Writers' Trust of Canada partners with
McClelland & Stewart Ltd. for The Journey Prize
Toronto, Ontario (Wednesday, November 14, 2001) -
McClelland & Stewart Ltd. and The Writers' Trust of Canada
are pleased to announce a new arrangement with respect to the
administration of The Journey Prize, now to be called The Writers' Trust
of Canada/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize.
The Journey Prize is made possible by James A. Michener's generous
donation of his Canadian royalty earnings from his 1988 novel, Journey,
in support of new writers. The $10,000 Prize, now it its thirteenth
year, is awarded annually to a new and developing Canadian writer. Past
recipients of The Journey Prize include Elyse Gasco, Melissa Hardy, Anne
Simpson, Yann Martel, and Timothy Taylor, who have gone on to publish
acclaimed novels or collections of short stories and have become a
visible part of Canada's literary community. In recognition of the vital
role literary journals play in discovering new writers, $2,000 is also
awarded to the journal that submits the winning entry.
McClelland & Stewart will continue to publish annually in
October The Journey Prize Anthology: Short Fiction from the Best of
Canada's New Writers, the contents of which constitute a long-list for
The Journey Prize itself. A three-member jury considers short stories
and excerpts from novels-in-progress which have had original publication
in Canadian literary journals, and which have been selected and
submitted by journal editors across Canada. On this year's jury were
award-winning author Elyse Gasco, Giller Prize and Trillium Award
finalist Michael Helm, and Chapters' Category Manager Michael Nicholson.
The jury selected thirteen stories from a total of eighty-five
submissions. A short-list of three stories will be announced early in
2002.
The Writers' Trust of Canada is a national charitable organization
providing a level of support to writers unmatched by any other
non-governmental organization or foundation. Through its programmes and
awards, The Writers' Trust celebrates the talents and achievements of
our country's novelists, poets, biographers and non-fiction writers. The
Journey Prize is a prestigious addition to The Writers' Trust's
portfolio of literary awards to Canadian writers.
The inaugural winner of the $10,000 Writers' Trust of Canada/McClelland
Stewart Journey Prize will be announced at The Writers' Trust of
Canada's spring awards event in Toronto in March 2002.
For further information or to arrange an interview with The Writers'
Trust of Canada's Executive Director Lascelle Wingate, or
McClelland & Stewart's Publisher (Fiction), Ellen
Seligman please contact:
Dara Rowland of Rowland Firing Public Relations
phone: 416-916-7377
e-mail: dara@rowlandfiring.com
Laura Cameron, McClelland & Stewart, Ltd.
phone: 416-598-1114 ext. 320
e-mail: lcameron@mcclelland.com
Lascelle Wingate, Executive Director, The Writers' Trust of Canada, on
The Journey Prize:
"We are extremely excited about our partnership with
McClelland & Stewart Ltd. on the Journey Prize. The
Writers' Trust of Canada has a long history and relationship with the
Canadian literary community and Canadian authors. The Journey Prize
complements the Trust's growing list of literary prizes that honour the
remarkable talents of Canadian writers."
Ellen Seligman, Publisher (Fiction), McClelland & Stewart
Ltd., on The Journey Prize:
"We have been delighted to see over the years how many authors whose
fiction has been recognized today, including those who won the actual
Journey Prize, had early work in The Journey Prize Anthology. I'm
thinking, for example, of André Alexis, Dennis Bock, M.G.
Vassanji, Elizabeth Hay, Steven Heighton, Elise Levine, David Bergen,
Eden Robinson, Elyse Gasco, Madeleine Thien, and Timothy Taylor. We look
forward to continuing to publish annually The Journey Prize Anthology as
before. For The Journey Prize itself, we are very pleased now to have
been invited by The Writers' Trust of Canada to have the prize presented
as part of their program, helping to raise the profile of this wonderful
award which recognizes and supports developing talent. "
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