A Slowest Growing by Carla Harris
Carla Harris has made the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist for A Slowest Growing.
The winner of the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, have their work published on CBC Books and have the opportunity to attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.
The shortlist will be announced on Sept. 15 and the winner will be announced on Sept. 22.
If you're interested in the CBC Literary Prizes, the 2023 CBC Short Story Prize is currently open for submissions until Oct. 31, 2022.
About Carla Harris
Carla Harris is a disabled queer writer, performer and interdisciplinary artist living as a guest on Treaty 4 territory in Regina. They teach workshops for improvisation and creative experimentation, and are currently working on their first collection of poetry and a play in unconfined #CripTime.
Entry in five-ish words
"Coming out isn't one party."
The story's source of inspiration
"I reflected on how I held back from coming out as a young teen in a rural town, feeling like my health was a puzzle that had to be 'solved' before I could acknowledge and experience those emotions and connections."
First lines
Before my first crush grew wild and hearty in Northern Shield crocuses, my queerness was fighting in shallow soil. It takes dust generations to cast dirt on the slate. The Shield's short seasons leave you growing slowly, leaning with the wind to survive nights when seasons snap cold. I was still collecting stones, planning treasure hunts and selling mud pies for a love that meant family, music and outdoor exploring. I was a gradual child, imperceptibly gathering to build a self. It takes a long time to grow after you have been excavated from this world. When they crop you into slabs and haul each part away, the healthcare system digs deep. Being extracted and polished into pieces divorces the mind from the body. You are a quarry, so you gradually fill with water after the abandonment.
It takes a long time to grow after you have been excavated from this world. When they crop you into slabs and haul each part away, the healthcare system digs deep.
About the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize
The winner of the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, have their work published on CBC Books and attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.
The 2023 CBC Short Story Prize is currently open for submissions until Oct. 31, 2022. The 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January 2023 and the 2023 CBC Poetry Prize will open in April 2023.
