I'm very pleased to announce that I was among 30 other recipients of the Spring 2021 Region of Waterloo Arts Fund grants. The official announcement has just been released (also here). The funds will cover my expenses as I start work on writing a full first draft of my post-work novel The Curator of Forgotten Things (see samples here, here, and here). I am delighted and honoured to be included among the likes of Carrie Snyder, Andrew Smith, and the Grand Philharmonic Choir, not to mention all the other worthy winners.
From the press release:
The Region of Waterloo Arts Fund is awarding 31 grants, totaling $191,255, in response to dynamic proposals submitted by a wide range of artists and arts organizations. The Spring 2021 round received 86 applications seeking a total of $588,745 in grants funding.
The Arts Fund, a not-for-profit corporation served by a volunteer Board of Directors, is one of the few granting bodies in Canada that awards grants directly to artist-led projects. The mandate of the Arts Fund is to contribute to the creative vitality in our community by providing meaningful grants and other advocacy support to local individual artists and to arts and culture organizations.
Regional Council generously allocates the equivalent of 67 cents per capita to the Arts Fund for granting purposes, so that residents and visitors alike may benefit from the vibrancy of the local arts and culture sectors. Often, these supported projects are also able to attract additional funds through earned revenue, grants from provincial, federal or private sources, sponsorships, and in-kind donations. Since its establishment in 2002, the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund has supported 854 projects, for a total community investment of $4,682,792.
Of course, now I have to write the thing, but I'm optimistic. I've finished a decent draft of The Sun Runners, and I'm ready for another project. This will be a very different story from the space operas I've been writing in the past couple of years: Earthbound and bittersweet, maybe with just a touch of The Night Girl, considering the nature of our identity as the jobs go away due to automation (or, "what if the robots take over, but they're nice?").
Thanks again to the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund for their support. I won't let you down!