Earlier this year, I was privileged to have my short story “The Origin of Jaanvi” included in the 2016 Journey Prize Anthology. As a bonus, I was invited to attend the annual Writers’ Trust Gala, a fundraising event that brings together “business and arts communities.” It was a dazzling evening. All the writers were given a medal to wear as a form of identification and to keep as a pretty cool memorabilia. It was the first (and probably the last) medal I’ve ever received! Plus, I got a photo with Margaret Atwood.

At the ceremony, Miriam Toews was awarded the $50,000 Writers’ Trust Fellowship. You can read more about all the things the Writers’ Trust does; many writing careers have been launched as a result of its funding and support. Yasuko Thanh, who was recently awarded the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, started her career with the Journey Prize and continued it with the support of the Woodcock Fund, both sponsored by the Writers’ Trust.