Sharon Bala

The finalists for this year’s Writers’ Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize, which recognizes the country’s best magazine-published short fiction by up-and-coming authors, have been announced.

A jury comprising authors Kevin Hardcastle, Grace O’Connell, and Ayelet Tsabari selected the following shortlist:

• Sharon Bala, “Butter Tea at Starbucks” (The New Quarterly)
• Richard Kelly Kemick, “The Most Human Part of You” (Maisonneuve)
• Darlene Naponse, “She is Water” (The Malahat Review)

Each finalist will receive a $1,000 award. The winner, who will be announced at the Writers’ Trust Awards ceremony at Toronto’s Glenn Gould Studio on Nov. 14, will receive $10,000, with the publisher of the winning story receiving $2,000. All of this year’s longlisted stories will be published in the anthology The Journey Prize Stories 29, (M&S) on Sept. 26.