''Journey'', a novel by

James Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and ...

published in 1989, was expanded from a section originally cut from his large novel ''

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

'' (1988). The book depicts five men, one of whom was an English Lord, journeying in 1897-99 from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

through

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Dawson, Yukon Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...

, to participate in the Klondike gold rush. According to the novel's afterword, the section was cut from the original book because ''Alaska'' already contained a chapter on the Alaskan side of the gold rush. It was decided that chapter (which eventually became ''Journey'') could stand on its own as a short novel.

Journey Prize

In 1989, Michener donated the royalty earnings from the Canadian edition of ''Journey'', published in Canada by

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

, to endow the

Journey Prize The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short story published by a ...

, an annual Canadian literary award worth Cdn$10,000 that is awarded for the year's best

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

published by an emerging Canadian writer.

References

1988 American novels Novels by James A. Michener Random House books Novels set in Yukon Fiction set in 1897 Fiction set in 1898 Novels set in the 1890s {{1980s-hist-novel-stub