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Cultus Spring by Jan Crerar

CBC Books | Posted: April 3, 2025 1:30 PM | Last Updated: April 3

The Salmon Arm, B.C., writer is on the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist

Image | Jan Crerar

Caption: Jan Crerar is a writer living in Salmon Arm, B.C. (Submitted by Jan Crerar)

Jan Crerar has made the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Cultus Spring.
The winner of the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts(external link), a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity(external link) and their work will be published on CBC Books(external link). The four remaining 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 April 10 and the winner will be announced on April 17.
If you're interested in other CBC Literary Prizes(external link), the 2025 CBC Poetry Prize is currently accepting submissions. You can submit an original, unpublished poem or collection of poems from April 1-June 1.
The 2026 CBC Short Story Prize will open in September and the 2026 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January.

About Jan Crerar

Jan Crerar was born in the far North, daughter of an RCMP officer and a lightning typist. Four generations of her family have ranched sheep near Vernon, B.C. She grew up in the Ottawa Valley, Ont., St. Albert, Alta., and greater Vancouver. Her chosen home is in the woods near Salmon Arm, B.C., traditional Secwépemc territory. She earned a BA (Hons) from Simon Fraser University, and her LL.B (JD) from the University of British Columbia. Crerar is a small-town lawyer and veteran search and rescue volunteer, and recently resumed writing after a 20-year hiatus.

Entry in five-ish words

"Service and community confronting tragedy."

The short story's source of inspiration

"This story was inspired in part by my work with search and rescue, and my family's long history in the North Okanagan landscape."

First lines

Lavinia's first life ended on a raw, windy Saturday in late March, 1952. Mom was refueling the tractor from the barrel tank when a police car belted across their bridge, red light flashing. The young constable jogged over as Ida carefully shut off the hose, obviously thinking Now what?
"Mrs. Warner? There's two boys missing over at the Menzies place. One of them is your Floyd. Have you seen him since noon?"
The lurch, the jolt of sickening worry. Mom said "No. What do you mean, missing?"

Check out the rest of the longlist

The longlist was selected from more than 2,300 entries. A team of 12 writers and editors from across Canada compiled the list.
The jury selects the shortlist and the eventual winner from the readers' longlisted selections. This year's jury is composed of Conor Kerr, Kudakwashe Rutendo and Michael Christie.
The complete list is:

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