Debra Anderson has won the third annual Dayne Ogilvie Grant, a $4,000 prize given to an emerging queer Canadian writer. Anderson is a Toronto-based writer, playwright and filmmaker, author of the 2005 novel Code White. The jury, comprised of writers Derek McCormack, Shani Mootoo and Karen X Tulchinsky, praised Anderson for her craft, courage and mischievous humour.
Anderson will be presented with the grant at 5:30pm on Sun, Jun 28 as part of Pride’s Proud Voices Stage at James Canning Gardens (north of Dundonald St, east of Yonge).
A former managing editor of Xtra, Dayne Ogilvie was a respected freelance book editor and writer who died in 2006. Toronto artist Robin Pacific set up an endowment to fund the grant (which is administered by the Writers’ Trust of Canada). “I established this award to honour the memory of a brilliant, outrageous and very proud gay man,” states Pacific in a press release. “It is a privilege to carry out his legacy by awarding a grant in his name to this talented writer.”
For more info go to Writerstrust.com.