The Journey Prize Stories 28 (22 page)

Read The Journey Prize Stories 28 Online

Authors: Kate Cayley

The famous photo from that day shows the congressman and the hotel manager in Banquet Room C shaking hands in front of the bloody carcass, well pleased at how they'd managed to avert the crisis, save the dignity of an historic landmark, and prove what you could accomplish when all the waffling stopped and you just let people do what they did best, be it a question of varmints or pipelines. I knew enough to stand back
as the flashbulbs began popping, the two men stepping up to field questions while I hugged the shadows, trying to fade invisible against the backdrop.

Likewise, you'll find no credit underneath the grizzly's head, which is still hanging in the hotel lobby, mounted over the main staircase, ruined skull and all. There's not even a mention of my roleâand of that I'm not sorry. It only became clear later on that it was one of the last bears, and I'd want no curse nor accolade I might receive if my part in finishing off that once-feared species were more widely known. It's enough that now when I speak of my past, I can tell this story of how the grizzly came to hang here, a testament to the sad appetites of powerful men, and not of that other past, the one I spent so long trying to lose.

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

Carleigh Baker
is a MÃ©tis/Icelandic writer. Her work has appeared in
subTerrain
,
PRISM International, Joyland
, and
This Magazine
. She won the Lush Triumphant Literary Award for short fiction in 2012, and has been nominated for a National Magazine Award. Her first book, a collection of short stories titled
Bad Endings
, is forthcoming with Anvil Press in spring 2017. She is the current editor of
Joyland
Vancouver.

Charlie Fiset
is a gold-miner's daughter from northern Ontario who has recently completed an M.A. in Creative Writing at the University of New Brunswick. Her first print publication, “Maggie's Farm,” was included in
The Journey Prize Stories
27. “If I Ever See the Sun” is her second publication. She is currently at work on a novel and a short story collection.

Mahak Jain
's writings have appeared in
Humber Literary Review, Joyland Magazine, The New Quarterly
, and
Room Magazine
. She has placed second in
Humber Literary Review's
Emerging Writers Fiction Contest and been longlisted for
PRISM international's
Short Fiction Contest. Her first book for children,
Maya
, was released in spring 2016. She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph, where she completed a short story collection, including the story “The Origin of Jaanvi.” She was born in Delhi and has also lived in Dubai, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Montreal. She currently resides in Toronto, where she is at work on a novel.

Colette Langlois
was raised in the Northwest Territories, and has lived most of her life there when not otherwise wandering the blue-green planet. “The Emigrants,” imagined on the Isle of Iona, written in the Colorado Rockies, and edited in the Algarve, was her first fiction publication. She currently resides in Edmonton, where she is working on a short story collection, a novella, a novel, and a Masters of Science.

Alex Leslie
has published a collection of short stories,
People Who Disappear
(Freehand, 2012), shortlisted for a Lambda Award for debut fiction, and a collection of prose poems,
The things I heard about you
(Nightwood, 2014), shortlisted for the Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry. Alex was the recipient of the 2015 Dayne Ogilvie Prize from the Writers' Trust of Canada. “The Person You Want to See” is part of a collection of short stories in progress entitled
We All Need to Eat
. Alex is also currently at work on a collection of prose poems and microfictions entitled
Vancouver for Beginners
.

Andrew MacDonald
lives in Toronto and New England, where he's finishing a novel. “Progress on a Genetic Level” is the fourth story of his to be included in
The Journey Prize Stories
.

J.R. McConvey
is a writer from Toronto. His short fiction has appeared in
The Malahat Review, EVENT, Joyland, The Dalhousie Review, The Puritan
, and other publications, and has been shortlisted for the Matrix Lit POP award and the Bristol Short Story Prize. His story, “The Last Ham,” is available as an e-book single from House of Anansi Digital. He is also a
documentary producer whose work includes the award-winning
National Parks Project
, and an occasional poet and journalist. He recently finished his first novel.

Paige Cooper
's work has appeared in
The Fiddlehead, Gulf Coast Online, Michigan Quarterly Review, Cosmonauts Avenue
, and
Matrix
. Stories are forthcoming in
Minola Review, Carousel
, and
Best Canadian Stories 2016
. Biblioasis will put out her first book,
ZolitÅ«de
, in 2017. She lives in Montreal.

Souvankham Thammavongsa
is the author of three poetry books, the most recent of which,
Light
, won the Trillium Book Award for Poetry. Her story “How to Pronounce Knife” was shortlisted for the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, and other stories have appeared in
NOON, The Puritan, Ricepaper
, and other places. She has been in residence at Yaddo. Currently, Thammavongsa is completing a collection of short stories and a memoir of her childhood.

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.âfacebook.âcom/âTheâJourneyâPrize
.

EVENT
features the very best in contemporary writing from Canada and abroad, from literary heavyweights to up-and-comers. For over four decades,
EVENT
has consistently published award-winning fiction, poetry, non-fiction, notes on writing, and critical reviewsâall topped off by stunning Canadian cover art. Stories first published in
EVENT
regularly appear in the
Best Canadian Stories
and
Journey Prize Stories
anthologies, and recently won both the Gold and Silver National Magazine Awards in Fiction in (2012 and 2011), and Western Magazine Awards in Fiction in (2012 and 2010).
EVENT
is also home to Canada's longest-running annual non-fiction contest and its Reading Service for Writers. Editor: Shasi Bhat. Managing Editor: Ian Cockfield. Fiction Editor: Christine Dewar. Submissions and correspondence:
EVENT
, P.O. Box 2503, New Westminster, British Columbia, V3L 5B2. Email (queries only):
event@âdouglascollege.âca
Website:
www.âeventmagazine.âca

The Fiddlehead
, Atlantic Canada's longest-running literary journal, publishes poetry, short fiction, book reviews, and creative non-fiction. It appears four times a year, sponsors a contest for fiction and for poetry that awards a total of $5,000 in prizes, including the $2,000 Ralph Gustafson Poetry Prize
and the $2,000 short fiction prize.
The Fiddlehead
welcomes all good writing in English, from anywhere, looking always for that element of freshness and surprise. Editor: Ross Leckie. Submissions and correspondence:
The Fiddlehead
, Campus House, 11 Garland Court, University of New Brunswick, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3. E-mail (queries only):
fiddlehd@âunb.âca
Website:
www.âTheFiddâlehead.âca
Twitter:
@TheFiddlehd
You can also find
The Fiddlehead
on Facebook.

Based on the idea that fiction is an international movement supported by local communities,
Joyland
is a literary magazine that selects stories regionally. Our editors work with authors connected to locales across North America, including New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Toronto, as well as places underrepresented in cultural media. New content appears weekly and we go into print twice yearly with
Retro
. Publishers: Brian Joseph Davis, Emily Schultz. Managing Editor: Kyle Lucia Wu. Senior Editors: Eleanor Kriseman (New York), Kara Levy (San Francisco), Lisa Locascio (Los Angeles), David McGimpsey (Montreal and Atlantic Canada), Kathryn Mockler (Toronto and Vancouver), Anna Prushinskaya (Midwest), Charles McLeod (Pacific Northwest). No hardcopy submissions accepted. Please see
Joylandmagazine.âcom
for submission details or contact
joylandâsubmissions@âgmail.âcom
.

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. Submissions and correspondence:
The Malahat Review
, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700, Station CSC, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 2Y2. E-mail:
malahat@âuvic.âca
Website:
www.âmalahatreview.âca
Twitter:
@malahatreview

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: Jennifer Lori and Claire Matthews. Prose Editor: Christopher Evans. Poetry Editor: Dominique Bernier-Cormier. 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.âprismmagazine.âca

Since its foundation in 2006,
The Puritan
has published work by, and interviews with, some of Canada's finest literary talents. It is one of very few online literary magazines that offers substantial honorariums for its contributors. In 2012,
The Puritan
was one of the first two online magazines to have its fiction featured in the
Journey Prize Stories
. The magazine routinely features guest editors for its regular issues and judges for its annual literary contest, The Thomas Morton Memorial Prize, which now awards over $4,000 in prizes. Past guest editors and contest judges have included Katherena Vermette, Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, Sonnet L'AbbÃ©, Rawi Hage, Miriam Toews, Zsuzsi Gartner, and Margaret Atwood.
The Puritan
also runs
The Town Crier
, one of the bestâand most productiveâliterary blogs in the country. Senior Editors: Spencer Gordon and Tyler Willis. Website:
www.âpuritan-magazine.âcom
Submissions:
www.âpuritan-âmagazine.âcom/
submissions Blog:
www.âtown-âcrier.âca
.

Beginning as a modest eight-page newsletter for the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop (ACWW),
Ricepaper
has evolved into a magazine distributed coast-to-coast, publishing the new voices coming out of the Asian Canadian arts and literary community. Since 1994,
Ricepaper
has showcased Asian Canadian literature, culture, and the arts, and it continues to be the only Canadian literary magazine of its kind with an Asian Canadian perspective, publishing new poetry, fiction, drama, graphic novel, translation, and almost every other
kind of creative writing from writers across the country, as well as cultural reviews of books, theatre, and film. The body of work coming out of the Asian Canadian artists and writers' community is prolific and growing.
Ricepaper
profiles and interviews the leading and up-and-coming artists and writers in this community. Executive Editor: Allan Cho. Fiction Editor: Karla Comanda. Submissions and correspondence:
Ricepaper
magazine, PO Box 74174, Hillcrest RPO, Vancouver, BC, V5V 5L8. Email:
info@âricepaperâmagazine.âca
Website:
www.âricepaperâmagazine.âca

The Rusty Toque
is a contemporary online literary and arts journal. We strive to publish innovative literary writing, film, comics, reviews, and visual art from new and established writers and artists in the spring and fall of each year. We also have an ongoing interview series, a review series, and a special features section. We are supported through a grant from The Canada Council for the Arts. Publisher: Kathryn Mockler, Senior Editors: David Poolman, Aaron Schneider, Jacqueline Valencia. Email:
therustytoque@âgmail.âcom
Website:
www.âtherustytoque.âcom

SubTerrain Magazine
's mandate is to publish contemporary and sometimes controversial Canadian fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and visual art. Presented in an attractive and accessible magazine format,
subTerrain
features interviews, timely commentary, and book reviews in every issue. Ninety percent of the magazine's editorial content is original and previously unpublished material from new writers and artists.
subTerrain
is praised by both writers and readers for featuring work that
might not find a home in more conservative periodicals. The magazine is home to the Lush Triumphant Literary Awards, awarding $3,000 in prizes each year, plus publication.
subTerrain
itself has been recognized by numerous awards over the years, including the National Magazine Awards, Western Magazine Awards and others.
subTerrain
's main objective in fulfilling its mandate is to continually challenge the status quoâby showcasing the best in progressive writing and ideas,
subTerrain
seeks to expand the definition of Canadian literary and artistic culture. Editor-in-Chief: Brian Kaufman. Managing Editor: Natasha Sanders-Kay. Submissions and correspondence:
subTerrain Magazine
, P.O. Box 3008 MPO, Vancouver, BC, V6B 3X5. Submissions info, subscriptions, and samples at
www.âsubterrain.âca

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:
editor@âtaddlecreekmag.âcom
. Website:
taddlecreekmag.âcom
.