Twenty-four hours by Noreen Newton
Noreen Newton has made the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist for Twenty-four hours.
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 Noreen Newton
Noreen Newton is a pilot with over 40 years of experience. She flies for a national airline. Noreen completed an MA in professional communications from Royal Roads University in 2020, where her thesis on women's experience in the airline industry won an academic award for excellence of scholarship. She also won the Ted Wilson Memorial Award for lifelong learning. Recently Newton attended Vancouver Manuscript Intensive where she worked with mentor, Betsy Warland, on developing the manuscript of her memoir. She is a mother of two sons and lives in Victoria.
Entry in five-ish words
"A transition from adolescent to adult."
The story's source of inspiration
"Twenty-four hours is a scene from my memoir — a period where I struggled to understand my worth. My journey is into the male dominated world of the aviation industry, where I struggled both privately and professionally. C. S. Lewis wrote, 'You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.'
"I was awestruck from my first flight in a small aircraft by the bird's eye view and determined to find a place for myself as a commercial pilot. That sense of wonder and the camaraderie of my fellow pilots lifted me out of the dark circumstances I experienced along the way."
First lines
"Get out of the bed, hands over your head." The police officers are at the foot of the bed, guns drawn.
Dust particles float across the single sunbeam that escapes the gold floor-to-ceiling drapes, drawn tight against the morning light. Clothes are strewn haphazardly on the floor. The wall-to-wall shag carpet captures the lingering staleness of smoke and sex. A sliver of light illuminates the two bodies asleep in the bed.
Clothes are strewn haphazardly on the floor. The wall-to-wall shag carpet captures the lingering staleness of smoke and sex.
Startled into consciousness, I jump up. Naked, reaching for my clothes, I strive for some dignity. Struggling to make sense of their presence, I bend over and fold my body, first one leg, then the other, into the one-piece jumpsuit. Pulling the sleeves over my arms, I button up the top, covering my shame.
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.
