西(Nishi) by Saya Watanabe
CBC Books | | Posted: April 14, 2021 1:30 PM | Last Updated: April 14, 2021
2021 CBC Short Story Prize longlist
Saya Watanabe has made the 2021 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for 西(Nishi).
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.
About Saya Watanabe
Saya Watanabe resides in Vancouver on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. She writes short stories and essays that explore themes of diasporic identity, climate change, family and belonging. Currently enrolled in a post-graduate program at the University of British Columbia, she has a BA in English from Simon Fraser University where she took several creative writing courses during her undergrad. While attending Simon Fraser University, she was a recipient of the Roy Miki Award in Creative Writing and the Capi Blanchet Annual Scholarship in Fiction. 西(Nishi) is her second short story.
Entry in five-ish words
"'minor feelings' (Cathy Park Hong)"
The story's source of inspiration
"I wrote 西(Nishi) to explore the way climate change and issues of sustainability intersect with structures of power and institutional inequality. The story contrasts movements seeking large-scale change with the everyday injustices and hurt that we inflict through thoughtless acts on more intimate, human level. I tried to capture the feelings of millennial desperation, of feeling stuck and helpless, in our ever-complicated world. "
First lines
I know Hugo will kill me if he sees how badly I'm butchering my task of folding these origami cranes, but I can't stop staring at the chaos happening outside the window. Bright banners — decorated with peace signs and pictures of Earth — bob in the air above the hordes of climate marchers who stream toward Vancouver City Hall. Even from my place inside the restaurant, I can feel the rumble of voices, and the energy that roars through the streets.
I know Hugo will kill me if he sees how badly I'm butchering my task of folding these origami cranes, but I can't stop staring at the chaos happening outside the window.
In the window's reflection, I see Hugo's head dart out over the kitchen countertop, his blue eyes sweeping across the empty tables, and I glance downward to the origami table decorations scattered in front of me. He hates seeing the waitstaff idle, and I can't afford to lose this job. It's that awkward mid-afternoon lull, the restaurant filled with the noise of chopping as cooks restock ingredients. Hugo's been giving out orders all week, anticipating the dinner rush of vegans and climate activists who roam through the streets. He even ordered extra Kombucha for tonight.
About the 2021 CBC Short Story Prize
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.