Sask. author wins coveted Sask. Foundation for the Arts Award

Saskatoon-based artist, Miguel Fenrich has become Saskatchewan’s second recipient of the Tony and Herb Rainbow Award for Literary and Visual Artists through the Saskatchewan Foundation for the Arts.

This award, (given through 2024-2026) supports emerging and mid-career LGBTQ2S+ literary and visual artists. Its purpose is to amplify presence and encourage artistic and economic well-being of LGBTQ2S+ artists in Saskatchewan.

Miguel Fenrich. Photo Credit: Ali Lauren Creative

“I’m mindful that with this award, I join a long, weaving line of talented artists from across our vibrant province; of those before me, of course, and those who will follow me,” Fenrich says. “It’s a gift to be a part of this artistic tapestry that gives Saskatchewan so much joy, so much truth, so much beauty, and so much life.”

Fenrich will use the award to support the writing of his third novel, (tentatively titled 273 Days.) The novel follows a young queer man from Western Canada after he is diagnosed with terminal illness and decides, in his final nine months (273 Days), to travel across Canada on an end-of-life road trip.

Fenrich is the author of Blue: a Novel and What Lies in the Valley. He is the 43rd President of the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild, is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, and a 2025 CBC Future 40 Winner. He is the owner of arts-based consulting company, House of Fenrich.

“I’m also woefully aware that queerness is under attack in Saskatchewan, Canada, and around the world,” Fenrich adds. “As such, with this support for queer voices, it’s a privilege to continue working on a project I hope impact’s Canadians—and calls us to care deeply about one another.”

“With deep gratitude, I must also acknowledge the generosity of both Anthony Bidulka and Herb McFaull who’ve made this award possible. The Tony and Herb Rainbow Award offers me time to work on this project at a critical moment in my writing career.”