Police in Montreal enforce social distancing regulations in Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park, May 23. Image – iStockphoto: Marc Bruxelle
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Funding Creators’ Research
Canada’s Access Copyright Foundation calls itself “an arm’s length foundation” of Access Copyright, the English-language Canadian copyright management agency. The foundation’s stated purpose is to “provide support to creators and organizations engaged in the development and dissemination of publishable Canadian works in the literary and visual arts.”
As such, its grants—which can go to recipients in both English- and French-language Canada—are awarded through a peer adjudication process administered on behalf of the foundation by the Saskatchewan Arts Board.
One of the program’s key grants is in publishable projects, the awarded money meant “to facilitate the creation of a publishable work, an innovative program, strategic initiative, study paper or report.” It’s named for Marian Hebb, in honor of her work as a copyright attorney.
And the Marian Hebb Research Grant program funds “the creation of a publishable work, an innovative program, strategic initiative, study paper, or report.”
It’s helpful to have an example, and one is the support being provided to project that highlights the contributions of female astronauts. Another is being developed to highlight Indigenous communities in British Columbia. In essence, if a program or project is heading to publication and can be enhanced by having the expenses of research being defrayed, this program’s organizers are interested.
The total funding allocated in the program is 100,000 Canadian dollars (US$74,416). Grants have gone to 28 recipients and four organizations in Canada.
2020 Marian Hebb Research Grants
- Mark Abley; Pointe Claire, Québec
- Leah Bobet; Toronto, Ontario
- Brick, A Literary Journal; Toronto, Ontario
- Kathryn Bridge; Victoria, British Columbia
- Canadian Artists’ Representation / Le Front des artistes canadiens; Ottawa, Ontario
- Culturally Modified; Smithers, British Columbia
- Marcello Di Cintio; Calgary, Alberta
- Sue Goyette; Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Taras Grescoe; Outremont, Québec
- Elizabeth Howard; Toronto, Ontario
- Doretta Lau; Burnaby, British Columbia
- Anne Lazurko; Weyburn, Saskatchewan
- Literary Press Group of Canada; Toronto, Ontario
- Ashley Little; Kelowna, British Columbia
- James Little; Toronto, Ontario
- April Liu; Vancouver, British Columbia
- Ethan Lou; Toronto, Ontario
- Kirsteen MacLeod; Kingston, Ontario
- Sean Michaels; Montreal, Québec
- Anita Miettunen; Vancouver, British Columbia
- Chelsea Murray; Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Alison Pick; Toronto, Ontario
- Karen Press; Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Pirjo Raits; Sooke, British Columbia
- Eliza Robertson; Montreal, Québec
- Ian Roy; Ottawa, Ontario
- Candace Savage; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Suzannah Showler; Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Merilyn Simonds; Kingston, Ontario
- Diana Tegenkamp; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Simon Thibault; Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Mark Zuehlke; Victoria, British Columbia
‘Being Able To Tell Our Stories’
Outdoor dining in Ottawa, in a stage-three reopening phase of pandemic regulations, July 17. Image – iStockphoto: Jean-Francois
In a prepared statement for the release of the recipients’ list, Margaret Reynolds, the co-chair of the Access Copyright Foundation, is quoted, saying, “Being able to tell our stories is important and in order to be able to do so, creators and organizations need to be empowered to have the opportunity and financial means to conduct the research to help bring them to life.
“On behalf of the ACF’s board of directors, I’m proud that the Marian Hebb Research Grants program continues to make a small but vital contribution to this critical work.”
Jurors for the 2020 Marian Hebb Research Grant program were:
- Novelist, journalist, and children’s book author Don Gillmore
- Gerald Hill, a poet and retired English and creative-writing professor
- Heidi Waechtler, executive director of the association of book publishers of British Columbia
In light of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the Access Copyright Foundation has offered to approve extensions on recipients’ funded events or projects, as outlined here.
At this writing, the 8:34 a.m. ET update (1234 GMT) of the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center shows Canada with 113,473 cases and 8,908 deaths in a population of 38 million.
More from Publishing Perspectives on Canada is here, our coverage of the work of Access Copyright is here, and more from us on the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international book publishing is here and at the CORONAVIRUS tab at the top of each page of our site.