THEJOURNEY PRIZE annually awards $10,000 tothe short story judged to be the best among those published in Canada`s smallliterary magazines during the previous year. The Journey Prize Anthology (McClelland& Stewart, 256 pages, $16.99 paper) brings together this year`s contendersfor the prize; it`s a diverse lot, but the following stories arerepresentative. Dayv James-French`s "Cervine" conveys the warmconsumerism of middleclass urban life, and the seeming casualness of some ofhis descriptions hide their superb originality. But the story`s plot (a moosegets trapped in a swimming pool) moves for-ward confusingly, and thepsychological tension that exists between the protagonist, his new wife, andher son by a first marriage is never dealt with thematically even though itpermeates the story. Michael Kenyon`s "DurableTumblers," about a young woman trying to communicate with her benignlyobtuse husband, is sincerely felt, but suffocatingly loaded down with earnestempathy. K. D. Miller`s "A Litany in Time of Plague" is far moreenergetic and enjoyable to read; unfortunatety, it fails to transcend its maincharacter`s superficiality. (Both pieces -the first written about a straightwoman by a man, and the second about a gay man by a woman demonstrate that"appropriation of voice" narratives often fail artistically beforethey do politically.) This year`s winning story, Gayla Reid`s"Sister Doyle`s Men," concerns a young daughter in an Australianfamily whose perceptions of her mother change radically with a single piece ofinformation. It`s a surprisingly moving piece of fiction, though flawed by theoccasional portentousness of Reid`s narrative style. As an institution, the journey Prize isinvaluable; unfortunately, this year`s selection of stories is uneven inquality.