The Writers’ Trust of Canada has chosen University of Guelph student Nancy Jo Cullen as this year’s recipient of the $4,000 Dayne Ogilvie Grant for an Emerging Gay Writer.

Cullen, who is enrolled in a master’s program in creative writing at Guelph-Humber, is already the author of three collections of poetry: Science Fiction Saint, Pearl, and Untitled Child. She has received previous awards from the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, the Writers Guild of Alberta and the City of Calgary.

The Writers’ Trust of Canada was founded by five notable Canadian authors — Margaret Atwood, the late Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, the late Margaret Laurence, and David Young — to encourage a flourishing writing community in Canada.