The 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize is currently accepting submissions, and the winner will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a writing residency at Artscape Gibraltar Point, a cultural hub on Toronto Island and have their work published on CBC Books.

You can submit memoir, biography, humour writing, essay, personal essay travel writing and feature articles up to 2,000 words, as long as it has not been previously published. The deadline is Feb. 28, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Carrie Mac won the 2015 CBC Nonfiction Prize for her nonfiction story, if you have a good seal, the chest will rise, which was inspired by her work as a paramedic. How did Carrie do it? She offered her tips to CBC Radio's Up North's Jason Turnbull for how you can create a standout entry for the CBC Literary Prizes.

"I submitted many times before I won — I think many people do this. Including the piece that eventually won, I had submitted three times before. Having not won, I revised it, polished it and sent it out again. The story that ultimately won is a story that I have told many times to friends and in front of audiences as a writer. I knew if you have a good seal, the chest will rise was a story I wanted to put onto a page and send out into the world."

"Sometimes I don't like writing at all, but I feel compelled. I do what my gut tells me to do. I've been a storyteller as long as I've been a writer, so the stories that sit with me are the ones that don't go away. I don't think people have to dig too deep to find them. I think they should reach for what is within their grasp in terms of the stories that keep replaying in your own mind. It's easier than trying to dig deep and start with nothing."

"I also recommend people record their stories. Record into a microphone or smartphone and play it back to listen for gaps or things that need improvement. With a word count restriction, you do need to murder your darlings and cut out gigantic swathes from the fabric of the story that remains in the end. You can also ask friends to weigh if you have friends that are super critical — those are the best kind."