Irene Bowden has made the 2022 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Wildflowers and a Red Ribbon.

The winner of the 2022 CBC Short Story 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 April 21 and the winner will be announced on April 28.

If you're interested in the CBC Literary Prizes, the 2022 CBC Poetry Prize is open for submissions until May 31.

Irene Bowden has her BA in English from McMaster University and works for the school board near her home in Dunnville, Ont. She finds quiet time to reflect and conjure up story ideas and characters while hunting for sea glass for picture creations on the Lake Erie beaches nearby. Bowden is currently working on a novel.

"Innocence plus resilience equals hope."

"My father was two years old during the Second World War. My grandmother had to flee their home with my dad and five siblings. Their hope was to board the Wilhelm Gustloff ship to get to safety. On Jan. 30, 1945, with an estimated 10,000 people packed on a ship meant for 2,000, the mayhem forced them off the boat. Soon after departure, the ship was torpedoed with an estimated 9,000 victims who drowned.

"My father's family managed to escape on the Cap Arcona and the years as refugees that followed were a test of their endurance, strength and love. My heroes: my father, my grandmother, my aunts and uncles were all inspirations for my story."

It was a 10 second storm. Maybe. It felt so much longer to her but then it always did. The pause. It was 10 seconds maybe. More or less. Just long enough for him to regret asking. Wanting to take back the question but feeling like it was too late. Or maybe he imagined it? The flicker on her face. He could only think of those haunted eyes of a drowning soul, anguish and hurt and betrayal all rolled into one and her eyes, unblinking, locked onto his.

The winner of the 2022 CBC Short Story 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 2022 CBC Poetry Prize is currently open for submissions until May 31, 2022. The 2023 CBC Short Story Prize will open in September and the 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January 2023.