The Journey Prize Stories 21 (28 page)
Read The Journey Prize Stories 21 Online
Authors: Various
We sat with him through the night, the three of us, his witnesses, alternately holding his hand, brushing the sweat from his forehead, and rubbing his bony feet. In the morning, he asked for more morphine. Sandy climbed into bed with him, curled against him while the nurse increased the dose in his iv. That evening he died â a last quiet breath and then nothing. Stillness. Peace.
“Will you leave me with him?” Sandy said. “For a while.”
I led Lysanne into the damp night, into the rich, earthy smell of summer. The moon was full, leaden in the sky, hanging there heavy and white, ready to fall earthwards. We got into my truck and I drove us into town.
I switched on all the lights in the loft and took Lysanne to the sofa where Alvin had spent so many of his last days. The canvas that hung above it was the only painting of Sylvette left in the house as far as I knew. Lysanne gazed at it and nodded. “Sylvette,” I said. “Alvin. He was little more than a child. So was your mother.”
I went to prepare the bed for her and when I returned, she was sitting on the sofa, arms folded, alone in her thoughts. I sat and took her hand, squeezed it, this soft, still hand of the only child of my only child.
From the moment I'd stepped into the loft, I could feel my son's paintings. They called to me, the last great works of Alvin Cale. Although I sat with my granddaughter, my mind
was already heading upstairs, and although I told myself I wouldn't take them, I knew it was a lie. I knew that before the next day passed all those canvases would be in my truck. This knowledge, wrapped tight in shame, ate away at me while my granddaughter wept.
Jesus Hardwell
's short fiction has appeared in
The Dalhousie Review, The Windsor Review, Front & Centre
, and
Exile
. Hardwell recently completed a volume of stories entitled
Bloodgroove
and is currently at work on a number of plays as well as a vocal chamber drama,
The Star-Knot Variations
. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.
Daniel Griffin
's previous appearance in
The Journey Prize Stories
was in 2004. “The Last Great Works of Alvin Cale” was one of five stories he published in 2008. His work was also highlighted in
Coming Attractions 2008
. Griffin lives with his wife and three daughters in Victoria, B.C., where he is completing a collection of stories about fathers, brothers, and twenty-first-century family life. You can read more of his work at
www.danielgriffin.ca
.
Paul Headrick
's first novel,
That Tune Clutches My Heart
, was published by Gaspereau Press. “Highlife,” which appeared in
Event
, is part of
The Doctrine of Affections
, a collection of stories on musical themes forthcoming from Freehand Books. Headrick teaches English and Creative Writing at Langara College and lives in Vancouver with his partner, novelist Heather Burt.
Sarah Keevil
has published short fiction and poetry in
CV2, Descant, filling Station, Kiss Machine
, and
Room
. She has degrees in English and Creative Writing from Concordia University
and was the winner of the 2004 Irving Layton Award for Fiction. “Pyro,” which first appeared in
Event
, was also nominated for a National Magazine Award. She currently lives in Toronto, where she is at work on her first novel.
Adrian Michael Kelly
is the author of a novel,
Down Sterling Road
. His short stories and essays have appeared in
Queen's Quarterly, Best Canadian Stories, Canadian Notes and Queries, The New Quarterly
, and
Prairie Fire
. He currently lives in Calgary, where he is completing a collection of short stories to be published by Biblioasis.
Fran Kimmel
is an Alberta lifer who recently moved from Calgary to the rural community of Lacombe. Her short fiction has appeared in
Grain Magazine, Prairie Fire, The Fiddlehead
, and
filling Station
, and she has won both
CBC
Anthology and Write for Radio awards. She writes extensively for the corporate sector and is working on a collection of interlocking stories.
Lynne Kutsukake
's short fiction has appeared in
Grain Magazine, The Windsor Review, Ten Stories High Short Story Anthology
, and
Ricepaper
. Another story is forthcoming in
Prairie Fire
. She has studied in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies and attended the Writing with Style Spring 2008 Program at the Banff Centre. As well as writing fiction, she has translated modern Japanese literature. Kutsukake lives in Toronto and is currently working on a collection of short stories.
Alexander MacLeod
lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and teaches at Saint Mary's University. His short stories have appeared in many Canadian and American journals, and his first collection will be published by Biblioasis Press.
Dave Margoshes
is a Regina writer whose stories and poems have appeared widely in Canadian literary magazines and anthologies, including the
Best Canadian Stories
volumes. He's published three novels and five collections of stories; the most recent,
Bix's Trumpet and Other Stories
, won two prizes at the 2007 Saskatchewan Book Awards, including Book of the Year. “The Wisdom of Solomon” is the latest in a series of stories based on the life of his father.
Shawn Syms
's fiction, poetry, essays, and journalism have appeared in the
Globe and Mail, PRISM international, The Danforth Review, Quill & Quire
, and twenty or so other publications. He's in the final stages of writing
Human Forces
, a short fiction collection.
Sarah L. Taggart
's story “Deaf” won
The Malahat Review
's Jack Hodgins Founders Award. Taggart was born in Calgary and is hopefully almost done her Master's in Publishing from Simon Fraser University. She might live in Montreal.
Yasuko Thanh
has lived in Germany, Mexico, and Central America, and currently resides in Victoria. Her stories have been published in
Prairie Fire, Descant, Fireweed, The Fiddlehead, PRISM international
, and
Vancouver Review
. Her non-fiction has appeared in publications as diverse as the
Vancouver Sun, Island Parent Magazine, Speak
, and
subTerrain
. She was a finalist for the Hudson Prize, the Millennium Prize, and the David Adams Richards Award. She is at work on a novel and a short story collection called
When You Get Where You're Going
.
For more information about all the journals that submitted stories to this year's anthology, please consult
The Journey Prize Stories
website:
www.mcclelland.com/jps
.
The Dalhousie Review
has been in operation since 1921 and aspires to be a forum in which seriousness of purpose and playfulness of mind can coexist in meaningful dialogue. The journal publishes new fiction and poetry in every issue and welcomes submissions from authors around the world. Editor: Anthony Stewart. Submissions and correspondence:
The Dalhousie Review
, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2. Email:
[email protected]
Website:
www.dalhousiereview.dal.ca
Event
is a celebrated literary journal in which readers encounter new and established talent â in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and critical reviews. The journal thrives on a balance of both traditional narrative and contemporary approaches to poetry and prose.
Event
is home to Canada's longest-running annual non-fiction contest. It is our goal to support and encourage a thriving literary community in Canada, while maintaining our international reputation for excellence. Editor: Rick Maddocks. Managing Editor: Ian Cockfield. Fiction Editor: Christine Dewar. Poetry Editor: Elizabeth Bachinsky. Submissions and correspondence:
Event
, P.O. Box 2503, New
Westminster, British Columbia, V3L 5B2. Email (queries only):
[email protected]
Website:
www.event.douglas.bc.ca
Exile: The Literary Quarterly
is a distinctive journal that recently published its Anniversary Special 30 Volumes/120th Issue, featuring new work from, among others, those who appeared in the first issues (Margaret Atwood and Marie-Claire Blais), the middle issues (Austin Clarke and Susan Swan), and those who continue to carry on the tradition (Priscila Uppal, a finalist for the 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize, and Matt Shaw, winner of the 2006 Journey Prize). With over one thousand contributions since 1972,
Exile
has become a respected forum, always presenting an impressive selection of new and established authors and artists, drawing our material (literature, poetry, drama, work in translation, and the fine arts) from French and English Canada, as well as from the United States, Britain, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. Publisher: Michael Callaghan. Submissions and correspondence: Exile/Excelsior Publishing Inc., 134 Eastbourne Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5P 2G6. Email (queries only):
[email protected]
Website:
www.exilequarterly.com
Grain Magazine
, a literary quarterly, publishes engaging, surprising, eclectic, and challenging writing and art by Canadian and international writers and artists. Published by the Saskatchewan Writers Guild,
Grain
has earned national and international recognition for its distinctive content. Editor: Sylvia Legris. Fiction Editor: Terry Jordan. Poetry Editor: Mari-Lou Rowley. Submissions and correspondence:
Grain
Magazine
, P.O. Box 67, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7K 3K1. Email:
[email protected]
Website:
www.grainmagazine.ca
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 Creative Non-Fiction Prize; and beginning in 2010, the spring issues will feature winners from 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. Submissions and correspondence:
The Malahat Review
, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700, Station csc, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 2Y2. Email:
[email protected]
Website:
www.malahatreview.ca
The New Quarterly
is an award-winning literary magazine publishing fiction, poetry, interviews, and essays on writing. Now in its twenty-eighth year, the magazine prides itself on its independent take on the Canadian literary scene. Recent issues include the Montreal Issue (in both English and French), our Salon des Refuses, and Last Poems (the end of poetry and the poetry of last things); upcoming is an issue on Lists as both a thematic and a formal element, and a series on the role of the critic. Editor: Kim Jernigan. Submissions
and correspondence:
The New Quarterly
, c/o St. Jerome's University, 290 Westmount Road North, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G3. Email:
[email protected]
, [email protected] Website:
www.tnq.ca
Prairie Fire
is a quarterly magazine of contemporary Canadian writing that publishes stories, poems, and literary non-fiction by both emerging and established writers.
Prairie Fire's
editorial mix also occasionally features critical or personal essays and interviews with authors. Stories published in
Prairie Fire
have won awards at the National Magazine Awards and the Western Magazine Awards.
Prairie Fire
publishes writing from, and has readers in, all parts of Canada. Editor: Andris Taskans. Fiction Editors: Warren Cariou and Heidi Harms. Submissions and correspondence:
Prairie Fire
, Room 423-100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 1H3. Email:
[email protected]
Website:
www.prairiefire.ca
PRISM international
, the oldest literary magazine in Western Canada, was established in 1959 by a group of Vancouver writers. Published four times a year,
PRISM
features short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and translations by both new and established writers from Canada and around the world. The only criteria are originality and quality.
PRISM
holds three exemplary competitions: the Short Fiction Contest, the Literary Non-fiction Contest, and the Earle Birney Prize for Poetry. Executive Editors: Nadia Pestrak and Dan Schwartz. Fiction Editor: Rachel Knudsen. Poetry Editor: Elizabeth Ross. Submissions and correspondence:
PRISM international
, Creative Writing Program, The University of British
Columbia, Buchanan E-462, 1866 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z1. Email (for queries only):
[email protected]
Website:
www.prismmagazine.ca
Vancouver Review
is an iconoclastic, irreverent, and wholly independent cultural quarterly that celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2009.
Vancouver Review
focuses on B.C. cultural, social, and political issues, and publishes commentary, essays, and narrative non-fiction, as well as fiction and poetry in every issue. With its Blueprint B.C. Fiction Series, launched in the summer of 2007, it explores the zeitgeist and geographic implications of the province through illustrated stories by first-time and established authors. Editor: Gudrun Will. Fiction Editor: Zsuzsi Gartner. Poetry Editor: Caroline Harvey. Submissions and correspondence (email submissions preferred):
Vancouver Review
, 2828 West 13th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6K 2T7. Email:
editor@vancouverreview
Website:
www.vancouverreview.com
Submissions were also received from the following journals:
The Antigonish Review
(Antigonish, N.S.)
The Claremont Review
(Victoria, B.C.)
dANDelion Magazine
(Calgary, Alta.)
Descant
(Toronto, Ont.)
The Fiddlehead
(Fredericton, N.B.)
FreeFall Magazine
(Calgary, Alta.)
Geist
(Vancouver, B.C.)
Maisonneuve Magazine
(Montreal, Que.)
Matrix Magazine
(Montreal, Que.)
The New Orphic Review
(Nelson, B.C.)
On Spec
(Edmonton, Alta.)
The Prairie Journal of Canadian Literature
(Calgary, Alta.)
Queen's Quarterly
(Kingston, Ont.)
Ricepaper Magazine
(Vancouver, B.C.)
Soliloquies Anthology
(Montreal, Que.)
subTerrain Magazine
(Vancouver, B.C.)
Taddle Creek
(Toronto, Ont.)
This Magazine
(Toronto, Ont.)
The Windsor Review
(Windsor, Ont.)