Lawrence Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lawrence Hill
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Hill in 2009
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| Born | January 24, 1957 Newmarket, Ontario |
| Occupation | Novelist, non-fiction writer |
| Nationality | Canadian, American |
| Alma mater | Universite Laval (BA) Johns Hopkins University (MA) |
| Period | 1990s–present |
| Notable works | Black Berry, Sweet Juice, The Book of Negroes |
Lawrence Hill (born January 24, 1957) is a Canadian writer. He writes novels, essays, and memoirs. He is famous for his 2007 novel The Book of Negroes. This book was inspired by the Black Loyalists. These were people who gained freedom and moved to Nova Scotia after the American Revolutionary War. Hill also wrote a memoir in 2001 called Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada.
The Book of Negroes was made into a TV mini-series in 2015. In 2013, Lawrence Hill was chosen for the Massey Lectures. He used ideas from his non-fiction book Blood: The Stuff of Life for these lectures. He has written ten books in total. Some of his books have been translated into other languages. They have also been published in many countries around the world.
Hill was born in Newmarket, Ontario. His parents were an American couple who moved to Toronto from Washington, D.C. in 1953. His father was Black, and his mother was White. In 2016, Hill was the head of the jury for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Lawrence Hill was born in 1957. He was the second son of Daniel G. and Donna Mae (Bender) Hill. His parents were an interracial American couple. They married in 1953 and moved to Toronto. His father was studying sociology at the University of Toronto.
His Parents' Work
Lawrence's father, Daniel Hill, was a sociologist and activist. He became the first director of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. He also served as the Ombudsman of Ontario. Daniel Hill wrote an important book about Black history in Canada called The Freedom Seekers: Blacks in Early Canada.
His mother, Donna Mae Bender, came from Oak Park, Illinois. She graduated from Oberlin College. She met Lawrence's father in Washington, D.C. There, she worked for a US Senator and became a civil rights activist. In Toronto, Donna Hill worked for human rights. She helped push for anti-discrimination laws in Ontario. She also wrote about Black Canadian history. Her book, A Black Man's Toronto, 1914-1980, shared the memories of Harry Gairey.
Daniel and Donna Hill helped start The Ontario Black History Society. Lawrence grew up with his brother Dan and sister Karen in Don Mills, a mostly white suburb of Toronto. His brother, Dan Hill, became a singer and writer. His sister, Karen Hill (1958-2014), was also a writer.
Lawrence Hill's grandfathers were university-educated ministers. They belonged to the African Methodist Episcopal Church. This church was founded in 1816 in Philadelphia. It was the first independent Black church in the United States.
His Studies
After attending the University of Toronto Schools, Hill studied economics. He earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Laval University in Quebec City. He then moved to the United States for a short time. He earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in writing from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Today, Lawrence Hill lives with his second wife, Miranda Hill, who is also a writer. They live in Hamilton, Ontario, and in Woody Point, Newfoundland. He has four daughters and one son. He has also lived and worked in Baltimore, Maryland, Spain, and France.
Career and Teaching
While studying for his M.A. at Johns Hopkins, Lawrence Hill taught fiction writing to university students. After finishing his degree, he came back to Canada. He has taught creative writing and helped other writers in many adult education programs. These include programs at the University of British Columbia and The Banff Centre.
Hill has also been on many juries that give out literary awards or writing grants. He often speaks at conferences, festivals, libraries, and schools. He has spoken in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Europe, South America, South Africa, the Caribbean, and Australia.
He is a Senior Fellow at Massey College at the University of Toronto. Since 2016, Hill has also been connected with the University of Guelph.
Writing Journey
Lawrence Hill first loved running. He dreamed of becoming an Olympic athlete. But he couldn't reach that goal. So, he put all his energy into writing when he was a teenager. He wrote his first story at just 14 years old.
After getting his economics degree, Hill worked as a newspaper reporter for four years. He wrote for The Globe and Mail and The Winnipeg Free Press. He became the head of the newspaper's office in Ottawa. He covered Parliament, the Supreme Court of Canada, and many other topics. In 1986, he left his job and moved to Spain to write fiction full-time.
Influences and Themes
His parents' work in human rights and Black history greatly shaped Hill's writing. He often explores themes of identity and belonging. Hill also helped create an exhibit about his father for the Ontario Archives. It was called The Freedom Seeker: The Life and Times of Daniel G. Hill.
His Books
Lawrence Hill has written many non-fiction books. Some of these include:
- Trials and Triumphs: The Story of African-Canadians (1993)
- Women of Vision: The Story of the Canadian Negro Women's Association (1996)
- His memoir, Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada (2001)
- The Deserter's Tale: The Story of An Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq (2007)
- Blood: The Stuff of Life (2013)
His fiction books include:
- Some Great Thing (1992)
- Any Known Blood (1997)
- The Book of Negroes (2007)
- The Illegal (2015)
These novels brought him a lot of public attention and won many awards.
The Book of Negroes Success
The Book of Negroes has been published in at least ten countries. It won several awards, including:
- The Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
- CBC Radio's Canada Reads
- Radio-Canada's Le Combat des livres
- The Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book
Many communities and universities have chosen The Book of Negroes for reading programs. People discuss the book together in places like Dalhousie University and the Calgary Public Library.
TV Mini-series Adaptation
The Book of Negroes was made into a six-part television miniseries. Lawrence Hill helped write the script with director Clement Virgo. Famous actors like Aunjanue Ellis, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Louis Gossett Jr. starred in it. The series was filmed in South Africa, Nova Scotia, and Ontario in 2014. It first showed in Cannes, Toronto, and New York City in late 2014. It started airing on CBC Television in Canada in January 2015.
In the United States, the novel was first called Someone Knows My Name. But the American publisher re-released it with the original title, The Book of Negroes, in 2015. This was to match the TV mini-series.
Other Writings
Hill's short stories have appeared in magazines like Descant and Exile. They have also been in Canadian newspapers like The Toronto Star. The Walrus magazine published his award-winning essay "Is Africa's Pain Black America's Burden". It also featured his short story "Meet You at the Door". In 2015, The Walrus published his essay about making The Book of Negroes into a TV series.
From 2011 to 2013, Hill was a writer in residence for the Toronto District School Board. He visited about twenty schools to talk to students about writing.
In 2013, Hill was chosen as the CBC Massey Lecturer. He gave lectures in five Canadian cities. These talks were based on his non-fiction book Blood: the Stuff of Life (2013). This book explores the physical, social, and cultural aspects of blood. It talks about how blood connects and divides us. In 2015, Blood: The Stuff of Life won the Hamilton Literary Award for Non Fiction.
He was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2015. This is a high honor in Canada.
His newest novel, The Illegal, came out in late 2015. This novel has already been chosen to be made into a film. The Illegal won the 2016 Canada Reads competition. This made Hill the first writer to win this competition twice!
Translations
Lawrence Hill's books have been translated into French by Les Éditions de la Pleine Lune in Montreal, Quebec.
- Aminata (from The Book of Negroes), translated by Carole Noel, 2011.
- Un grand destin (from Some Great Thing), translated by Robert Paquin, 2012.
- Le sang: essence de la vie (from Blood: The Stuff of Life), translated by Carole Noel, 2014.
Aminata became a bestseller in Quebec. It won Le combat des livres on Radio-Canada. It was also published in Paris, France, and was nominated for the Prix Fetkann in 2013. The Book of Negroes has also been translated into Dutch, Norwegian, German, and Hebrew.
Activism and Community Work
Lawrence Hill cares deeply about helping women and girls in Africa. He has volunteered in Niger, Cameroon, and Mali since 1979. His first published short story, "My Side of the Fence," was about his experience working in Niger. As an honorary patron of Crossroads International, Hill started the Aminata Fund in 2010. This fund supports programs for women and girls in developing parts of Africa. He returned in 2014 as a volunteer in Swaziland.
In 2007, Hill worked with Joshua Key to write Key's memoir. Key was a former US Army private who left the army during the Iraq War. He sought safety in Canada. Their book, The Deserter's Tale: the Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq, has been translated into more than ten languages.
Hill has been on the advisory council of Book Clubs for Inmates since 2010. He is also a member of the Council of Patrons of the Black Loyalist Heritage Society. This group is in Birchtown, Nova Scotia. Hill is an honorary patron of Project Bookmark Canada. He is also an active member of the Writers' Union of Canada.
Awards and Honours
Lawrence Hill has received many awards for his writing and his community work.
Academic Honours
- Doctor of Laws (honoris causa), The University of Western Ontario, 2017
- Doctor of Letters (honoris causa), McMaster University, 2016
- Doctor of Laws (honoris causa), Dalhousie University, 2014
- Doctor of Letters (honoris causa), Waterloo University, 2011
- Doctor of Laws (honoris causa), Wilfrid Laurier University, 2010
- Doctor of Letters (honoris causa), University of Toronto, 2010
Literary Awards
- Winner, Hamilton Literary Award, Blood: The Stuff of Life, 2015
- Winner, Radio-Canada Le combat des livres, Aminata, 2013
- Winner, CBC Radio's Canada Reads, The Book of Negroes, 2009
- Winner, Commonwealth Writers' Prize, The Book of Negroes, 2008
- Winner, The Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, The Book of Negroes, 2008
- Winner, National Magazine Award (Essay) Is Africa's Pain Black America's Burden?, 2006
Community Awards
- Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012
- Freedom to Read Award from the Writers' Union of Canada, 2012
- Canadian Civil Liberties Association Award of Excellence, 2012
- Bob Edwards Award from the Alberta Theatre Projects, 2010
- Inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame, 2015.
Works
Fiction Books
- Some Great Thing (1992)
- Any Known Blood (1997)
- The Book of Negroes (2007); also published as Someone Knows My Name
- The Illegal (2015)
- Beatrice and Croc Harry (2022)
Non-fiction Books
- Trials and Triumphs: The Story of African-Canadians (1993)
- Women of Vision: The Story of the Canadian Negro Women's Association (1996)
- Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada (2001)
- The Deserter's Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq, with Joshua Key (2007)
- Dear Sir, I Intend to Burn Your Book: An Anatomy of a Book Burning (2013)
- Blood: The Stuff of Life (2013)
Television and Film
- The Book of Negroes: a six-part television miniseries (co-written with director Clement Virgo), 2015
- Seeking Salvation: A History of the Black Church in Canada, documentary film, 2004 (won a 2005 American Wilbur Award)
Images for kids
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A friendly robot.
See also
In Spanish: Lawrence Hill para niños
