Author K. Garebian Receives Canada Council Grant

Joseph Chin, Mississauga.com, 28 March 2014

Keith Garebian, an acclaimed critic, editor, biographer and poet — and 32-year Mississauga resident — has received a substantial grant from the Canada Council. The $25,000 will allow Garebian to complete a biography of William Hutt, a Canadian actor of stage, television and film who died in 2007.

“There are hundreds of applicants for any national grant program, and this is the first time I have won a Canada Council grant; in fact, it is the first time I have won such a large writing grant,” says Garebian, who has written 20 books in his lengthy literary career.

Joseph Chin, Mississauga.com, 28 March 2014

Keith Garebian, an acclaimed critic, editor, biographer and poet — and 32-year Mississauga resident — has received a substantial grant from the Canada Council. The $25,000 will allow Garebian to complete a biography of William Hutt, a Canadian actor of stage, television and film who died in 2007.

“There are hundreds of applicants for any national grant program, and this is the first time I have won a Canada Council grant; in fact, it is the first time I have won such a large writing grant,” says Garebian, who has written 20 books in his lengthy literary career.

Although the 70-year-old is new to receiving large writing grants, he’s no stranger to winning non-monetary awards and accolades. Last year, he was the winner of a 2013 Mississauga Arts Award for his book, Moon on Wild Grasses; he was also awarded the prestigious William Saroyan Medal, named in honour of the great Armenian-American dramatist and author.

The $25,000 grant is the maximum allowable for a single year to a writer. It will be the impetus — both financial and inspirational — for Garebian to complete the manuscript of William Hutt: An Actor’s Life, which he has been working on the last couple of years.

Garebian hopes to have the book — a follow-up to William Hutt: A Theatre Portrait, which he published in 1988 — out in time for the opening of the 2015 Stratford Festival, which Hutt helped put on the map and where he spent most of his career.

Garebian also hopes the prestigious grant will help him garner a publishing contract. So far, he has completed some 600 manuscript pages.

“What makes the Canada Council award especially gratifying is the fact that I now feel a broad, national validation of my project and literary credentials,” he says.