Self Care by Erin Wilk

Erin Wilk has made the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Self Care. 

The winner of the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and their work will be published on CBC Books. The four remaining 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 April 10 and the winner will be announced on April 17. 

• 32 writers from across Canada make 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist

If you're interested in other CBC Literary Prizes, the 2025 CBC Poetry Prize is currently accepting submissions. You can submit an original, unpublished poem or collection of poems from April 1-June 1.

The 2026 CBC Short Story Prize will open in September and the 2026 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January. 

About Erin Wilk

Erin Wilk lives amidst chaos of her own creation. This includes three kids, one partner, several unfinished art projects and a cat (despite being allergic). She is currently working on her creative writing certificate at the University of Calgary. Her short story, A Record of the Overthrowing of the Empiric Coalition by the Three Hundred and Fifty-Eighth Chosen One, was published in issue 31 of Elegant Literature. She works as a freelance editor, content writer and yarn consultant. 

Entry in five-ish words

"Embracing all your selves (literally)."

The short story's source of inspiration

"When I hit middle age, I was forced to slow down and learn to take care of myself. I was struck by how much work it is, how much we need other people to lean on in order to do so, and how impossible that can seem at times. I've always been a huge fan of sci-fi (especially time travel stories), so naturally I wondered what I would really do if I had the ability. The first thing that came to mind was the ability to enjoy all my favourite authors' works, without having to wait for them to be published in real time. I'm apparently a simple person with simple wants, and those wants are mostly books. I started there and worked my way out. What would I do next? What would it be like to be able to really show up for yourself, your whole life? What would  it look like if you could physically care for your past and future selves?" 

First lines

July 5th, 1998, 9:15am

"Introduce yourself with one fun fact!" The HR rep, Helen, chirps at us. I'm tempted to ask her why she's like this, but it would probably get me fired. I don't really want this job, but I really need this job. Ten of us are standing in an empty aisle of the store, awkwardly adjusting our blue vests. Mine's itchy, even through my shirt, and it smells dubious, like wet cardboard. I hate everything about this. My palms sweat as the person beside me (Tim? Jim?) professes his love of mini golf. It's already my turn. I haven't come up with anything clever, so I go with the truth.

"Uh, hey," I say. Brilliant. "I'm Erin, and um, I can travel in time". It's an undeniably 'fun' fact, but no one will believe me.

Check out the rest of the longlist

The longlist was selected from more than 2,300 entries. A team of 12 writers and editors from across Canada compiled the list. 

The jury selects the shortlist and the eventual winner from the readers' longlisted selections. This year's jury is composed of Conor Kerr, Kudakwashe Rutendo and Michael Christie. 

The complete list is: 

• Love is the Enemy by Vincent Anioke (Waterloo, Ont.)
• Stubborn Knots by Ari Asho (Montreal)
• The Troll Artist by Pam Barnsley (Comox, B.C.)
• Zodiac Attack by Andrea Bishop (Salt Spring Island, B.C.)
• Point of Origin by Alison Braid-Fernandez (Summerland, B.C.)
• Sour Milk by Sarah Christina Brown (New Westminster, B.C.)
• Slug Lord by Petra Chambers (Hornby Island, B.C.)
• Cultus Spring by Jan Crerar (Salmon Arm, B.C.)
• 108th & Central by Barbara Darby (Lethbridge, Alta.)
• Savages by Lewis DeSoto (Toronto)
• Mothers Day, 2017 by Gráinne Downey (Vancouver)
• Driving in a Snowstorm by Izza Farhan (Toronto)
• Sudbury Saturday Night by Emily Groot (Sudbury, Ont.)
• Juicy Fruit, 1947 by Henry Heavyshield (Standoff, Alta.)
• Glow by Linda Kingston (Ottawa)
• Westward by Josée Lafrenière (Montreal)
• Ghostworlds by Trent Lewin (Waterloo, Ont.)
• Hope this Story has a Happy Ending by Heather Simeney MacLeod (Kamloops, B.C.)
• You (Streetcar at Night) by Dorian McNamara (Halifax)
• Apple Cake by Aleksandra Merk (Fonthill, Ont.)
• What About Sam by Rachael Riley (Montreal)
• Lessons from a peach by Emi Sasagawa (Vancouver)
• Grocery List for the Common Witch by Claire Scherzinger (Bremerton, Wash.)
• On a Tuesday in November by Aaron Schneider (London, Ont.)
• Real is Love by Michelle Sinclair (Ottawa)
• My Father's Soil by Zeina Sleiman (Edmonton)
• Personnel Unknown by John Sudlow (Oakville, Ont.)
• Dirty Gert by Pamela van der Woude (Picton, Ont.)
• Mount Zoo by Paul Warren (Duncan, B.C.)
• How To Watch Your Daughter Die by Jessica Wegmann-Sanchez (Edmonton)
• Self Care by Erin Wilk (Kitchener, Ont.)
• Gold by Julia Williams (Calgary)