Anahita Dehbonehie has made the 2021 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Condo.

The winner of the 2021 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 22 and the winner will be announced on April 29.

Anahita Dehbonehie is an Iranian multidisciplinary artist. Her practice is founded on the principle that truths are communicated most powerfully through evocative sensory experiences. She is committed to work that questions form and content while creating space for contemporary conversation: the evolving relationship between participant, creator and the exchange of ideas is what fuels her interest in the arts. This is her first short story.

"Mirrors often reflect the past."

"Sitting by the Don River at sunset."

"Hello and welcome your new home!" Majid's smile disappeared for a moment as he bent to finish the line that made up the threshold. Satisfied, he threw the stick over his shoulder and splayed his arms; the condominium's imaginary floor plan stretched around him on the riverbank.

Elham reached for the closest bottle, stealing a few swigs and swishing the bubbles around before he took it out of her hand.

"If you please not remove support beam, we could start tour." He went to the intersection where two wobbly marks met, paused, then took a deep drink.

"Ey!" Elham's palm shot out in protest.

"Property tax." He winked, wiping his mouth and putting the bottle down a few inches from where he had written the word WINDOWS in the wet sand. On the opposite shore, high rises nestled in a cushion of afternoon cloud, their concrete and glass mottled by September drizzle. In between the river ran, murky and brown with the runoff of a city summer.

Shielding her eyes, Elham squinted at the buildings. "Which one?"

The winner of the 2021 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 the 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 2021 CBC Poetry Prize is open for submissions until May 31, 2021. The 2022 CBC Short Story Prize will open in September and the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January 2022.