I’m very excited that my short story ‘Saving Face’ was longlisted for the 2019 CBC Short Story Prize. This is the third time I’ve been longlisted for the award. ‘Saving Face’ tells the story of two men who meet in a hotel bar in Beijing. It was one of 31 stories longlisted this year. Although I’ve never won the prize, it’s always great to be recognized by a group of peer writers for one of Canada’s most prestigious short story prizes.
On CBC, I described my inspiration for the story as follows:
"I used to travel to China frequently for work and found both the alienation and surprising moments of personal connection in Chinese cities very powerful. Beijing is a city steeped in history but also very futuristic, a place where status and power are important. I wanted to explore how a chance encounter — in an era of unprecedented state surveillance — can offer a fleeting opportunity for intimacy between two men.”
You can read the first few paragraphs of the story on the CBC website. Also, if you haven’t yet, I encourage you to consider submitting to the CBC Literary Awards (short story, nonfiction, and poetry). It’s a great opportunity to showcase your work.