Jacqueline Stirrup has made the 2022 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Olympia and I.

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.

Jacqueline Stirrup was born and raised in Liverpool, England and moved to Canada as an adult. Both Canada and England have influenced her writing. She is a writer of romance novels using the pen name Fyn Alexander and her books feature mostly LGBTQ characters. Stirrup also has two books under her own name. She likes to set many of her books in the United Kingdom where she visits family every few years. Having spent her twenties in the gay and lesbian clubs in Toronto, it was the perfect place to set Olympia and I.

"Obsession, infatuation, food, whips, loss"

"I like to write about love and people who love obsessively. I like to ponder the things people share and the things they choose to keep to themselves. We all have secrets."

In 1995, on a day far too warm for a long black coat, I walk along Queen Street West inhaling exhaust fumes from backed-up traffic, and cigarette smoke from the woman walking in front of me on the crowded sidewalk.

I stop in front of a shop window and look covetously at outrageously expensive Goth clothing. I am not a Goth — I like sunlight and do not care for graveyards — I like the clothing because it's black and my mother says black makes me look slimmer.

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.