Affiliate Miriam Toews is the Writers' Trust’s 2016 Fellow

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Writers, can you hear me? / You saved my life

When affiliate Miriam Toews stepped on the stage to accept the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s 2016 Fellowship at its annual Gala on November 23, she closed her acceptance speech with this short stanza.

Writers have heard Toews, and throughout her career as an author, primarily as a chronicle of families, she has been lauded and celebrated many times over.

No wonder then that she was honored as the second recipient of the Writers’ Trust Fellowship, an award created by the organization as a way to celebrate Canadian authors who have accumulated a significant body of work with much more to come, and timed to Canada’s sesquicentennial next year.

The first Fellowship was given out last year to affiliate Michael Crummey and the final Fellowship will be awarded next year.

With the Fellowship, Toews receives a $50,000 prize as well as the opportunity for a two-week residency at the Leighton Artist Colony located in the Banff Centre. 

Courtesy of the Writers’ Trust, here is Toews’ acceptance speech:

and a short video profile.