Curtis John McRae

“Curtis John McRae’s writing got my attention for being subtle, funny, wise, confident, blocked with unpredictable dialogue, laced through with reflections on prior events, and the feeling constantly that something is about to change. He has a facility with making minor characters believe they are the center of the story, which contributes to the all-around socially generous climate he conveys while having, at the core of the plot, a solitary examination of contemporary Canadian life. I knew very little about this world and these people that populate McRae’s fiction, and yet he makes me believe in them and care about that world and care, too, about the person telling these stories.”—2026 Rising Star Selector Michael Winter