Nina Dragicevic has made the 2019 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Bodies.

Nina Dragicevic is a writer and editor living in an old house in Scarborough — a borough in east Toronto — which she shares with three dogs and a husband. In 2017, she won first place in the Toronto Star Short Story Contest.

A boy finds a body.

"I was walking my dogs through a misty field. I wondered what it would feel like to find someone there."

Ali's father woke him up early.

"I need your help getting bags from the car, I forgot them," he said.

Ali put on his track pants and a hoodie and zipped it up close to his neck, and then pulled the hood over his head. He was sleepy and annoyed but not showing it to his father, or not trying to. It took him a few tries to get his shoes on. His father was already dressed for work and wearing a parka, holding the keys and waiting by the door.

It was bitterly cold outside. It bit through Ali's body and woke him up quickly. "What did you forget?" he asked his father, feeling that talking would keep him warm, and he kicked up his step a little as well.

The winner of the 2019 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.