Last week,
on November 18, I posted a review of Michael Crummey’s latest novel, Sweetland, in honour of his 50th
birthday.
This week,
on November 25, Mr. Crummey won the inaugural Writers’ Trust Fellowship valued
at $50,000. On being named, he responded
humbly: "'The Writers' Trust
Fellowship was so unexpected, so extravagant and unlikely, that I'm still in
shock,' said Crummey in a news release. 'It means time to work of
course, something all writers fight for. And, given the literary talent in this
country, it's a huge honour even to have been considered'" (http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/11/michael-crummey-wins-inaugural-50k-writers-trust-fellowship.html).
The
Writers' Trust Fellowship was established to celebrate Canada's
sesquicentennial anniversary in 2017. Two more fellowships will be awarded in
the next two years so a total of $150,000 will be given to Canadian writers in
celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary. The money is “intended to free
writers substantially from financial concerns and provide a window in which
they can work with as much creative freedom as possible.” Each fellowship will be awarded “to a writer
who has demonstrated exceptional creative ability by producing an outstanding
body of literary work and displayed the promise to add to that work” (http://www.writerstrust.com/News/News-(1)/Press-Release-Archive/Press-Releases/WT-Fellowship-(Nov-16-15).aspx). Writers in various genres will be considered,
including fiction, literary non-fiction, poetry, and young adult literature.
Congratulations,
Mr. Crummey! What a wonderful way to
celebrate the end of your first half-century and the beginning of your
second.
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