont.)
• Inside of Crazy by Leslie Bock (Barrie, Ont.)
• Le Trajet / The Way There by Sheila Brooke (Gabriola Island, B.C.)
• The Curve of Forgetting by Sheila Brooke (Gabriola Island, B.C.)
• Fantastic fungi and where to find them by Oleksandra Budna (Toronto)
• The Coin by Diana Catargiu (Mississauga, Ont.)
• White Space by Kevin Chong (Vancouver)
• The Intensive by Michelle Doyle (Toronto)
• Blue Desk by Kathryn Edgecombe (Hanover, Ont.)
• The Weighing of the Heart by Nicole Eriks (Whitehorse)
• Easier Done Than Said by Laura Gohl (Whitehorse)
• Our Feedback Loop, Our Fractal, Our Never-Ending Pattern by Adrienne Gruber (Vancouver)
• The Fringe by Cathrin Hagey (Saskatoon)
• Malvine by Greta Hofmann Nemiroff (Montreal)
• Dilettante by Richard Joseph (Montreal)
• Ray Says by Joseph Kakwinokanasum (White Rock, B.C.)
• Schizophrenia Is Not A Swear Word by Nicole Kennedy (Saskatoon)
• What Remains by Rachel Lallouz (Edmonton)
• Take a Photo Before I Leave You by Amy MacRae (Vancouver)
• Digital Elegy (for Rebecca) by Kirsten Madsen (Whitehorse)
• Bad Kisser by Marianne Mandrusiak (Montreal)
• Strata by Laurie McCulloch (Turner Valley, Alta.)
• Georgie by Vicki McLeod (Nanaimo, B.C.)
• Anthropocene Diary by Jean McNeil (London)
• Thin Skinned by Karl Meade (Salt Spring Island, B.C.)
• Migrating Birds by Anukriti Mishra (Toronto)
• Value Village by Jonathan Poh (Burnaby, B.C.)
• Unrequited Love by Carla Powell (Liverpool, N.S.)
• The Story Teller by Rachael Preston (Nanaimo, B.C.)
• The Terror State by Anaheed Saatchi (Vancouver)
• Ali-Mohammad by Nataly Shaheen (Mississauga, Ont.)
• A New Beginning by Dwight Simon (Sarnia, Ont.)
• Hitchcock in Havana by Bernardine Stapleton (St. John's)
• Sturnella Neglecta (Overlooked Little Starling) by Leona Theis (Saskatoon)
• The Milkmaid's Tale by Tama Ward (Vancouver)
• A Letter to Big Words by Nuo Yang (Winnipeg)

Because of the uniquely high volume of entries, CBC uses a team of specially selected readers to narrow the submissions (which clocked in at 1,700 this year, down somewhat from last year's 2200) down to the longlist. From there, the jury - comprised of authors Yasuko Thanh, Bill Gaston, and Robyn Doolittle - will select both a shortlist and a final winner. 

You can read all the nominated pieces on CBC Books' website via the links above, and the winner of the CBC Nonfiction Prize will be announced on October 1.