Maurice Mierau has been awarded the Manitoba Arts Council’s 2017 Major Arts Grant. This grant will assist the Winnipeg-based writer to work on the manuscript of his second memoir. His last book, Detachment: An Adoption Memoir, was published by Freehand in 2014, and won the 2016 Kobzar Literary Award as well as the Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction.
“We would like to congratulate Maurice Mierau on this prestigious grant.” said Akoulina Connell, CEO of the Manitoba Arts Council. “The body of work Mierau has developed over the course of his career is quite varied, and is a testament to his versatility and power as a writer.”
Maurice Mierau is the author of several books of poetry, including Fear Not, which won the ReLit Award in 2009. He was born in Indiana, and grew up in Nigeria, Manitoba, Jamaica, Kansas, and Saskatchewan. He now lives in Winnipeg with his family.
To learn more about the work of Maurice Mierau, please visit www.mauricemierau.com
About the Major Arts Grant
The Major Arts Grant allows artists in all artistic disciplines whose work shows exceptional quality and accomplishment to concentrate on personal creative projects for an extended period. It is intended to support Manitoba artists to examine, investigate, or experiment with style, technique, process, method, content, or an issue or concern in their artistic practice. The program allows artists to dedicate themselves to their arts practice, impacting their career beyond a single project.
Previous recipients of the grant include Méira Cook, Michael Dudeck, Diana Thorneycroft, and Florian Vorreiter.
About the Manitoba Arts Council
The Manitoba Arts Council is an arm’s-length agency of the Province of Manitoba, established in 1965 “to promote the study, enjoyment, production and performance of works in the arts.” The Council makes awards to professional arts organizations and individuals in all art forms including theatre, literature, music, painting, sculpture, architecture or the graphic arts, and includes other similar creative or interpretative activity, including arts education. The Council uses a peer assessment process in making awards. Historically, the main criterion used to assess applications is artistic excellence.
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For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Elyse Saurette
Public Relations Agent
Manitoba Arts Council
Email: esaurette@artscouncil.mb.ca
(204) 945-0646
Toll free: 1 (866) 994-2787
Cell: (204) 794-8966
