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With engrossing, poignant talks on diverse topics such as channeling creative energy, censorship, racial identity, Black history in Canada, mental health, and the craft of writing, Hill earns praise from every group he addresses. Hill is the son of American civil rights activists — an African American father and white mother. Both wrote books about black history in Canada and co-founded the Ontario Black History Society, for which Hill volunteered. His father was the first director, and later Chair, of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. He also served as Ombudsman of Ontario. The author of 11 books, which have been published around the world, Hill’s most recent novel is Beatrice and Croc Harry. His first novel for young readers, it quickly became the #1 national bestseller in the category of Canadian juvenile fiction book. It explores a young Black girl’s tempestuous relationship with an 800-pound crocodile as she attempts to re-assemble her lost identity. Hill’s most recent adult fiction novel is The Illegal, which was longlisted for the 2017 International DUBLIN Literary Award, shortlisted in 2016 for the NAACP Image Award for Fiction and the Hamilton Arts Council Literary Award, and chosen as the CBC Canada Reads winner in 2016. His other books include Any Known Blood and Some Great Thing, as well as his memoir Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada — all of which were national bestsellers in Canada. Hill is the only Canadian to have won CBC’s Canada Reads competition twice. He has also won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, which earned him a private audience with the Queen; the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize; the Governor General’s Award for Popular Media; and the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize. Fluent in both English and French, Hill delivered the Massey Lectures based on his non-fiction book Blood: The Stuff of Life in 2013. He also co-wrote the adaptation of his book The Book of Negroes for a six-part television miniseries, which won eleven Canadian Screen Awards as well as the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing for a Motion Picture. His most recent play, Sensitivity, is available for streaming on CBC Gem and has been nominated for a Canadian Screen Award. Hill holds honorary doctorates from ten Canadian universities. In 2015, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, received the Governor General’s History Award, and was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame. He currently sits on the advisory committee of the Centre for Community — Engaged Narrative Arts, and volunteers with Walls to Bridges, a non-profit group that delivers university courses to prisoners. Hill is also an honorary patron of Crossroads International, where he lends the name of his best-known character for the Aminata Fund, which supports programs for girls and women in Africa. In addition, Hill is a professor of creative writing at the University of Guelph. Print Email Facebook Twitter Topics Keynotes Blood: The Stuff of Life — An Examination of How Notions of Blood Affect Our Individual and Collective Identities Diversity, Race, and Identity Mental Health The Art and Business of Writing You Might Also Like Cameron BaileyCEO, Toronto International Film Festival Spike LeeRevolutionary Filmmaker Martin Luther King IIIGlobal Human Rights Activist Videos Interview - The Hour Interview - TVO Books See More The Illegal Fast-moving and compelling,The Illegal is a literary thriller that addresses the fate of undocumented refugees who struggle to survive in nations that do not want them. The Book of Negroes Abducted as an 11-year-old child from her village in West Africa and forced to walk for months to the sea in a coffle—a string of slaves—Aminata Diallo is sent to live as a slave in South Carolina. But years later, she forges her way to freedom, serving the British in the Revolutionary War and registering her name in the historic “Book of Negroes.” Aminata’s eventual return to Sierra Leone—passing ships carrying thousands of slaves bound for America—is an engrossing account of an obscure but important chapter in history that saw 1,200 former slaves embark on a harrowing back-to-Africa odyssey. Beatrice and Croc Harry Beatrice and Croc Harry is a novel for children and adults about a young girl who awakens alone with amnesia in a massive forest, where every conceivable fish, bird, mammal and reptile coexist. She has no idea who she is. She doesn’t even know her last name, or that she is Black. Using playful language and a comic touch, the novel explores themes of identity, the courage to confront injustice, and the possibility that perpetrators of injustice and those who have been harmed might find themselves in a place of healing and respect. Blood: The Stuff of Life Blood runs red through every person’s arteries and fulfills the same functions in every human being. The study of blood has advanced our understanding of biology and improved medical treatments, but its cultural and social representations have divided us perennially. Blood pulses through religion, literature, and the visual arts. Every time it pools or spills, we learn a little more about what brings human beings together and what pulls us apart. For centuries, perceptions of difference in our blood have separated people on the basis of gender, race, class, and nation. Ideas about blood purity have spawned rules about who gets to belong to a family or cultural group, who enjoys the rights of citizenship and nationality, what privileges one can expect to be granted or denied, whether you inherit poverty or the right to rule over the masses, what constitutes fair play in sport, and what defines a person’s identity. Related Articles See More Lawrence Hill and Clara Hughes Chat With FansPosted March 29, 2016 Lawrence Hill wins second Canada Reads title with The IllegalPosted March 24, 2016 Clara Hughes Defends Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal for CBC Canada ReadsPosted January 20, 2016 MacLean, Laumann, Hill Inducted Into Canada’s Walk of FamePosted November 9, 2015 Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal Is a Twisting, Intricately Woven YarnPosted September 9, 2015 Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal: A Sneak PeekPosted August 31, 2015 What I Learned About Language When I Titled My Novel The Book of NegroesPosted February 18, 2015 Spotlight On: New Speakers, Topics and More!Posted January 29, 2015 Lawrence Hill Delivers the Massey Lectures, Fall 2013Posted September 18, 2013 Book-Burning Intensified Lawrence Hill’s Censorship BattlePosted May 4, 2013 Human Rights and Diversity SpeakersPosted May 1, 2013 Lawrence Hill To Deliver 2013 Massey LecturesPosted October 25, 2012 Testimonials See Another Mr. Hill is a gifted and engaging speaker who addresses the dynamics of the human condition with passion, compassion and empathy. His audiences, whether they be adults or students, are riveted by his stories and the relevance of his writing to their daily lives. As a Writer-in-Residence over the past two years at the Toronto District School Board, he has left an indelible impression on everyone he has spoken with. Toronto District School Board Our conference was an enormous success due mostly to the presence of our keynote speaker and workshop leader, Lawrence Hill….He tailored his address to attract the attention of all his audience members and was playful and humourous when it was warranted….I heard only inspired and positive reviews about Lawrence’s keynote from both teachers and students. They were “over the moon” excited about his presentation. Lawrence is certainly a gifted writer whose skills have transcended the written page to the oral forum. 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