You (Streetcar at Night) by Dorian McNamara

Dorian McNamara has made the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for You (Streetcar at Night). 

The winner of the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and their work will be published on CBC Books. The four remaining finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.

The shortlist will be announced on April 10 and the winner will be announced on April 17. 

• 32 writers from across Canada make 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist

If you're interested in other CBC Literary Prizes, 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 You can submit an original, unpublished poem or collection of poems from April 1-June 1.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 Dorian McNamara

Dorian McNamara is a queer transgender writer currently living in Halifax. Originally from Toronto, he graduated with a BA in psychology from Dalhousie University. He is currently working on his first novel as well as publishing the creative newsletter Dear You. 

Entry in five-ish words

"A nighttime reflection on identity."

The short story's source of inspiration

"Growing up in Toronto, I've always loved the streetcars. When I come home to visit my family, I find I am often on the streetcar. There's always a lot of memories tied to them, but after coming out, I got anxious that people who knew me before would recognize me then. Part of me wanted them to remember me and see me now, but another part of me was afraid of how people I used to know would react."

First lines

There is a certain feeling that can only be experienced when taking the streetcar at night. I am not sure how to describe it. Relaxing is a little too sleepy. Soothing has a hiss to it, so perhaps that is better. Streetcars have a song at night, after all. It only exists during the night service, when the sky becomes a black blanket outside of the windows, and the lamplights and lit storefronts are dreams.

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: 

• Love is the Enemy by Vincent Anioke (Waterloo, Ont.)
• Stubborn Knots by Ari Asho (Montreal)
• The Troll Artist by Pam Barnsley (Comox, B.C.)
• Zodiac Attack by Andrea Bishop (Salt Spring Island, B.C.)
• Point of Origin by Alison Braid-Fernandez (Summerland, B.C.)
• Sour Milk by Sarah Christina Brown (New Westminster, B.C.)
• Slug Lord by Petra Chambers (Hornby Island, B.C.)
• Cultus Spring by Jan Crerar (Salmon Arm, B.C.)
• 108th & Central by Barbara Darby (Lethbridge, Alta.)
• Savages by Lewis DeSoto (Toronto)
• Mothers Day, 2017 by Gráinne Downey (Vancouver)
• Driving in a Snowstorm by Izza Farhan (Toronto)
• Sudbury Saturday Night by Emily Groot (Sudbury, Ont.)
• Juicy Fruit, 1947 by Henry Heavyshield (Standoff, Alta.)
• Glow by Linda Kingston (Ottawa)
• Westward by Josée Lafrenière (Montreal)
• Ghostworlds by Trent Lewin (Waterloo, Ont.)
• Hope this Story has a Happy Ending by Heather Simeney MacLeod (Kamloops, B.C.)
• You (Streetcar at Night) by Dorian McNamara (Halifax)
• Apple Cake by Aleksandra Merk (Fonthill, Ont.)
• What About Sam by Rachael Riley (Montreal)
• Lessons from a peach by Emi Sasagawa (Vancouver)
• Grocery List for the Common Witch by Claire Scherzinger (Bremerton, Wash.)
• On a Tuesday in November by Aaron Schneider (London, Ont.)
• Real is Love by Michelle Sinclair (Ottawa)
• My Father's Soil by Zeina Sleiman (Edmonton)
• Personnel Unknown by John Sudlow (Oakville, Ont.)
• Dirty Gert by Pamela van der Woude (Picton, Ont.)
• Mount Zoo by Paul Warren (Duncan, B.C.)
• How To Watch Your Daughter Die by Jessica Wegmann-Sanchez (Edmonton)
• Self Care by Erin Wilk (Kitchener, Ont.)
• Gold by Julia Williams (Calgary)