Niagara College’s Libraries and Learning Commons is inviting the NC community to the second annual One Book, One Niagara event on Tuesday, April 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Welland Centennial Secondary School.
The public event features award-winning author Kai Thomas and his novel In the Upper Country. The book is a historical fiction novel set in mid-18th century southwestern Ontario that weaves together the story of two women who are thrown together after one of them, having recently arrived in town via the Underground Railroad, shoots a slave hunter.
Sweeping along the path of the Underground Railroad from the southern States to Canada, through the lands of Indigenous nations around the Great Lakes, to the Black communities of southern Ontario, In the Upper Country connects unlikely stories of love, survival, and familial upheaval that map the interconnected history of the peoples of North America in an entirely new and resonant way.
The April 23 event will begin with drumming and singing from the Strong Water Singers and a Pouring Libations with Kerry Goring, followed by a conversation between Thomas and local author Patty Krawec. Guests will have the opportunity to ask questions and purchase the novel for Thomas to sign.
Tickets are free and must be reserved in advance here.
One Book, One Niagara is a collaboration between 11 public and two academic libraries, including Niagara College. The initiative aims to connect community members through the shared experience of reading, bringing people together and generating discussions about important issues.
“We are thrilled to once again be joining our library friends from across the Niagara region for another fantastic One Book, One Niagara experience,” said Bellan Dye, Library Technician – Outreach and Advocacy, NC Libraries and Learning Commons.
“Last year’s event with Ivan Coyote was a great success and we are very lucky to have Kai Thomas be our guest this year. We hope to see members from the Niagara College community, as well as the community at large join us on April 23,” added Dye, who represents NC on the One Book, One Niagara committee.
About the author
Kai Thomas is a writer, carpenter, and land steward. He is Afro-Canadian, born and raised in Ottawa, descended from Trinidad and the British Isles. In the Upper Country, which was published in 2023, is his first novel. It was a national bestseller, won the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for the 2023 Governor General’s Award for Fiction and 2023 Amazon Canada First Novel Award.
