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Apple Cake by Aleksandra Merk

CBC Books | Posted: April 3, 2025 1:30 PM | Last Updated: April 4

The Fonthill, Ont., writer is on the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist

Image | Aleksandra Merk

Caption: Aleksandra Merk is a writer who was born in Toronto, but now lives in Fonthill, Ont. (Tara Walton)

Aleksandra Merk has made the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Apple Cake.
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 You can submit an original, unpublished poem or collection of poems from April 1-June 1.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 Aleksandra Merk

Aleksandra Merk is a writer and college teacher. Born in Toronto to parents from Germany and Croatia, she grew up navigating multiple cultural identities. Her writing explores immigrant family dynamics, personal longing and the inner vs. outer lives of women and mothers. In 2022, she lived with her family in Berlin where she completed a storytelling through podcasting project. She wrote about this experience on her Substack, Berlin for a Season. Merk lives in Fonthill, Ont., with her husband, two children and one very cuddly dog. She is currently seeking publication for her first novel.

Entry in five-ish words

"One woman's search for belonging."

The short story's source of inspiration

"This story was inspired by a prompt from The Story Course Intensive via the Sarah Selecky Writing School. We were given a list of random words, and for each one, we were asked to write down the first illogical word that came to mind. When the word 'love' came up, my first thought was, 'apple.' After I explored this association further, I saw a mother and daughter baking together, and the story grew from there."

First lines

The hills leading to my hometown, the place where my mother still lives, roll like a sonic wave. It is early, the roads are empty, and frost covers the trees and quiet meadows in candied sugar. When I was a teenager, I ran these hills as part of my training for rowing crew. I slurped the inclines, refreshed by the burning in my lungs, imagining the tiny alveoli expanding, contracting, crackling with electricity. When I reached the top, I savoured the metallic taste in my mouth — like sucking on pennies or drinking my own blood. Now I drive everywhere, insulated from the wind and the cold and the uneven ground.

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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