Charlie Foran named executive director of Writers' Trust of Canada
Erin Balser | | Posted: October 18, 2019 1:00 PM | Last Updated: October 18, 2019
Charlie Foran has been named the next executive director of the Writers' Trust of Canada.
Foran replaces Mary Osborne, who is stepping down after seven years in the role.
Foran will start in January 2020. The Toronto author has written 11 books, including fiction, nonfiction and journalism.
His book Mordecai, about the life and career of the late Mordecai Richler, won the Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction and the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction in 2011.
His other books include a biography of hockey icon Maurice Richard and the novel Planet Lolita.
Foran is a member of the Order of Canada, a senior fellow at Massey College and teaches English at the University of Toronto.
He has also won a Canadian Jewish Book Award, two QSPELL prizes and several National Magazine Awards.
In 2018, Foran was awarded the $50,000 2018 Writers' Trust of Canada Fellowship for being "one of the leading Canadian voices of our time."
"Charlie is that rare hybrid — both a respected administrator with experience leading some of the country's most impactful arts and social justice organizations, and an accomplished writer working in both fiction and nonfiction," said Kari Cullen, the chair of the Writers' Trust of Canada said in a press statement.
"He is recognized for his contributions to Canadian literature and as a champion for freedom of speech."
Foran was previously the CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.
The Writers' Trust of Canada is an organization that supports Canadian writers through literary awards, fellowships, financial grants, mentorships and more.
It was founded in 1976 by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence and David Young.
The Writers' Trust of Canada awards include the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction and the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
"The Writers' Trust is essential to the cultural life of Canada," Foran said in a press statement. "It is a voice for, and on behalf of, Canadian writers and writing. I am honoured to be asked to evolve the Writers' Trust into the next decade. There is much more work still to be done."