Meet the 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize readers

These writers and editors determined the longlist for the 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize. The shortlist will be announced on Sept. 14.

These writers and editors determined the longlist for the 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize

CBC Books Posted: Sep 05, 2023 9:55 AM EDT | Last Updated: September 7, 2023

A collage of 12 faces — These writers and editors from across Canada determined the longlist for the 2023 CBC Nonfiction 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. You can meet the readers for the 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize below.

The jury for the 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize, comprised of Eternity Martis, David A. Robertson and Merilyn Simonds, then selects the shortlist and the eventual winner from the longlisted selections.

The CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist will be unveiled on Sept. 7. The shortlist will be announced on Sept. 14 and then the winner will be revealed on Sept. 21.

The CBC Nonfiction Prize winner will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, have the opportunity to attend a two-week writing residency at Artscape Gibraltar Point and have their work published on CBC Books.

Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and will have their work published on CBC Books.

The 2024 CBC Short Story Prize is currently accepting submissions until Nov. 1, 2023 and the 2024 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January. The 2024 CBC Poetry Prize will open in April.

2024 CBC Short Story Prize is now open

Here are the 12 writers who served as readers for the 2023 CBC Short Story Prize.

Mark Abley

Strange Bewildering Time is a book by Mark Abley. (House of Anansi Press, John Kenney)

Mark Abley is a nonfiction writer, poet and journalist. His books include The Organist, Spoken Here, Watch Your Tongue, The Prodigal Tongue, Conversations with a Dead Man: The Legacy of Duncan Campbell Scott and several poetry collections and children's books. He grew up in Saskatchewan and Alberta, but now lives in Montreal.

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At 22 years old, Abley took a three-month trek with his friend across the Hippie Trail, from Europe to South Asia. It was the spring of 1978 and many of the places Abley visited would soon become inaccessible to foreign travellers. Using the notebook from his trip, Abley brings his vibrant experience back to life in his memoir Strange Bewildering Time, from dancing in a Turkish disco to clambering across a glacier in Kashmir, conjuring a region during a time of historical change.

LISTEN | Mark Abley on his new book, Strange Bewildering Time:

Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr

A Black woman with a green headscarf and the book cover with an illustration of a Black woman from her back and the book title written over it — Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr is the author of I Am Because We Are. (chidiogo.org, House of Anansi Press)

Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr is a Nigerian Canadian writer, speaker and the founder of She Roars, a global community empowering women. She was included in the Guardian's list of the 100 most inspiring women in Nigeria. I Am Because We Are is her first book.

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I Am Because We Are documents how Akunyili-Parr's late mother, Dora Akunyili, faced down misogyny and corruption in Nigeria. The nonfiction book is a look at how Dora Akunyili took on fraudulent drug manufacturers after their products killed millions, including her sister. And when Akunyili becomes an elected official, she faced death threats and an assassination attempt. Akunyili-Parr's mother suffered for her beliefs, as did her marriage and six children.

Omer Aziz

On the left is a book cover that is a watercolour painting with green and yellow background, and a young man with black hair and black framed glasses looking to the right. There is black and white text overlay that is the book's title and author's name. On the right is a photo of the author - a young man wearing a black shirt and navy blue suit jacket standing in front of window. — Brown Boy is a book by Omer Aziz. (Scribner, Amr Jayousi)

Omer Aziz was born in Toronto and was educated through scholarships at Queen's University, the Paris Institute of Political Studies, Cambridge University, and Yale Law School. He has written for the New York Times, the Atlantic, New York magazine andthe Washington Post. He has worked for politicians such as the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau as well as the country's foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland.

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In Brown Boy, Aziz describes the complex process of creating an identity as a first-generation Pakistani Muslim boy on the outskirts of Toronto, that fuses where he's from, what people see in him, and who he knows himself to be. Through his personal narrative with the books and friendships that move him, Aziz wrestles with the contradiction of feeling like an Other and his desire to belong to a Western world that never quite accepts him.

Eli Baxter

A smiling man looking straight at the camera and the book cover of fossilized rocks with the book title written in front of it — Aki-Wayn-Zih is a book by Eli Baxter. (Eli Baxter, McGill Queen's University Press)

Eli Baxter is an Anishinaabay Knowledge Keeper originally from Ogoki Post First Nation who belongs to the Marten Falls Band. He is a residential school survivor and certified Ontario teacher. Baxter won the 2022 Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction for Aki-wayn-zih.

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Baxter is among the last fluent speakers of Anishinaabaymowin, an Anishinaabay language. In Aki-Wayn-Zih, Baxter looks at the history of the Anishinaabayg and their relationship with the land since the beginning of their life on Turtle Island. He brings together thousands of years of history with his personal story, growing up on the land, trapping and fishing, and his experience being forced to attend residential school.

Cody Caetano

A composite photo of a book cover featuring geometric primary colours overlaying a photo of a boy in the field and the book's author, a young man wearing a beanie and staring straight into the camera — Half-Bads in White Regalia is a memoir by Cody Caetano. (Hamish Hamilton Canada, Kris Caetano)

Cody Caetano is a Toronto-based writer of Anishinaabe and Portuguese descent and an off-reserve member of Pinaymootang First Nation. His memoir Half-Bads in White Regalia is his first book and it waslonglisted forCanada Reads 2023.

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Half-Bads in White Regalia traces Cody Caetano's unique upbringing living in a rural house with his siblings after his parents split up and left them behind his mother trying to discover her Anishinaabe roots after finding out her Sixties Scoop origin story and his Portuguese immigrant father drifting aimlessly.

LISTEN | Cody Caetano discusses Half-Bads in White Regalia:

The Next Chapter15:58Cody Caetano on Half- Bads in White Regalia: A Memoir

Cody Caetano talks to Shelagh Rogers about his memoir, Half- Bads in White Regalia.

Tamar Glouberman

The book cover is an aerial photo of a river flowing vertically with rock and green grass on either side and a young woman in the winter wearing a teal coloured tuque and charcoal winter jacket — Chasing Rivers is a book by Tamar Glouberman. (Douglas & McIntyre, Mara Glouberman)

Tamar Glouberman's first bookChasing Rivers: A Whitewater Lifeis a memoir combining the excitement of whitewater with the search for self-forgiveness. As a long-time wilderness guide, Glouberman has always loved the storytelling aspect of her job. Eventually that love brought her to the University of British Columbia's creative writing MFA program, where she wroteChasing Riversas her thesis project. Glouberman currently guides in the Great Bear Rainforest, which happens to be the location of the next book she's working on.

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Chasing Rivers takes readers headfirst into the life of female whitewater guide, Glouberman, who has traversed some of the most difficult rafting rivers in North America, including in the Grand Canyon. At home on the water, Glouberman's love for rafting and paddling brought her community, friendship, romance, increasing self-confidence to overcome challenges and unfortunately, tragedy in the form of a fatal accident for one of her passengers. Navigating her guilt and love for the water, Glouberman's memoir asks deep questions about how to make a meaningful life, the potential for self-sacrifice and self-forgiveness and what it means to chase adventure around every corner.

Michael Hingston

The book cover with the image of an island in the middle of water and the author photo of a bearded man posing with a book in hand in front of a bookshelf — Try Not to be Strange is a book by Michael Hingston. (Chris Colbourne, Biblioasis)

Michael Hingston is a writer and publisher from Edmonton. He is the author of the books Let's Go Exploring and The Dilettantes. He also co-authored Harnarayan Singh's memoir One Game at a Time. He has been featured in Wired, National Geographic, the Atlantic and the Washington Post. He is a co-founder of Hingston and Olsen Publishing.

In Try Not to Be Strange, Michael Hingston tells the story of Redonda, a micronation that was transformed from an uninhabited island into a fantastical and international kingdom of sci-fi novelists, poets, publishers and Nobel Prize nominees. This book part literary history, part travelogue and part quest narrative is about what happens when bibliomania engulfs more than just the shelves.

Harrison Mooney

A Black man sitting on a green chair staring straight at the camera and the book cover an illustration of a faceless Black boy with a green shirt and brown pants — Invisible Boy is a memoir by Harrison Mooney. (HarperCollins Canada, Jeff Vinnick)

Harrison Mooney is a writer and journalist of West African descent, raised in B.C. As a journalist, he has written for the Vancouver Sun, the National Post and Maclean's. He is currently based in Vancouver.

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Invisible Boy is a memoir detailing Mooney's experiences of displacement and racism from childhood to adulthood. As a transracial adoptee to a white evangelical family, Mooney was harassed for his racial identity and forced to adhere to fundamentalist teachings in his church. Reflecting on his past, Mooney writes of his journey out of internalized anti-Blackness and his reunion with his biological mother25 years later.

LISTEN | Author Harrison Mooney on new memoir and finishing writer in-residence role at Vancouver Public Library:

Lorri Neilsen Glenn

A woman with long white hair and the book cover of a beige map with rivers drawn in red — Lorri Neilsen Glenn embarks on an investigation to unearth the silenced history of Indigenous women in Following the River. (Lorri Neilsen Glenn/Wolsak and Wynn)

Lorri Neilsen Glenn's forthcoming hybrid memoir, The Old Moon in Her Arms, will be published in 2024. Her most recent book is Following the River: Traces of Red River Women, awork of creative nonfiction about her Indigenous grandmothers and their contemporaries. Glenn was Halifax'sfirst Mtis Poet Laureate. She is professor emerita at Mount Saint Vincent University and teaches in University of King's College MFA program in creative nonfiction. She lives in Mi'kma'ki.

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Following the River: Traces of Red River Womenlooks into Glenn'sfamily history and her Cree-Mtis ancestry via the tragic death of her great-grandmother. But it also poses a central question: why don't we know more about First Nations and Mtis women in history?Following the Riverreclaims the lives of women whose stories have disappeared, collecting prose, poetry and 19th century documents.

Josiah Neufeld

On the left is a rock wall with moss growing out of it. There is pale yellow coloured text overlay that is the book's title and author name. On the right is a photo of the author who has blonde hair, is wearing glasses, jean jacket, mauve pants, and is smiling at the camera. — The Temple at the End of the Universe is a book by Josiah Neufeld. (House of Anansi Press, Daniel Neufeld)

Josiah Neufeld is a journalist who grew up in Burkina Faso. His writing has appeared in the Walrus, Hazlitt, the Globe and Mail, Eighteen Bridges, the Ottawa Citizen, the Vancouver Sun, Utne Reader, Prairie Fire and the New Quarterly. He lives in Winnipeg.

In the memoir The Temple at the End of the Universe, Neufeld reflects on his childhood as the son of Christian missionaries based in Burkina Faso. This experience showed him how people's actions are influenced by spiritual and religious convictions and how faith can combat feelings of personal powerlessness. The Temple at the End of the Universe calls for a new spiritual paradigm in the face of the climate crisis.

Laura Trethewey

On the left is a book cover that has navy blue, purple, mauve, orange, and yellow half rings on the top half of the book cover, and different shades of blue half rings on the bottom half of the book cover. There is also a black coloured ship in the middle the rings. There is white text overlay on the cover which is the book's title and the author's name. On the right is a photo of a woman wearing a cream coloured blouse and black blazer with her hands in her pockets — The Deepest Map is a book by Laura Trethewey. (Goose Lane Editions, Colin Boyd Shafer)

Laura Trethewey is an author and journalist. She was one the recipients of the Writers' Trust of Canada Rising Star award in 2020. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Atlantic and the Walrus. She is the author of the book The Imperilled Ocean: Human Stories from a Changing Sea.

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The Deepest Map chronicles the global efforts to map the oceans' floor and obtain an accurate reading of the vast underwater terrain. Documenting Inuit-led crowdsourced mapping in the Arctic and a Texan's quest to become the first man to dive to the deepest point in each ocean, this book explores the world's oceans and fraught questions around deep sea mining.

Njoki Wane

The book cover with a castle in front of a hill with trees and the author photo of a smiling Black woman with short curly black hair and glasses wearing a red blazer — From My Mother's Back is a nonfiction book by Njoki Wane. (Wolsak & Wynn)

Njoki Wane is a professor at the University of Toronto and a recognized scholar in the areas of Black feminism and African spirituality.

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Wane's From My Mother's Back reflects on her childhood living in Kenya where her parents owned a small coffee farm. It explores her African identity and how her upbringing and close relationship with her mother ensured her sense of self. The book later follows her to Canada, as she pursues her academic dreams and experiences what it means to be a Black African woman in a predominantly white society.