It seems to be the year of the short story here in Canada! First Alice Munro won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature in October, and then in November, our Cityline Book Club pick Hellgoing by Lynn Coady won the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize. Canada has always been a strong producer of amazing short stories, so to help you check out more great collections, we’ve rounded up some of our recent faves.

Sarah Selecky, This Cake is for the Party: Shortlisted for the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize, this debut book is one of my very favourite short story collections. Selecky’s use of language is brilliant and incredibly thought-provoking. Her characters are rich and complex, and while the situations they end up in are generally rather bleak, you still can’t help but fall for the beautiful moments in these excellent stories.

Rebecca Rosenblum, Once: This debut collection of 16 small stories portrays the messy lives of 20-somethings in an all too accurate way. From students to waitresses to street hustlers, this debut collection is a captivating look at human relationships that is all at once self-assured and tentative, harsh yet tender.

Elisabeth de Mariaffi, How to Get Along with Women: Longlisted for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize, de Mariaffi’s debut collection focuses on female relationships and the power struggles that come along with them, whether these are romantic relationships or female friendships. The author’s keen eye for detail and stunning ability to get into the minds of her characters makes these stories irresistible.

Vincent Lam, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures: Winner of the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize, this collection is unique in this list as the only book of connected stories. Four young medical students are the main characters who run a connecting thread through each of the 12 interwoven stories that give an insider’s look into what it means to be a doctor. (It helps that Lam is a medical doctor himself!)

Russell Wangersky, Whirl Away: This incredibly charming collection of east-coast stories was shortlisted for the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize. These stories get under your skin, and the character development is superb for such short, slice-of-life stories.

Do you love short stories? We’d love to hear about your favourite collections — tell us about them in the comments below!