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Lawrence Hill

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Lawrence Hill

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1957-01-24 （Newmarket, Ontario, Canada）
Nationality
Canadian, American
Languages
English
Residence History
Don Mills, Toronto, Canada → Newmarket, Ontario, Canada → Hamilton, Ontario, Canada → Woody Point, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada → Baltimore, Maryland, USA → Spain → France

Career

Occupations
novelist, non-fiction writer, essayist, memoirist
Active Years
1990-
Affiliations
Massey College (Senior Fellow), University of Guelph (affiliated), PEN Canada, Writers' Union of Canada
Memberships
PEN Canada, Writers' Union of Canada
Influenced By
Daniel G. Hill (father)
Nominations
IMPAC Award (longlist) - The Book of Negroes (2008), Prix Fetkann (shortlist) - Aminata (2013), Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (finalist) - Someone Knows My Name (2008)

Education

Laval University
Economics
Degree: B.A.
Country: Canada (Quebec)
Earned a B.A. in economics
Johns Hopkins University
Writing (creative writing)
Degree: M.A.
Country: USA (Maryland)
Completed an M.A. in writing
University of Toronto Schools (attended)
Country: Canada
Secondary school attended

Awards

Member of the Order of Canada
2015
Organization: Government of Canada (honours)
Result: 受章
Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
2008
Work: The Book of Negroes
Organization: Rogers Writers' Trust
Result: 受賞
Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Best Book)
2008
Work: The Book of Negroes
Category: Best Book
Organization: Commonwealth Writers
Result: 受賞
CBC Radio Canada Reads
2009
Work: The Book of Negroes
Organization: CBC Radio
Result: 受賞
CBC Radio Canada Reads
2016
Work: The Illegal
Organization: CBC Radio
Result: 受賞
Hamilton Literary Award (Non-Fiction)
2015
Work: Blood: The Stuff of Life
Category: Non-Fiction
Organization: Hamilton Arts Council
Result: 受賞
Radio-Canada Le combat des livres
2013
Work: Aminata (French translation of The Book of Negroes)
Organization: Radio-Canada
Result: 受賞
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
2012
Organization: Government of Canada
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Book of Negroes

2007 Historical novel

Through the life of Aminata, an 18th-century African woman, the novel traces the experiences of Black Loyalists from Africa to North America and resettlement in Nova Scotia, exploring slavery, freedom and identity.

slavery and emancipationidentitymemory and history
Adaptations
  • [Television (miniseries)] The Book of Negroes (miniseries) / Clement Virgo (2015)
Translations
  • Aminata (French translation, 2011)
  • Published in translation (Dutch, Norwegian, German, Hebrew, etc.)

The Illegal

2015 Contemporary novel / social fiction

Told from the perspective of a refugee and runner from a fictional country, the novel tackles immigration, survival and global injustices.

refugees and migrationrights and justicesurvival

Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada

2001 Memoir / non-fiction

A memoir reflecting on growing up mixed-race and exploring race, belonging and identity in Canada through family history.

race and identityfamily history

Blood: The Stuff of Life

2013 Non-fiction (essay / lectures)

A non-fiction consideration of blood's physical, social, cultural and psychological aspects, and how blood defines, unites and divides us.

physicalityculture and societybelonging
Translations
  • Le sang: essence de la vie (French translation, 2014)

Some Great Thing

1992 Fiction

An early novel exploring family, fate and questions of identity.

familyidentity
Translations
  • Un grand destin (French translation, 2012)

Bibliography

  • Some Great Thing (1992)
  • Any Known Blood (1997)
  • Black Berry, Sweet Juice (2001)
  • The Book of Negroes / Someone Knows My Name (2007)
  • The Deserter's Tale (with Joshua Key, 2007)
  • Blood: The Stuff of Life (2013)
  • Dear Sir, I Intend to Burn Your Book (2013)
  • The Illegal (2015)
  • Beatrice and Croc Harry (2022)

Adaptations

  • The Book of Negroes (six-part television miniseries, 2015)
  • Seeking Salvation: A History of the Black Church in Canada (documentary, 2004)

Translations of Works

  • Aminata (French translation of The Book of Negroes, 2011)
  • Un grand destin (French translation of Some Great Thing, 2012)
  • Le sang: essence de la vie (French translation of Blood: The Stuff of Life, 2014)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
narrative style with strong historical contextdelicate depiction of characters' inner lives within social frameworkspersuasive and insightful voice in essays
Recurring Motifs
blood and lineageidentity (race and belonging)memory and transmission of history

Legacy

Lawrence Hill is an internationally recognized writer whose work addresses diversity and racial identity in Canada. The Book of Negroes was translated and adapted for television, exerting significant influence on popular culture. His books have been used in academic and community reading programs and contributed to cultural dialogue.

Academic Societies

  • Massey College (affiliation)

Archives

  • Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library (holds Lawrence Hill Papers)

In Popular Culture

  • TV miniseries adaptation of The Book of Negroes (2015)

Quotes

  • Blood defines us, binds us and at times divides us. But blood alone does not determine who we are.
    Source: Blood: The Stuff of Life (2013) (2013)

Trivia

  • First author to win Canada Reads twice (2009 and 2016).
  • The Book of Negroes was published in the U.S. under the title Someone Knows My Name.
  • His parents, Daniel G. Hill and Donna Mae Bender, were active in human rights work and influenced his focus on family history.