Eden Robinson (Arden Wray)

B.C. novelist Eden Robinson is the recipient of the 2017 Writers’ Trust fellowship, a $50,000 award intended to free authors from financial concerns so they may pursue their creative work. The fellowship was presented at the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s black-tie fundraising gala on Nov. 7, attended by more than 400 guests.

Robinson, a member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations, received a standing ovation as she accepted the fellowship, which she said will allow her to “write her heart out.” In 2016, Robinson received the Writers’ Trust Engel/Findley Award given to a mid-career author for a remarkable body of work. Her latest book, Son of a Trickster (Knopf Canada) – the first in a trilogy – is also up for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the winner of which will be announced Nov. 20.

Writers’ Trust chair Douglas Knight also announced that the fellowship, which began as a pilot three years ago, is now a permanent program. The previous recipients are Michael Crummey and Miriam Toews.