Anthologies

Journey Prize 16

2004
Fiction anthology, features the Western Magazine Award-winning story “What We Wanted” by Michael V. Smith.
A boy in a small town reveals the moments leading up to a fatal accident he witnessed.
Edited by Elizabeth Hay, Lisa Moore and Michael Redhill

McClelland & Stewart

The $10,000 Journey Prize, now known as The Writers’ Trust of Canada/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize, is awarded annually to a new and developing writer of distinction for a short story published in a Canadian literary publication. This award is made possible by James A. Michener’s generous donation of his Canadian royalties earnings from his novel Journey, published by McClelland & Stewart in 1988. The Journey Prize itself is the most significant monetary award given in Canada to a writer at the beginning of his or her career for a short story or excerpt from a fiction work-in-progress.

The winner of the Journey Prize is selected from among the stories that appear in the current volume of The Journey Prize Stories, published annually in the fall by McClelland & Stewart.

For over a decade The Journey Prize Stories has established itself as one of the most prestigious anthologies in the country, introducing readers to the best new Canadian writers from coast to coast. It has become a who’s who of up-and-coming writers, and many of the authors whose early work has appeared in the anthology have gone on to distinguish themselves with acclaimed collections of stories or novels, and have won many of Canada’s most prestigious literary awards, including the Governor General’s Award, the Trillium Award, the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award, and The Giller Prize.

The anthology sets itself apart from others in that it comprises a selection of stories that editors of literary publications from across the country have chosen as what, in their view, is the most exciting writing in English that they have published in the previous year. In recognition of the vital role literary publications play in discovering and promoting new writers, McClelland & Stewart gives its own award of $2,000 to the literary publication that originally published and submitted the winning entry.

McClelland & Stewart acknowledges the continuing enthusiastic support of writers, literary publication editors, and the public in the common celebration of the emergence of new voices in Canadian fiction.

Geeks, Misfits & Outlaws

2003
Fiction anthology, features the Western Magazine Award-winning story “What We Wanted” by Michael V. Smith
A boy in a small town reveals the moments leading up to a fatal accident he witnessed.
Edited by Zoe Whittall
McGilligan Books

Geeks, Misfits & Outlaws celebrates the eccentric in short fiction by an eclectic mix of provocative, humorous and outlaw writers. Toronto Book Award winner Camilla Gibb writes about an agoraphobic housewife in “House Contents”, Jim Munroe brings us the future of teenage angst with the story “Marked”, Lynn Crosbie and R.M. Vaughn collaborate on a poetic exploration of outsider-love. Featuring work by Marnie Woodrow, Mariko Tamaki, Michael V. Smith, Sky Gilbert, Stuart Ross, Michelle Tea, Taien Ng-Chan and many more.

the love that dare not speak its name

2003
Nonfiction anthology, features “Visibility” by Michael V. Smith
Michael V. discusses his practice as a sex and gender artist, arguing that gay men replace their homophobia with gender anxiety.
Edited by Greg Wharton
Suspect Thoughts

Reviews for The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name:

“It can’t be said of many books that they ought to be twice as long as they are. Wharton’s invitation_ only collection_ 13 essays sparkling with kaleidoscopic sexual honesty_ should be. There isn’t a dull piece in the book. Emanuel Xavier’s “Confessions” considers the lifelong impact of boyhood abuse; Matt Bernstein Sycamore’s “Seals” tracks a love affair’s melancholy arc; Michael Rowe’s “My Life as a Girl”_ the riveting best of a very good lot explores gender with perfect poignancy. Serious, yes; never dull. Nor are Felice Picano’s boisterously boastful “The Etiology and Lost Art of “The Quickie”,” or Justin Chin’s sweetly poetic “A Sea of Decaying Kisses,” or Royston Tester’s hilariously graphic “(very) Trying Monogamy.” In “Why I’m,” Andy Quan tells why he’s attracted to redheads, muscles, white men, and not rimming; in “There is No Because,” Marshall Moore tells why he’s attracted to skin that’s black and brown and “Asian porcelain-olive.” That’s eight diverse, thoughtful essays and there are, sadly, only five more, all as eclectic and smart. ” – Richard Labonte, Book Marks

Quickies 3: Short short fiction on gay male desire

2003
Fiction anthology, features “Beaver Foxes” by Michael V. Smith
Edited by James C. Johnstone
Arsenal Pulp Press 

Quickies 3: The third installment of the bestselling international gay menÕs erotica series, consisting of stories of 1,000 words or less that articulate desire between men.

Previous books in the series have made bestseller lists, and feature many award-winning writers and anthologists among their contributors. Quickies 3 features 69+ stories by writers living in six countries around the world, including: Doug Ferguson, Shaun Levin, George K. Ilsley, Michael V. Smith, Sean Meriwether, Billy Cowan, Shaun Proulx, Ron Suresha, Michael Wilde, Matt Bernstein Sycamore, Bob Vickery, Simon Shepard, Daniel Collins, Sandip Roy, horehound stillpoint, Clayton Delery, Andy Quan, Trebor Healey, Robert Thomson, Shaun De Waal, and Daniel Curzon.

Best Gay Erotica 2001

2001
Fiction anthology, features “Gucci” by Michael V. Smith Edited by Richard Labonté
Cleis Press

The year’s steamiest, most thought-provoking gay sex writing from the best-selling gay erotica series in America! Reviews for Best Gay Erotica 2001: “An eclectic, provocative selection of stories…” – Publishers Weekly “A must read…” – In Touch “Full of surprises…” – Bay Area Reporter “…leaves you hungry for more. Pick up this volume as an introduction to the many and glorious approaches to gay male sexual writing…” – Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review

Carnal Nation: Brave New Sex Fictions

2000
Fiction anthology, features “Gucci” by Michael V. Smith

When two men in a gay strip club witness a routine to rival all absurd fantasies, their relationship is compromised.
Edited by Carellin Brooks and Brett Josef Grubisic

Arsenal Pulp Press

Sex, once the great unspoken, is now regularly commodified and prepackaged for wide consumer consumption, on TV, in films, on billboards. In this context in which nothing is shocking – no boundary too sacred to cross – what does sex mean, particularly to those born under these conditions? Carnal Nation is a collection of stories about sex by an exciting new generation of writers who boldly push the narrative envelope. These stories – written in a startling new language – bring fresh meaning to the term “polymorphously perverse.” The thirty-two contributors include some of the most provocative and interesting young writers working today. Carnal Nation is cunning, shocking, and brazenly cocky, an intoxicating anthology of writing about sex. Reviews for Carnal Nations: Brave New Sex Fictions: “Still, it’s surprising that safe sex and AIDS are rarely mentioned except in the book’s best story, “Gucci” by Michael V. Smith, which concerns two middle aged men-one gay, one (perhaps) bisexual-watching a male stripshow before cruising a local park. As the narrative unfolds, grotesque humour gives way to poignant revelation as the men’s pasts and the implications of their relationship are revealed. “Gucci” is a graphic and well-written study of how sex can both wound and offer a tenuous solace to the wounded.” – Ron Forbes-Roberts, ‘The Joy of Text’; Monday Magazine, November 2000 “These startlingly frank and sometimes raunchy stories . . . dispel any notion of polite reserve in young Canadian authors.” – Publishers Weekly “The body fluids fly back and forth here . . . and the best sex, as always, arrives in surprising circumstances.” – The Globe & Mail

Quickies II: Short short fiction on gay male desire

1999
Fiction anthology, features “The Bridge” by Michael V. Smith Edited by James C. Johnstone
Arsenal Pulp Press 

Quickies II: Short short stories on gay male desire. Brevity may be the soul of wit, but in James Johnstone’s Quickies II it’s also the essence of an inflamed sexual imagination. Gay male porn–even at its best–has never been noted for its succinctness; the rule has always been “the more details the better.” In the 69 pieces here -from noted writers to newcomers- Johnstone has assembled a panoply of the sexy, the odd, the vibrant, and the powerful that covers the full range of gay sexual desire and expression. None of the stories is more than four pages long, and each of them packs a wallop. While they all contain some sexual material -from slow love-making to quick tricking, from arcane fantasy to pulp fiction sex- none of them falls into the category of simple-minded, obvious porn. Johnstone’s strength as an editor is being able to choose stories that feature the quirky detail or strike the surprising emotional cord. With its abundance of wit, warmth and wonder, Quickies II makes most porn anthologies look overwrought and undersexed. – Michael Bronski

contra/diction

1998
Fiction anthology, features “Bea” by Michael V. Smith An exerpt from Cumberland in which Ernest struggles with his desire for men, though he’d prefer to attach himself to Bea.
Edited by Brett Josef Grubisic

Arsenal Pulp Press 

contra/diction is a gay men’s fiction anthology that represents the plurality of gay identity; an attempt to show that not all gay men “drive to Ikea, go to the gym, and buy new ties for their management-level positions before taking in the latest stage hit,” as suggested in such well-known men’s anthologies as the Men on Men series. Instead, the stories found in Contra/Diction are not easily digestible; their writers ask difficult questions of themselves and the world around them in a way which makes them truly “queer.” The nightmare and paradise of sexuality, love, and community are viewed from different perspectives, along with issues of race, economics, violence, politics, and homophobia. The 32 stories, by writers living in the U.S. and Canada, include dark fantasies about hustlers and one-night stands, and cautionary tales about murderers and dreamers. As might be expected, AIDS is a spectre that haunts many of these stories, represented in themes of anger, beauty, and bereavement. In addition, there are statements from the contributors, in which they write about their motivations and concerns as queer male writers at the cusp of the millennium. Contra/Diction wishes to speak loudly from the margins, articulating a specific storytelling “queerness” that is politicized, sexualized, and without mercy. Reviews for contra/diction: “Sexy and dangerous – a brutally honest look at another side of gay life. Wherever you open it, you’ll find a story that is fascinating and disturbing.” – Warren Dunford “A powerful collection of virile short fiction by 32 gifted writers of unflinching conviction who carry the reader far beyond the stated premise of celebratory queerness and into the realm of genuine literature. There are stories of the brilliant darkness on the other side of mainstream gay culture, and the journey to that place – disturbing, erotic, dazzling – is swift and sure. It belongs in the library of every gay man who views the coming millenium with euphoria and courage.” – Michael Rowe, Writing Below the Belt

Quickies: Short short fiction on gay male desire.

1998
Fiction anthology, features “The Glass Licker” by Michael V. Smith Edited by James C. Johnstone

Arsenal Pulp Press 

Quickies: Short short fiction on gay male desire. From first kisses and bitter romances to cigar angels and cowboy boots: such is the stuff of “Quickies”, a short short fiction anthology of gay male desire, by the co-editor of Queer View Mirror 1 and 2. These are hot stories about the heat of the moment, about unspoken lust and unabashed action, all designed to get you there in 1,000 words or less. Hot his-and-her follow-ups to the highly successful Queer View Mirror 1 and 2 books of queer “short short” fiction, Quickies includes work by 69 writers (67 men and 2 women) from the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Germany, South Africa, and Ireland, on aspects of gay male desire, from first kisses and bitter romances to cigar angels and cowboy boots. Reviews for Quickies: “A varied, juicy anthology of gay short takes”. – Village Voice “A worthwhile collection — the standard is remarkably high”. – Gay Times of London (UK)