Saddal Diab has made the 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist for Ta'aruf. The shortlist will be announced on Sept. 14 and the winner will be announced on Sept. 21.

If you're interested in the CBC Literary Prizes, the 2024 CBC Short Story Prize is open for submissions until November 1st.

Saddal is a Montreal based writer of Sudanese descent. She is a published writer of fiction, nonfiction and was shortlisted for the Writing in the Margins contest earlier this year. Her work focuses on hybridity, belonging, gender and mental health. She is currently working on a short story collection.

"Raw, poignant, yet ultimately cathartic."

"My turbulent experience in a semi-arranged engagement."

When I was growing up, trotting across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, I never intuited that I one day I would be groomed for marriage. To the best of my knowledge my parents were open-minded individuals who had disposed of out-dated cultural practices. Throughout my childhood I attended International Schools which spouted liberal ideals. Unlike some of my classmates, I wore sleeveless tops that revealed my bra straps and hot pants that grazed up my thighs to no protest from my parents. Weddings were a mainstay of the summer vacations I took in my native Sudan, but the spectre of an arranged marriage seemed ridiculous.

The winner of the 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, have their work published on CBC Books and win a two-week writing residency at Artscape Gibraltar Point. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.

The 2024 CBC Short Story Prize is currently open until Nov. 1, 2023 at 4:59 p.m. ET. The 2024 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January 2024 and the 2024 CBC Poetry Prize will open in April 2024.