The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short stories published by an emerging writer in a Canadian literary magazine. The award was endowed by James A. Michener, who donated the Canadian royalty earnings from his 1988 novel Journey.[1]
From the award's inception until 2023, a single story was named the winner and received CA$10,000, making it the largest monetary award given in Canada to an up-and-coming writer for a short story or excerpt from a fiction work-in-progress. Since 2023, the award no longer select a single prize winners, and instead all of the 10 writers whose stories are selected for inclusion in the anthology are considered equal winners of the award and receive $1,000 each in prize money.
The prize's winner in 2000, Timothy Taylor, was the first writer ever to have three stories nominated for the award in the same year.[2]
The Journey Prize also publishes an annual anthology of the year's longlisted short stories. Two writers, Andrew MacDonald and David Bergen, have both had a record four total stories selected for inclusion in the annual anthology.
In 2020, the Journey Prize committee announced that the upcoming award would be a special edition devoted exclusively to Black Canadian writers, considering stories published in multiple years.[3] Although the initial report was that the special Black Canadian edition of the award would be presented in 2021 for stories published in 2019, 2020 and 2021,[3] the organizers instead paused the award for 2021 and 2022, and presented a special Black Canadian award in early 2023 to honour works published since 2020.[4]
In 2024, the 25th anniversary of the awards was marked with a special retrospective anthology, edited by Alexander MacLeod and Souvankham Thammavongsa, compiling selected winning and nominated stories from throughout the history of the awards.
Winners and nominees
edit1980s
edit| Year | Author | Title | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Holley Rubinsky | "Rapid Transits" | [5] |
1990s
edit| Year | Author | Title | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Cynthia Flood | "My Father Took a Cake to France" | [6] |
| 1991 | Yann Martel | "The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios" | [7] |
| Diana Hartog | "Theories of Grief" | [8] | |
| Diane Keating | "The Salem Letters" | [8] | |
| 1992 | Rozena Maart | "No Rosa, No District Six" | [9] |
| Steven Heighton | "How Beautiful Upon the Mountains" | [10] | |
| Diane Juttner Perreault | "Bella's Story" | [10] | |
| 1993 | Gayla Reid | "Sister Doyle's Men" | [11] |
| Marina Endicott | "With the Band" | [12] | |
| Carol Windley | "The Etruscans" | [12] | |
| 1994 | Melissa Hardy | "Long Man the River" | [13] |
| Anne Carson | "Water Margins" | [14] | |
| Robert Mullen | "Anomie" | [14] | |
| 1995 | Kathryn Woodward | "Of Marranos and Gilded Angels" | [15] |
| Gabriella Goliger | "Song of Ascent" | [16] | |
| Elizabeth Hay | "Hand Games" | [16] | |
| 1996 | Elyse Gasco | "Can You Wave Bye Bye, Baby?" | [17] |
| Danuta Gleed | "Bones" | [17] | |
| Rick Maddocks | "Lessons from the Sputnik Diner" | [17] | |
| 1997 | Gabriella Goliger | "Maladies of the Inner Ear" | [18] |
| Anne Simpson | "Dreaming Snow" | [18] | |
| Mark Anthony Jarman | "Speedboat" | [18] | |
| 1998 | John Brooke | "The Finer Points of Apples" | [19] |
| Ian Colford | "The Reason for the Dream" | [20] | |
| Stephen Guppy | "Downwind" | [20] | |
| 1999 | Alissa York | "The Back of the Bear’s Mouth" | [21] |
2000s
edit| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Timothy Taylor | "Doves of Townsend" | [2] |
| 2001 | Kevin Armstrong | "The Cane Field" | [22] |
| Vivette J. Kady | "Anything That Wiggles" | [23] | |
| Heather O'Neill | "Little Suitcase" | [23] | |
| 2002 | Jocelyn Brown | "Miss Canada" | [24] |
| Geoffrey Brown | "Listen" | [25] | |
| Neil Smith | "Green Fluorescent Protein" | [25] | |
| 2003 | Jessica Grant | "My Husband’s Jump" | [26] |
| Dawn Rae Downton | "Hansel and Gretel" | [27] | |
| Charlotte Gill | "Hush" | [27] | |
| 2004 | Devin Krukoff | "The Last Spark" | [28] |
| Kenneth Bonert | "Packers and Movers" | [29] | |
| Elaine McCluskey | "The Watermelon Social" | [29] | |
| 2005 | Matt Shaw | "Matchbook for a Mother's Hair" | [30] |
| Krista Bridge | "A Matter of Firsts" | [31] | |
| Barbara Romanik | "Seven Ways to Chandigarh" | [31] | |
| 2006 | Heather Birrell | "BriannaSusannaAlana" | [32] |
| Lee Henderson | "Conjugation" | [33] | |
| Martin West | "Cretacea" | [33] | |
| 2007 | Craig Boyko | "Ozy" | [34] |
| Krista Foss | "Swimming in Zanzibar" | [35] | |
| Rebecca Rosenblum | "Chilly Girl" | [35] | |
| 2008 | Saleema Nawaz | "My Three Girls" | [36] |
| Dana Mills | "Steaming for Godthab" | [37] | |
| Clea Young | "Chaperone" | [37] | |
| 2009 | Yasuko Thanh | "Floating Like the Dead" | [38] |
| Daniel Griffin | "The Last Great Works of Alvin Cale" | [39] | |
| Dave Margoshes | "The Wisdom of Solomon" | [39] |
2010s
edit| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Devon Code | "Uncle Oscar" | [40] |
| Krista Foss | "The Longitude of Okay" | [41] | |
| Lynne Kutsukake | "Mating" | [41] | |
| 2011 | Miranda Hill | "Petitions to Saint Chronic" | [42] |
| Seyward Goodhand | "The Fur Trader's Daughter" | [43] | |
| Ross Klatte | "First-Calf Heifer" | [43] | |
| 2012 | Alex Pugsley | "Crisis on Earth-X" | [44] |
| Kevin Hardcastle | "To Have to Wait" | [45] | |
| Andrew Hood | "Manning" | [45] | |
| 2013 | Naben Ruthnum | "Cinema Rex" | [46] |
| Doretta Lau | "How Does a Single Blade of Grass Thank the Sun?" | [47] | |
| Eliza Robertson | "My Sister Sang" | [47] | |
| 2014 | Tyler Keevil | "Sealskin" | [48] |
| Lori McNulty | "Monsoon Season" | [48] | |
| Clea Young | "Juvenile" | [48] | |
| 2015 | Deirdre Dore | "The Wise Baby" | [49] |
| Emily Bossé | "Last Animal Standing on Gentleman’s Farm" | [50] | |
| Anna Ling Kaye | "Red Egg and Ginger" | [50] | |
| 2016 | Colette Langlois | "The Emigrants" | [51] |
| Charlie Fiset | "If I Ever See the Sun" | [52] | |
| J. R. McConvey | "How the Grizzly Came to Hang in the Royal Oak Hotel" | [52] | |
| 2017 | Sharon Bala | "Butter Tea at Starbucks" | [53] |
| Darlene Naponse | "She Is Water" | [53] | |
| 2018 | Shashi Bhat | "Mute" | [54] |
| Greg Brown | "Love" | [55] | |
| Liz Harmer | "Never Prosper" | [55] | |
| 2019 | Angélique Lalonde | "Pooka" | [56] |
| Kai Conradi | "Every True Artist" | [57] | |
| Samantha Jude Macpherson | "The Fish and the Dragons" | [57] |
2020s
edit| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Jessica Johns | "Bad Cree" | [58] |
| Lisa Foad | "Hunting" | [59] | |
| David Huebert | "Chemical Valley" | ||
| 2021 | No award presented | ||
| 2022 | No award presented | ||
| 2023 | Christina Cooke | [60] | |
| A. Z. Farah | |||
| Zilla Jones | |||
| Sarah Kabamba | |||
| Terese Mason Pierre | |||
| Téa Mutonji | |||
| Lue Palmer | |||
| Jasmine Sealy | |||
| Dianah Smith | |||
| Iryn Tushabe | |||
References
edit- ^ "Author donates literary prize". Calgary Herald, December 18, 1988.
- ^ a b "The patter of little stories". Vancouver Sun, December 2, 2000.
- ^ a b "2021 Journey Prize will focus on emerging Black Canadian writers" Archived 2022-08-09 at the Wayback Machine. CBC Books, June 23, 2020.
- ^ Dana Gee, "Prestigious short story anthology focuses on emerging Canadian Black writers". Vancouver Sun, February 14, 2023.
- ^ "Short story wins $10,000 for B.C. writer". Vancouver Sun, June 15, 1989.
- ^ "Vancouver writer wins $10,000 Canadian fiction prize". The Globe and Mail, May 25, 1990.
- ^ "Authors collect prizes of close to $80,000". Toronto Star, October 28, 1991.
- ^ a b "Future winners". Kingston Whig-Standard, August 31, 1991.
- ^ "Rebellious, defiant, resistant; Controversial feminist writer Rozena Maart wins $10,000 literary prize for short story". Ottawa Citizen, October 15, 1992.
- ^ a b "McClelland and Stewart names shortlist for '92 Journey Prize". Montreal Gazette, September 12, 1992.
- ^ "Burnaby author honored". Vancouver Sun, October 14, 1993.
- ^ a b "Authors Shortlisted for Journey Prize". The Globe and Mail, September 22, 1993.
- ^ "$50,000 writing prize goes to first Canadian". The Globe and Mail, October 13, 1994.
- ^ a b "Journey Prize short list missing four names". Ottawa Citizen, September 18, 1994.
- ^ "Fetherling, Woodward honoured at festival". The Globe and Mail, October 12, 1995.
- ^ a b "2 Ottawa writers among finalists for Journey prize". Ottawa Citizen, September 23, 1995.
- ^ a b c "Elyse Gasco wins Journey Prize with grim tale about child abuse". Ottawa Citizen, October 27, 1996.
- ^ a b c "Journey Prize ends in a tie". Edmonton Journal, October 24, 1997.
- ^ "Montreal writer picks up $10,000 prize for short story". Vancouver Sun, October 23, 1998.
- ^ a b "Giller Prize nominees announced". Vancouver Sun, October 6, 1998.
- ^ Andrew Tolson, "Literary award means time to do what she loves". National Post, October 21, 1999.
- ^ "Writers' Trust awards $75,000 in prizes". St. Catharines Standard, March 6, 2002.
- ^ a b "Shields, Todd, Blaise nominated for literary awards". Moose Jaw Times-Herald, February 17, 2002.
- ^ "Literary award winners named". Nanaimo Daily News, March 7, 2003.
- ^ a b "Finalists named for Writers' Trust Awards". The Globe and Mail, February 12, 2003.
- ^ Rebecca Caldwell, "Writers' Trust announces winners". The Globe and Mail, March 4, 2004.
- ^ a b "Authors nominated for Great Literary Awards". The Telegram, February 8, 2004.
- ^ Anne-Marie Tobin, "Munro, Engel, Newman honoured". The Telegram, March 10, 2005.
- ^ a b "Munro, Newman among Writers Trust nominees". Sherbrooke Record, February 4, 2005.
- ^ "Canadian authors honoured in Toronto". Prince George Citizen, March 3, 2006.
- ^ a b Pat Donnelly, "Writers' Trust helps Canadian literature thrive". Montreal Gazette, February 18, 2006.
- ^ "N.L. writer's 'Inside' wins fiction prize". Telegraph-Journal, March 8, 2007.
- ^ a b "Rudy Wiebe tapped for Writer's Trust Awards: Memoir also up for rich Charles Taylor Prize". Edmonton Journal, February 7, 2007.
- ^ "Hill, Porter major winners". Victoria Times-Colonist, April 2, 2008.
- ^ a b James Adams, "Vassanji, Ashenburg up for Trust honours". The Globe and Mail, February 27, 2008.
- ^ Morley Walker, "Toews takes home rich prize for The Flying Troutmans". Winnipeg Free Press, November 18, 2008.
- ^ a b Victoria Ahearn, "Miriam Toews, Rawi Hage among finalists for Writers' Trust book prizes". Canadian Press, October 1, 2008.
- ^ Tom Hawthorn, "A writer's all too real tale puts her in spotlight". The Globe and Mail, December 7, 2009.
- ^ a b Victoria Ahearn, "Alice Munro, Douglas Coupland among contenders for Writers Trust Awards". Canadian Press, September 20, 2009.
- ^ Mark Medley, "A Room with a prize". National Post, November 3, 2010.
- ^ a b Richard Helm, "Siblings make short list for Canadian literary prize". Edmonton Journal, September 30, 2010.
- ^ "Hamilton's Miranda Hill wins Journey Prize". Hamilton Spectator, November 3, 2011.
- ^ a b Mark Medley, "First & second time's the charm for authors; few veterans in writers' trust fiction nominees". National Post, September 29, 2011.
- ^ "Nanaimo writer wins Rogers fiction prize". Victoria Times-Colonist, November 8, 2012.
- ^ a b "Writers' finalists named". Toronto Star, September 20, 2012.
- ^ Simon Houpt, "Colin McAdam wins Writers' Trust award". The Globe and Mail, November 21, 2013.
- ^ a b Mark Medley, "Writers' Trust gives nod to Lisa Moore, Lynn Coady". National Post, October 1, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Miriam Toews wins $25,000 Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize" Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine. Toronto Star, November 4, 2014.
- ^ "André Alexis wins Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize" Archived 2023-04-07 at the Wayback Machine. The Globe and Mail, November 3, 2015.
- ^ a b "Globe columnist among Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize nominees" Archived 2023-04-12 at the Wayback Machine. The Globe and Mail, September 29, 2015.
- ^ "Eden Robinson, Gregory Scofield, Yasuko Thanh among 2016 Writers' Trust Prize winners" Archived 2016-11-08 at the Wayback Machine. CBC Books, November 2. 2016.
- ^ a b "Fiset, Langlois, McConvey Journey Prize finalists". Halifax Chronicle-Herald, September 16, 2016.
- ^ a b "David Chariandy, Billie Livingston, and Diane Schoemperlen among the winners at the 2017 Writers’ Trust awards" Archived 2019-04-22 at the Wayback Machine. Quill & Quire, November 14, 2017.
- ^ "Books inspired by the authors’ parents win the top Writers’ Trust Awards" Archived 2022-10-13 at the Wayback Machine. Toronto Star, November 7, 2018.
- ^ a b "The Writers’ Trust of Canada announces Journey Prize finalists" Archived 2019-04-25 at the Wayback Machine. Quill & Quire, September 12, 2018.
- ^ Deborah Dundas, "Andre Alexis, Jenny Heijun Wills are big winners at Writers’ Trust Awards" Archived 2019-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. Toronto Star, November 5, 2019.
- ^ a b "Local writer up for $10,000 prize" Archived 2019-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Kelowna Daily Courier, September 17, 2019.
- ^ "4 emerging Canadian writers receive $10K prizes from Writers' Trust of Canada" Archived 2023-02-21 at the Wayback Machine. CBC Books, October 21, 2020.
- ^ Ryan Porter, "Short fiction finalists announced for the 2020 Journey Prize" Archived 2023-04-10 at the Wayback Machine. Quill & Quire, August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Emerging black writers win the Journey Prize". Caribbean Camera, February 1, 2023.