BookFest hosts award-winning author

 

Award-winning Canadian author Lawrence Hill visited BookFest Windsor on the tour for his newest novel, The Immigrant, on Nov 18.

 

During the event at the Capitol Theatre, Hill was interviewed by CBC’s Bob Steele, fielded questions from the audience and held a book signing for fans. The Immigrant follows the story of a refugee named Keita Ali from fictional Zantoroland seeking asylum and safety in Freedom State and the challenges he faces therein. Hill’s 2007 novel The Book of Negroes won several awards and was adapted to a television miniseries of the same name in 2015.

 

“We’ve had high profile people and Lawrence was one of those people. When he was first starting out, before he became a household name, he was here at BookFest,” said Sarah Jarvis, chair of BookFest Windsor. “Tonight was fabulous, Lawrence Hill and Bob Steele did a wonderful job with their interview and discussion. Lawrence was very gracious.”

 

After the interview with Steele, Hill held a question and answer session with members of the audience. Questions ranged from inquiries about his characters to the sources of his inspiration to his opinion on the current refugee crisis.

“It was great, it was a wonderful event. People were great and they laughed at the right places. There are clearly a lot of book lovers in town,” said Hill. “The questions were thoughtful, provocative and honest. People really wanted to know things. It was a really warm, receptive audience and the questions reflected that.”

Hill’s visit drew a big crowd and many felt it provided excellent closure for this year’s BookFest.