5 writers make 2018 CBC Short Story Prize shortlist

Five writers have madethe2018 CBC Short Story Prizeshortlist.

The finalists are:

• Scale of Comfort by J. Livingston (Mission, B.C.)
• Lipstick Day by Leah Mol (Toronto, Ont.)
• Strawberries by Terri Monture (Toronto, Ont.)
• Fifteen Lakota Visitors by Taqralik Partridge (Maxville, Ont.)
• Green by Ayelet Tsabari (Toronto, Ont.)

The winner will be announced on April 17, 2018. They will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a 10-day writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and will have their story published on CBC Books. The four remaining finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts. Their stories have beenpublished on CBC Books, you can read them via the links below.

The shortlisted stories were selected by the 2018 CBC Short Story Prize jury, which was comprised of Eden Robinson, Kevin Hardcastle and Heather O'Neill.

The longlist was compiled by a team of readers made up of writers and editors from across Canada. There were more than 2,200 English-language submissions, and more than 3,000 submissions in both English and French.

Here is the 2018 shortlist.

Scale of Comfort by J. Livingston

About J. Livingston:J. Livingstonwas born in Edmonton, Alta., and now lives in British Columbia. Livingston's fiction is about people, stuff they do and say, and sometimes, stuff they don't do and won't say.

Why she wrote Scale of Comfort:"It's hard to figure out who we are. Are we what other people see? Are we who we pretend to be? Are we what we think, or refuse to think? Or, are we what we do in the world? "

• Read Scale of Comfort here

Lipstick Day by LeahMol

About Leah:Leah Mol has an MFA in creative writing from UBC and an undergraduate degree in journalism from Carleton University. She works as a proofreader, writer and piano teacher. She lives in Toronto with her favourite human and her favourite cat.

Why she wrote Lipstick Day:"I was inspired by the idea of a character who thinks she can control things that aren't in her control. I've always been interested in liminality, female sexuality and rape culture, and writing about young people is a powerful way to get at these themes."

• Read Lipstick Day here

Strawberries by TerriMonture

About Terri:Terri Monture is a Kanienkaha'keh (Mohawk) from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in southern Ontario. She is currently a staff representative specializing in human rights and equity at the Canadian Media Guild, which represents workers at the CBC, APTN, Canadian Press, Shaw Media and Thomson-Reuters. She became a union activist in 1996 when she was elected to her first bargaining committee at her then workplace, and has not looked back from that point. Her passion is worker and Indigenous rights, and spends far too much time thinking about resistance movements and various decolonization, anti-capitalism and anti-oppression activities. She lives in Toronto (Ateron:toh) with her family and likes to be close enough to her reserve that she can visit within the hour if she needs to.

Why she wrote Strawberries:"We always hear from the families and loved ones of the murdered but what about the woman who was killed?"

• Read Strawberries here

Fifteen Lakota Visitors byTaqralikPartridge

About Taqralik:Taqralik Partridge is a writer and performance poet originally from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, and currently living in Kautokeino, northern Norway.

Why she wroteFifteen Lakota Visitors:"A dream."

• ReadFifteen Lakota Visitors here

Green byAyeletTsabari

About Ayelet:Ayelet Tsabari was born in Israel to a large family of Yemeni descent. Her first book, The Best Place on Earth, won the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award. Her memoir in essay, The Art of Leaving, is forthcoming in 2019.

Why she wrote Green:"I grew up in Israel where army service is mandatory. I was drafted to the army at 18, and while I had a terrible time there, I also founded some strong, memorable female friendships. I wanted to try and capture that, and felt that basic training really encapsulated the strangeness and intensity of the experience."

• Read Green here

To see the finalists for the French competition, go toICI.Radio-canada.ca/icionlit.

Alix Hawley won the 2017 CBC Short Story Prize for Witching.

TheCBCLiterary Prizeshave been recognizing Canadian writers since 1979.Past winners include MichaelOndaatje, Carol Shields, Michael Winter and Frances Itani.

• Check out the past winners of theCBCLiterary Prizes