Billy-Ray Belcourt has populated his first short story collection with a pantheon of Cree characters, each presenting a different possibility for modern Indigenous life.

Billy-Ray Belcourt is among the notable names on the long list for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

The 23-year-old from Driftpile Cree Nation sobbed as he accepted the prize Thursday night, sharing his hopes that his writing can help bring about a world that Indigenous people would want to live in.