Michael Crummey awarded $50K fellowship from Writers' Trust

St. John's-based writer Michael Crummey now has a bit more financial freedom for creativity, after being named the first-ever recipient of a $50,000 Writers'Trust Fellowship in Toronto Wednesday night.

"The Writers' Trust Fellowship was so unexpected, so extravagant and unlikely, that I'm still in shock,"Crummey saidin 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."

Crummey's novels Sweetland and Galore were each nominated for the Governor-General's Award for literature. He is also the author of the novels River Thieves and The Wreckage, as well as several collections of poetry.

The Writers'Trust of Canada, a charity that promotes Canadian writing, recently established the fellowship, intended to alleviate writers' financial constraints to give them the ability to focus on their craft.

In a statement, the Writers' Trust called Crummey"a poet of tremendous skill and a novelist of truest heart."

Crummey's award is one of three fellowships to be awarded to Canadian writers over the next three years, to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary.

Along with $50,000, Crummey also receives a two-week residency at the Banff Centre.