Gwyneth sighs and faces him again. The German was clearly insane. She can’t believe Ray is considering finishing the man’s house. It will take him years, if he manages even to stick with it. Really, Ben was right. The idea of his going off-grid is ridiculous—what does Ray know about organic gardening? She watches him toss a screwdriver of the German’s from one hand to the other, his pale blue eyes fixed on her, wanting her to say something nice about a dowel. What is she even doing here? He must know she lacks his realtor’s breezy confidence that he can pull this off. And if he is concerned about the money, why risk her seeing the land, or for that matter seeing him with Fern? Then it all seems so obvious. He is as stuck as she is. Even now, he can’t make a move without turning back to see if she will stop him. Some free spirit—more a tangled kite, twisting in the wind. And for the first time all day, she feels like laughing.
“Nice workmanship,” she says at last, and when Fern asks what she thinks of the rest of the house, she smiles sweetly, “I think it has real potential.”
Fern wants to take Ray to see the very end of the property. Gwyneth says she is still a little carsick and would rather wait. Against the side of the house, they find her a bench—just a narrow workbench pocked with ant holes, though she insists it’s perfect. Both of them seem to want her permission to leave, Fern asking a couple more times if she’s sure she’ll be okay. But she smiles and waves them into wilderness. When she can’t hear their voices, she lies back on the bench. Ray’s trees are shifting overhead as though preparing to uproot themselves and walk away. Not that they can, any more than Ray. She pictures the two of them out on his land, the giant ferns gently stroking their bare arms, not talking so much now. Ray will be watching for a spot where the ground is soft, where he can pull her down. Or maybe Fern, impatient for his touch, will seize his hand and press him against an ancient maple. Let them do it. She wants them to. Let him add another ring. Even if they forget about her, desert her on this bench by the mad German’s half-house, it will make no difference. The sun can go down, the air turn chill, the house cave in behind her. She will be here, waiting.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
Lisa Alward was born in Halifax and lives in Fredericton. Her story “Old Growth” won The New Quarterly’s Peter Hinchcliffe Short Fiction Award in 2016 and has been selected for The Best Canadian Stories 2017. She won The Fiddlehead Short Fiction Prize in 2015 and was recently longlisted for PRISM international’s Jacob Zilber Prize for Short Fiction. Her work has appeared in 16: Best Canadian Stories as well as The Fiddlehead, The New Quarterly, and The Dalhousie Review. She is completing a collection of stories.
Sharon Bala lives on a rock in the cold North Atlantic. In lieu of fan mail, please send mangoes. Her debut novel, The Boat People, will be on shelves January 2018. Sharon is a member of The Port Authority, a St. John’s writing group. Her short stories have been published in Hazlitt, Grain, PRISM international, The Dalhousie Review, The New Quarterly, Room, Riddle Fence, and in a collection called Racket: New Writing Made in Newfoundland. Find her online at sharonbala.com.
Patrick Doerksen spent his childhood at the feet of British Columbia’s mountains and his teen years on Saskatchewan’s prairies. Now, after studying in Berlin, he is back in Vancouver. He publishes haiku, memorizes German compound words, and has recently graduated with a degree in social work. “Leech,” which originally appeared in (parenthetical), is his first published story. He continues to publish short fiction and is at work on a novel.
Sarah Kabamba loves storytelling in all its forms, and believes that it is one of the most powerful tools given to artists. Her work has been published in Carleton Now, Room, and In/Words Magazine & Press. A recent graduate from Carleton University, she currently resides in Ottawa, where she is working on a collection of poetry.
Richard Kelly Kemick’s poetry and prose have been published in magazines and journals across Canada and the United States. His debut collection of poetry, Caribou Run, was published in 2016 and selected by CBC Books as one of the season’s “Must Read” collections. He won a National Magazine Award in both 2016 and 2017, and he is currently at work on a collection of short stories and a collection of non-fiction essays.
Michael Meagher completed a Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing at the University of New Brunswick in 2015, where he received the David H. Walker Prize. His writing has appeared in journals such as The Antigonish Review, The Fiddlehead, The Malahat Review, and PRISM international. He is currently readying a collection of short stories for publication.
Darlene Naponse is an Anishinaabe from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, Northern Ontario, where she was born and raised. She is a writer, independent film director, video artist, and community activist. She completed her MFA in Creative Writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe. Several of her short stories have been published in the Yellow Medicine Review, Along the 46th Anthology, and The Malahat Review. She is currently working on a book of short stories. She works from her studio on the Rez (Atikameksheng Anishnawbek).
Maria Reva was born in Ukraine and grew up in Vancouver. Her stories have appeared, or are forthcoming, in The Atlantic, The Malahat Review, The New Quarterly, The Guardian (as part of Tin House Flash Fridays), and The Best American Short Stories 2017. Her musical collaborations include an opera libretto for ERATO Ensemble, texts for Vancouver International Song Institute’s Art Song Lab, and a script for City Opera Vancouver. She is currently pursuing an MFA at the Michener Center for Writers (University of Texas at Austin), where she is at work on a linked story collection set in Soviet Ukraine.
Jack Wang holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing from Florida State University. His fiction has appeared in The Malahat Review, The New Quarterly, The Humber Literary Review, and Joyland, and was shortlisted for the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. The recipient of the 2014–15 David T.K. Wong Creative Writing Fellowship from the University of East Anglia in England, he teaches writing at Ithaca College in upstate New York, where he is completing a collection of stories and a novella.
Kelly Ward is a Toronto-based writer and editor. She is the author of Keep It Beautiful: Stories, and winner of the Lush Triumphant Literary Award for Fiction. By day, she is managing editor of a small, independent publisher.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTING PUBLICATIONS
For more information about the publications that submitted to this year’s competition, The Journey Prize, and The Journey Prize Stories, please visit www.facebook.com/TheJourneyPrize.
Maisonneuve—which literally means “new house”—brings a fresh perspective to arts, opinions, and ideas. Each issue is full of ambitious writing and eye-catching visuals. Based in Montreal, the magazine punches above its weight: since it was founded in 2002, Maisonneuve has won thirty-nine National Magazine Awards, including Magazine of the Year in 2005, 2012, and 2016. Stories from Maisonneuve have been republished in Best Canadian Essays, reprinted by Longreads, Utne, and Reader’s Digest, and turned into novels and non-fiction books. Publisher: Jennifer Varkonyi. Editor: Andrea Bennett. Associate Editor: Kim Fu. Website: maisonneuve.org. Submissions: maisonneuve.org/contribute. Follow us on Twitter at @maisonneuvemag
The Malahat Review is a quarterly journal of contemporary poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction by both new and celebrated writers. Summer issues feature the winners of Malahat’s Novella and Long Poem prizes, held in alternate years; the fall issues feature the winners of the Far Horizons Award for emerging writers, alternating between poetry and fiction each year; the winter issues feature the winners of the Constance Rooke Creative Non-fiction Prize; and the spring issues feature winners of the Open Season Awards in all three genres (poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction). All issues feature covers by noted Canadian visual artists and include reviews of Canadian books. Editor: John Barton. Assistant Editor: Rhonda Batchelor. Correspondence: The Malahat Review, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700, Station
csc, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 2Y2. Unsolicited submissions are accepted through Submittable only; contest entries, by email (review contest guidelines before entering). E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.malahatreview.ca Twitter: @malahatreview
The New Quarterly is an award-winning literary magazine publishing fiction, poetry, personal essays, interviews, and essays on writing. Now in its thirty-sixth year, the magazine prides itself on its independent take on the Canadian literary scene. Recent issues include a Visual Storytelling Issue and our Fall 2016 celebration of diverse voices, with more exciting projects in the works. Editor: Pamela Mulloy. Submissions and correspondence: The New Quarterly, c/o St. Jerome’s University, 290 Westmount Road North, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G3. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Website: www.tnq.ca
(parenthetical) is a hand-bound literary journal published bi-monthly by the micropress words(on)pages. For three years, (parenthetical) published poetry and fiction from some of the best new writers in Canada and beyond, from first-time publications to pieces from writers with a first book on the way. After twenty issues published online and in print, (parenthetical) is taking a brief hiatus, during which all content can be read online at wordsonpagespress.com/parenthetical. As such, (parenthetical) is not currently accepting submissions. Founding editors: Nicole Brewer and William Kemp. Correspondence: 216-120 Raglan Ave, Toronto, Ontario, M6C 2L4. Email: [email protected]
PRISM international, the oldest literary magazine in Western Canada, was established in 1959 by Earle Birney at the University of British Columbia. Published four times a year, PRISM features short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, drama, and translations. PRISM editors select work based on originality and quality, and the magazine showcases work from both new and established writers from Canada and around the world. PRISM holds three exemplary annual competitions for short fiction, literary non-fiction, and poetry, and awards the Earle Birney Prize for Poetry to an outstanding poet whose work was featured in PRISM in the preceding year. Executive Editors: Selina Boan and Curtis LeBlanc. Prose Editor: Christopher Evans. Poetry Editor: Shaun Robinson. Reviews Editor: Anita Bedell. Submissions and correspondence: PRISM international, Creative Writing Program, The University of British Columbia, Buchanan E-462, 1866 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z1. Website: www.prismmagazine.ca
Room magazine publishes fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and artwork by and about women. Room was founded in 1975 (as Room of One’s Own) to provide opportunities for emerging and established writers and artists who identify as women to publish their work in Canada. Contributors have included some of Canada’s most celebrated writers, including Alice Munro, Jane Urquhart, Larissa Lai, Carol Shields, Karen Solie, Pamela Porter, Elizabeth Bachinsky, and Betsy Warland. Each quarter we publish original, thought-provoking works that reflect women’s strength, sensuality, vulnerability, and wit. Correspondence: Room magazine, Box 46160 Stn. D, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6J 5G5. Submissions: roommagazine.com/submit Website: roommagazine.com Email: [email protected]
Taddle Creek often is asked to define itself and, just as often, it tends to refuse to do so. But it will say this: each issue of the magazine contains a multitude of things between its snazzily illustrated covers, including, but not limited to, fiction, poetry, comics, art, interviews, and feature stories. It’s an odd mix, to be sure, which is why Taddle Creek refers to itself somewhat oddly as a “general-interest literary magazine.” Work presented in Taddle Creek is humorous, poignant, ephemeral, urban, and rarely overly earnest, though not usually all at once. Taddle Creek takes its mission to be the journal for those who detest everything the literary magazine has become in the twenty-first century very seriously. Editor-in-Chief: Conan Tobias. Correspondence: Taddle Creek, P.O. Box 611, Stn. P, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2Y4. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: taddlecreekmag.com.
Submissions were also received from the following publications:
Agnes and True
www.agnesandtrue.com
The Antigonish Review
(Antigonish, NS)
www.antigonishreview.com
Briarpatch Magazine
(Regina, SK)
www.briarpatchmagazine.com
Humber Literary Review
www.humberliteraryreview.com
Cosmonauts Avenue
(Montreal, QC)
www.cosmonautsavenue.com
The Impressment Gang
(Halifax, NS)
www.theimpressmentgang.com
Don’t Talk to Me About Love
www.donttalktomeaboutlove.org
Joyland Magazine
www.joylandmagazine.com
EVENT
(New Westminster, BC)
www.eventmagazine.ca
Little Fiction | Big Truths
(Toronto, ON)
www.littlefiction.com
The Fiddlehead
(Fredericton, BC)
www.TheFiddlehead.ca
The New Orphic Review
(Nelson, BC)
Found Press
www.foundpress.com
Prairie Fire Press Inc.
(Winnipeg, MB)
www.prairiefire.ca
FreeFall Magazine
(Calgary, AB)
www.freefallmagazine.ca
The Prairie Journal of Canadian Literature
(Calgary, AB)
www.prairiejournal.org
Glass Buffalo
(Edmonton, AB)
www.glassbuffalo.com
PULP Literature
(Vancouver, BC)
www.pulpliterature.com
The Puritan
www.puritan-magazine.com
subTerrain Magazine
(Vancouver, BC)
www.subterrain.ca
Ricepaper Magazine
(Vancouver, BC)
www.ricepapermagazine.ca
This Magazine
(Toronto, ON)
www.this.org
Riddle Fence
(St. John’s, NL)
www.riddlefence.com
The Walrus
(Toronto, ON)
www.thewalrus.ca
The Rusty Toque
www.therustytoque.com
PREVIOUS CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
*Winners of the $10,000 Journey Prize
**Co-winners of the $10,000 Journey Prize
1
1989
SELECTED WITH ALISTAIR MACLEOD
Ven Begamudré, “Word Games”
David Bergen, “Where You’re From”
Lois Braun, “The Pumpkin-Eaters”
Constance Buchanan, “Man with Flying Genitals”
Ann Copeland, “Obedience”
Marion Douglas, “Flags”
Frances Itani, “An Evening in the Café”
Diane Keating, “The Crying Out”
Thomas King, “One Good Story, That One”
Holley Rubinsky, “Rapid Transits”*
Jean Rysstad, “Winter Baby”
Kevin Van Tighem, “Whoopers”
M.G. Vassanji, “In the Quiet of a Sunday Afternoon”
Bronwen Wallace, “Chicken ’N’ Ribs”
Armin Wiebe, “Mouse Lake”
Budge Wilson, “Waiting”
2
1990
SELECTED WITH LEON ROOKE; GUY VANDERHAEGHE
André Alexis, “Despair: Five Stories of Ottawa”
Glen Allen, “The Hua Guofeng Memorial Warehouse”
Marusia Bociurkiw, “Mama, Donya”
Virgil Burnett, “Billfrith the Dreamer”
Margaret Dyment, “Sacred Trust”
Cynthia Flood, “My Father Took a Cake to France”*
Douglas Glover, “Story Carved in Stone”
Terry Griggs, “Man with the Axe”
Rick Hillis, “Limbo River”
Thomas King, “The Dog I Wish I Had, I Would Call It Helen”
K.D. Miller, “Sunrise Till Dark”
Je
nnifer Mitton, “Let Them Say”
Lawrence O’Toole, “Goin’ to Town with Katie Ann”
Kenneth Radu, “A Change of Heart”
Jenifer Sutherland, “Table Talk” Wayne Tefs, “Red Rock and After”
3
1991
SELECTED WITH JANE URQUHART
Donald Aker, “The Invitation”
Anton Baer, “Yukon”
Allan Barr, “A Visit from Lloyd”
David Bergen, “The Fall”
Rai Berzins, “Common Sense”
Diana Hartog, “Theories of Grief”
Diane Keating, “The Salem Letters”
Yann Martel, “The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios”*
Jennifer Mitton, “Polaroid”
Sheldon Oberman, “This Business with Elijah”
Lynn Podgurny, “Till Tomorrow, Maple Leaf Mills”
James Riseborough, “She Is Not His Mother”
Patricia Stone, “Living on the Lake”
4
1992
SELECTED WITH SANDRA BIRDSELL
David Bergen, “The Bottom of the Glass”
Maria A. Billion, “No Miracles Sweet Jesus”
Judith Cowan, “By the Big River”
Steven Heighton, “How Beautiful upon the Mountains”
Steven Heighton, “A Man Away from Home Has No Neighbours”
L. Rex Kay, “Travelling”
Rozena Maart, “No Rosa, No District Six”*
Guy Malet De Carteret, “Rainy Day”
Carmelita McGrath, “Silence”
Michael Mirolla, “A Theory of Discontinuous Existence”
Diane Juttner Perreault, “Bella’s Story”
The Journey Prize Stories 29 Page 17
