The Dances We Do With Our Children by Trenton Pomeroy

Image | Trent Pomeroy

Caption: Trent Pomeroy is a writer living in Rothesay, N.B. (Submitted by Trent Pomeroy)

Trenton Pomeroy has made the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist for The Dances We Do With Our Children.
The winner of the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts(external link), have their work published on CBC Books(external link) and have the opportunity to attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity(external link). Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts(external link) and have their work published on CBC Books(external link).
The shortlist will be announced on Sept. 15 and the winner will be announced on Sept. 22.
If you're interested in the CBC Literary Prizes, the 2023 CBC Short Story Prize is currently open for submissions until Oct. 31, 2022

About Trenton Pomeroy

Trenton Pomeroy writes short fiction and creative nonfiction. He lives in Rothesay, N.B. on the Kennebecasis River. He is a recent retiree from the software industry, where his writing was mainly focused on technology publications and marketing materials. He has won multiple awards for short, flash and creative nonfiction. His work has been published in Grain, East of the Web and several anthologies. He is the co-author of a poetry collection titled Grateful for 2020 and is currently working on a memoir.

Entry in five-ish words

"Addiction, love, and perpetual rescue."

The story's source of inspiration

"When you love an addict, you feel like you can fix them. Something inside of you whispers you can. Of course that's not true, but you try anyway. You can't stop trying. It's as if the disease of addiction preys on our love. I wanted to write about that.

First lines

On Monday I go to Aaron's hearing.
It's my fourth time here in the last two months, and the desk officer knows me by sight, even with my mask. He verifies I'm on the visitor list, I make my way through security and then head to Courtroom Three. The hearing is scheduled for 9:00, but I know by now the judge won't arrive until at least 9:30. The bailiff and a lawyer are lounging at the front of the courtroom. They glance up and then ignore me.
It's my fourth time here in the last two months, and the desk officer knows me by sight, even with my mask.

About the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize

The winner of the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts(external link), have their work published on CBC Books(external link) and attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity(external link). Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts(external link) and have their work published on CBC Books(external link).
The 2023 CBC Short Story Prize is currently open for submissions until Oct. 31, 2022. The 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January 2023 and the 2023 CBC Poetry Prize will open in April 2023.