A Winnipeg Free Press Best Fiction Book of 2024
A landmark special edition celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Journey Prize.

Since its inception in 1989, the Journey Prize anthology has been widely celebrated for introducing readers to a who’s-who of up-and-coming Canadian literary voices, many of whom have gone on to become some of our most beloved writers. This special thirty-fifth-anniversary edition of Canada’s most prestigious annual fiction anthology gathers thirty-one timeless stories from throughout the prize’s history—some contemporary classics, some hidden gems—as chosen by two modern masters of the short story, Souvankham Thammavongsa and Alexander MacLeod, who are themselves previous Journey Prize contributors.

After her Olympic ski-jumper husband lifts off but never comes down, a woman counters the world’s doubts with her own leap of faith. A daughter reflects on the simple ritual she shared with her father—and the moment when her unconditional love for him was called into question. An Indigenous Elder recounts an alternative creation story of Ah-damn and Evening to a trio of anthropologists. After months of trying to sell the worthless sports card collection his no-good father left behind, a boy is unprepared for a bizarre encounter with the “pile of human being” who wants to buy a card to complete his collection. A mother and child contend with the strange after-effects of an unusual multi-course meal. Infighting, blatant favouritism, and judging irregularities mar a living-room beauty pageant as four sisters vie for the title of Miss Canada. A carpet collector reimagines his family’s fractured history by weaving new tapestries to tell their stories. The last words of a fifty-year-old pet parakeet leads to the first in a series of unfortunate events.

Marvellously eclectic, constantly surprising, and full of vibrant life, these glittering stories speak to the power of the short story and the extraordinary impact the Journey Prize continues to make on Canadian literature. Journey is a gift for readers and writers alike.

Featuring an introduction by the editors, and stories by André Alexis, Michael Christie, Alicia Elliott, Jessica Grant, Kevin Hardcastle, Angélique Lalonde, Annabel Lyon, Thomas King, Téa Mutonji, Saleema Nawaz, Heather O'Neill, Eden Robinson, Naben Ruthnum, and Madeleine Thien, among others.

Celia Barker Lottridge is a writer and storyteller who has written several highly acclaimed children's books, including Ticket to Curlew (winner of the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award and the Geoffrey Bilson Historical Fiction Award), Berta: A Remarkable Dog (nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Award, Horn Book starred review) and Stories form the Life of Jesus (Publisher's Weekly starred review). She wrote Home Is Beyond the Mountains after hearing her mother's stories about growing up in Persia and after reading letter's written by Celia's aunt, Susan Shedd. Born in Iowa and raised in the United States, Celia now lives in Toronto.

Various' profile page

Alexander MacLeod was born in Inverness, Cape Breton and raised in Windsor, Ontario. His award-winning stories have appeared in many of the leading Canadian and American journals and have been selected for The Journey Prize Anthology. He holds degrees from the University of Windsor, the University of Notre Dame, and McGill. He currently lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and teaches at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.

Alexander MacLeod's profile page

Souvankham Thammavongsa was born in Nong Khai, Thailand, in 1978 and was raised and educated in Toronto. She won the 2004 ReLit prize for her first poetry book, Small Arguments. She is also the author of a second poetry book, Found, which was made into a short film and screened at film festivals worldwide, including Toronto International Film Festival and Dok Leipzig. Some of her poems were written while she was a resident at Yaddo. Poems have appeared in many of Canada’s literary journals and magazines, including Canadian Literature, Contemporary Verse 2, dANDelion, Event, The Fiddlehead and The Windsor Review. The poem “The Sun in Flannery O’Connor’s The Violent Bear It Away” appeared in the anthology Troubling Borders: Southeast Asian Women in the Diaspora published by the University of Washington Press in the United States. The poem “Perfect” was nominated for a National Magazine award. Thammavongsa was named one of “Best Under 35” writers in Canada in a special issue of The Windsor Review. She lives in Stouffville, Ontario.

Souvankham Thammavongsa's profile page

A Winnipeg Free Press Best Fiction Book of 2024
Praise for the Journey Prize
“Being nominated for the Journey Prize made me feel as if my choice to be a writer was not entirely wayward. I might still be mistaken for devoting my life to writing. There is still time for all to end badly, but . . . if there is some ledger, some means of tabulating the positive (on one side) and the negative (on the other), the Journey Prize nomination is (almost certainly) on the good side of things. . . . In any case, I am still writing, and I am grateful to James Michener, to McClelland & Stewart, to the jury that gave me a (sadly brief ) confidence in my work.”
—André Alexis

“My first writing professor, Jessica Grant, was a Journey Prize winner. After reading her brilliant winning story, I began studying back issues of the anthology, parsing plot and prose and structure. I’d only taken a couple of evening classes in creative writing and was never going to get an MFA, so in many ways, the anthology became my education. In 2017, two of my stories were included in the Journey Prize 29 and, the following year, I had the privilege of serving on the jury. Seeing my name on the winners’ list is still a dream come true. I’m honoured to keep company with these authors, all of whom continue to be my teachers.”
—Sharon Bala

“Way back in 1989, I got lucky with my first published story when it was selected for the Journey Prize anthology. Then I got lucky three more times. It is astounding to see how many writers published in the anthology have gone on to publish great story collections and novels. The anthology is a windfall for both writer and reader.”
—David Bergen

“As a literary magazine editor, I know how tough it is for a short story to rise to the top of the pile. So while walking to work the morning I found out I’d been shortlisted for the Journey Prize, I told myself to remember that feeling, because I probably wasn’t ever going to feel that way again. Then I won. This is perhaps the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Winning the Journey Prize opened doors I thought were permanently closed. It brought me not only to a national audience, but to a community of writers, to people who value the elegance and power of a short story. The Journey Prize anthology is a gift to Canadian literature.”
—Shashi Bhat

“Reading the Journey Prize anthology helped me grow as a writer, gave me a sense of permission, threw down a stylistic gauntlet, and then, when I found my own stories in its pages—oh, glorious day!—gave me a fantastic sense of accomplishment and confidence. It’s true that developing writers need the Journey Prize anthology, but really, we all need it—to show Canada and the world that our short story writers just keep quietly, keenly, creating. To show discerning readers that the whole world can haunt and glow in a few pages, that a small shift in a character’s consciousness can be as thrilling as any sprawling saga, and that size really does matter, but never quite in the way that you might think.”
—Heather Birrell

“A great jolt of electricity startles the heart and jump-starts the writing career when you get the nod from the Journey people. It’s a thrill to find your name included amongst some of the leading new voices in short fiction.”
—Dennis Bock

“Some writers are blessed with an innate, bulletproof confidence, coupled with the sturdy conviction that what they write matters. But for the rest of us, doubt and insecurity are the acid bath in which our literary ambitions are born. And there is nothing like a Journey Prize nomination to prop up a nascent writer’s fragile hopes.”
—Michael Christie

“Being a part of the anthology was something of a landmark in my own progression as a writer. I’d read previous editions, and to be a part of it myself was a great surprise. It provided me with some confidence, a commodity highly prized by writers, especially when you’re just starting out.”
—Craig Davidson

“Having my short story, ‘Ọrun is Heaven’—a second-person speculative piece—published in The Journey Prize Stories was such an affirming experience. It was the first time my fiction had been anthologized, which was incredibly validating and gave me the much- needed confidence to continue to experiment with my writing and to give even my wildest ideas a shot at existing. Being recognized alongside such brilliant writers as Canisia Lubrin, Angélique Lalonde, Jessica Johns, and many others was and remains an honour.”
—francesca ekwuyasi

“Many years ago, a kind relative who knew I had literary aspirations gave me a copy of the Journey Prize anthology. It was bright red and contained stories by new Canadian writers. Would I ever be one of those? So far I was just Canadian. A decade later I got a phone call that changed my life. Are you sitting down? I was living in a tiny apartment in Calgary and I had one chair. I was so excited I couldn’t find my one chair. Wait, wait! I sat down on the floor. I had won the Journey Prize! How did I feel? Like a superhero. Very proud. Very grateful. And completely cured of my worst fear—that I wouldn’t be a writer.”
—Jessica Grant

“The name is felicitous, the company excellent, the honour ongoing. To have a story selected for the Journey Prize anthology at the beginning of one’s publishing life is like being given a lucky charm for the uncertain journey ahead. It opens doors (and eyes), provides encouragement and solace when needed, and offers assurance that there are indeed those who value the effort and artistry involved. This marvellous annual collection heralds and celebrates exciting new talent, and lets that talent know a steadily growing audience is waiting, and listening.”
—Terry Griggs

“What a thrill! A yes instead of a no. I had done something right, and now I would have to figure out what it was.”
—Elizabeth Hay

“I remember feeling ratified, authenticated, which of course was an illusion; no journal or anthology or prize ever proves you a real writer (whatever that is). But being chosen for an anthology as important as the Journey Prize anthology gave me a lift when I especially needed one.”
—Steven Heighton

“Winning the Journey Prize was the largest, and most public acknowledgement my work had received. But more than the money, or remembering the moment my name was called, I treasure the fact that my name and the title of my story will sit forever in the back pages of subsequent Journey Prize anthologies, side-by-side with the names of writers I admire—those I know about already, and those whose work is still to come. It’s a great privilege to be part of that tradition. How lucky I am—how lucky all we writers and readers are.”
—Miranda Hill

“Being named a finalist for the Journey Prize in 2020 for my story ‘Chemical Valley,’ an oil-soaked, Sarnia-set changeling of 10,000 words, remains astonishing to me. The Journey nod gave me the confidence to keep mining, in my own way, the aesthetics of petroleum in fiction. Even more precious, it gave me new readers. The Journey Prize is a petri dish for the alchemy of our literature.”
—David Huebert

“The writing apprenticeship is a long one, perhaps neverending, and an appearance in the Journey Prize anthology is a boost of encouragement along the way. I am especially pleased that several of my former students have been included. Bravo for continuing to celebrate this challenging and exact genre—the story in its short form.”
—Frances Itani

“Being a part of the Journey Prize anthology was incredibly validating for me at a crucial point in my career when I was unsure about my future as a writer; it was especially meaningful knowing my work was chosen for the anthology by a jury of writers whom I deeply admire, as was being included among so many new, exciting voices in CanLit. But for me, the best part of the Journey Prize is the recognition it gives to the work of literary journals who are so integral to the careers of so many emerging writers in Canada, and whose contribution to the literary landscape often remains unsung. Without the Journey Prize anthology, and the support of the literary journals who nominated me for the award, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
—Amy Jones

“It’s not possible to overstate what a huge impact being included in the Journey Prize anthology has on any emerging Canadian writer. For me, it was life-changing. It gave me a new kind of courage—to dare to dream bigger—and it pushed me forward on my own journey to see what I could do as a writer. In 2010, the year my short story ‘Mating’ was a finalist for the Journey Prize, the cover art for the anthology was the striking image of a red heart. Not a Valentine’s heart, not a photorealistic heart, but a cross-section like a medical illustration with arrows showing all the directions that blood moves in and out. Today when I look at that image, I think not of blood but of words. Of words pulsing through the pages of the Journey Prize anthology, a cultural heart pumping out bold and beautiful stories.”
—Lynne Kutsukake

“The Journey Prize is aptly named for the contribution it has made to my journey as a writer. It is hard to name its influence on my work, but I sense it shone a light in such a way that a broader readership saw my words illuminated, drawing attention to my stories, shaping the path of my journey. ‘Pooka’ was the first story I ever published. The recognition of a jury of writers whose work I admire bestowed me with a kind of self-recognition that was not present beforehand. It had me look at my work otherwise, perceiving its impact anew and with a broader perspective than I could have imagined alone at my writing table, where my stories manifest to word. In a decade I might have a broader perspective yet, but from here, where I sit now, still so nascent in my writing journey, I can say that the influence is palpable, that it continues to emerge, and that I feel that emergence with immense gratitude for the space it has allowed me to cultivate to bring yet more stories to being.”
—Angélique Lalonde

“Being in the Journey Prize anthology—alongside all those other cakewalking babies— emboldened me enough to feel I could keep pursuing the kind of stories I really wanted to tell. Each year’s anthology is like a kind of boulevard of promise, with the bright lights of so many fully developed, book-length works to come—by interesting, gifted writers— winking just up the road.”
—Elise Levine

“David Bergen is a loser. André Alexis: also a loser. Anne Carson, Lee Henderson, Heather O’Neill—all losers. And I can claim to losing the Journey Prize not once, but twice myself. Being in the company of some of Canada’s best, brightest, and most beautiful losers is fine and good, but ten grand for twenty pages of typing? It would have been awesome to win.”
—Pasha Malla

“The Journey Prize anthology has become the proving ground for new, young Canadian writers, a who’s who of the coming generation. You’ve been published in this and that literary review, great—but have you been published in the Journey Prize anthology? For many young writers (myself included), it’s their first appearance in a ‘real’ book by a ‘real’ publisher. After that, letters from editors get a lot more polite, even if they’re rejections. The Journey Prize anthology is important to young writers because it is unique. There’s nothing else like it in Canada. . . . I, for one, owe everything to the Journey Prize.”
—Yann Martel

“I’d been collecting the Journey Prize anthologies and dreaming of one day appearing within those pages, so every step of the process left me almost beside myself with happiness. To work harder than you’ve ever worked before—and to have your work acknowledged in that very public way—is hugely encouraging for a writer. It’s special, too, because it almost never happens. I felt I was forever becoming part of this tradition that I had revered and which stood for something important to me, connecting me to writers whose work and careers I admired.”
—Saleema Nawaz

“Looking back, my Journey Prize nomination was such a turning point in my writing career. All of a sudden I was connecting with writers I’d long admired, who had always felt so far away. ‘Feed Machine’ is a story I wrote during my Master’s degree at the University of Toronto, and I remember it came out all at once, which often happens when a story feels ‘right’ to me. The nomination really strengthened my belief in my process.”
—Fawn Parker

“As an emerging writer, I learned fast that the most adventurous and satiating fiction produced in this country resided, generally overlooked, in our literary journals. And so I anticipated the Journey Prize anthology every year as a gathering of some of the most impressive and thought-provoking stories recently published. When one of my stories was selected as a finalist, I was thrilled. This was back when I still had my eye on some kind of trapdoor exit, subconsciously seeking out omens that my writing wasn’t cut out for publishing and I should probably go back to studying for the LSAT. Happily, my inclusion in the Journey Prize anthology sent me in the opposite direction: deeper in.”
—Eliza Robertson

“I remember buying twenty copies of the fourth Journey Prize anthology, and giving them out to family for Christmas with my story helpfully Post-it marked. I finally got up the courage to ask a cousin what he thought of it, and he said, ‘Yeah. It was long. Didn’t finish it.’ Which seemed to be the reaction of most of my family, except for my mom and dad, who kept their copy on the coffee table. The press and the attention I received from being in the anthology were important to my career, but not as crucial as my family finally refer- ring to me as The Writer instead of The Most Educated Bum in Kitamaat Village.”
—Eden Robinson

“The Journey Prize provides something valuable, sincere, and joyful: a celebration of short stories, a way for them to be appreciated in public, right out loud. Every writer has to write for him- or herself—there’s no way to work that hard if you don’t love it—but it really does help to know that there’s a community out there, waiting to cheer if you get it really, really right. The Journey Prize is a huge cheer, and a huge support to short story writers.”
—Rebecca Rosenblum

“The day I received the letter that told me my story would be included in the Journey Prize anthology was one of the most memorable days of my writing career. I felt that it meant my writing had been truly seen, and that my story had been included in a large literary conversation with authors I admire and respect. It was like I’d been given a ticket to fly to another hemisphere! It gave me the confidence I needed to finish my first book. Being a part of the Journey Prize—both as a writer and as a juror—has been a privilege.”
—Sarah Selecky

“I owe a huge debt to the Journey Prize. Before my nominations, I didn’t even know I wanted to be a writer. I saw my writing as arts and crafts, nothing more serious than macaroni that’s spray-painted gold and glued to a tissue box. When my first story got nominated, I thought, ‘Fluke.’ When a second story got the nod, I thought, ‘Another fluke.’ When a third story was picked, I thought, ‘Career change!’ If there were no Journey Prize, I wouldn’t have kept writing.”
—Neil Smith

“Quite a few years before I would have dared call myself a writer in public, while I was still working at a bank, I began to buy the Journey Prize anthology yearly. I did so because I understood it to collect the best new short fiction of the year, and I hoped quietly that I would be inspired. One afternoon, a colleague caught me reading the anthology at my desk. Knowing a little about my literary interests, he asked bluntly: Are you in it this year? I wasn’t, and I said so. But after he left my office, I remember my astonishment, my dis- belief at his suggestion. These are ‘real’ writers (I wanted to shout), and while I aspire in the same direction, I have yet to publish a single story! About eight years later, I was included in the anthology and I remembered my colleague. It occurred to me that— despite the years I’d been at it and the stories that had since been published—nothing up to that point had convinced me that I could be a real writer. And while I remained astonished to see my name in those pages, the Journey Prize anthology now marked a beginning in which I could really believe. I’ve continued to read the anthology, and count it as an honour to have adjudicated during its fifteenth year. To me, its ongoing contribution is found on every page: new writers, new voices, new confidence.”
—Timothy Taylor

“To be a writer is, often, to walk a narrow path flanked by doubt on one side and poverty on the other. Writing is a little like prospecting, and sometimes it can even feel as though one’s words are nothing more than the banging of someone trapped deep underground, trying to communicate, but hearing only the sound of their own knocking. The Journey Prize is a light, a lifeline, a voice saying, ‘We see you. We hear you. Keep coming.’ To be part of Journey Prize history is like no longer walking alone.”
—Yasuko Thanh

“‘Simple Recipes’ was my first published story, and the one that, to my utter amazement, made it into the Journey Prize anthology. I remember getting the phone call, and remember sitting on the couch for a long time staring at the wall. I had a strange sense of vertigo, to think that it might actually be possible to one day write a book, and for that book one day to find readers. I had always quietly hoped for that possibility, but hadn’t really thought it was within the boundaries of reality until that day.”
—Madeleine Thien

“I was a fledgling undergraduate writer at the University of Toronto when I bought the second ever edition of the Journey Prize anthology, which included relative newcomers like Thomas King and André Alexis and left a sizeable imprint on my imagination. Over the years, as I strove to become a writer, the Journey Prize anthology continued to loom in my mind as touchstone, lodestar, and imprimatur. More than a quarter of a century later, when one of my own stories was chosen, I felt I had, at long last, arrived.”
—Jack Wang

“Looking back over decades of writing fiction, I find to my amazement that the greatest imaginative feat required of me thus far has been the conception of myself as a writer. The early years were the toughest. Every published story helped, but the day I learned that my work was to be included in the eleventh volume of The Journey Prize Stories—and thereby in a national tradition of literary discovery—was the day when the writing life I had long imagined finally began to seem real.”
—Alissa York