To celebrate Black History Month, Milton Public Library is thrilled to host award winning, internationally bestselling Canadian author, Lawrence Hill, to discuss his debut children’s novel, Beatrice and Croc Harry. Hill’s virtual author event will be hosted in partnership with the Canadian Caribbean Association of Halton (CCAH) and Halton Catholic District School Board on Thursday, 10th February, 2022 at 10:30 a.m.

“As a result of our partnership with CCAH, we are so excited to host the incredibly talented Lawrence Hill for a morning of lively discussion. Mr. Hill will talk about his new children’s book Beatrice and Croc Harry while providing participants with opportunities to reflect on injustice, how to confront it and ultimately how to come together in a place of respect and healing. Milton Public Library rightly and proudly celebrates and champions diversity and inclusion all year long, and we are especially delighted to be able to host this event during Black History Month,” said Mark Williams, Chief Librarian.

Lawrence Hill is the author of several fiction and nonfiction books, including The Book of Negroes and The Illegal, both of which won CBC Canada Reads. In January 2022, HarperCollins Canada published Hill’s eleventh book, Beatrice and Croc Harry. Inspired by the bedtime stories Lawrence Hill told Beatrice, his fifth and final child, the book is a meditation about forced migration, predation, danger, trust, and friendship. Beatrice goes on a journey to discover her racial identity and find healing while having a talking crocodile named Croc Harry by her side.

“I had a riot writing this 375-page novel, which is for middle-grade readers (aged 9 – 14) but also for any adults who are young at heart. It’s about a young girl who has lost her relationship with a 700-pound crocodile who, she hopes, will help her rediscover her identity and find her way back home. The novel explores identity, racial identity, and the hope that people who have been harmed and those who have perpetrated injustice might find themselves later in a place of healing and respect. I worked very hard to deliver it with a light, playful, and comic touch. I found that to be

a tall order, but a rich and exciting artistic challenge,” said Hill about his experience writing his latest novel.

This virtual author talk with Lawrence Hill is free and open to everyone in the community. To register, visit here. For accessibility purposes, the event will include ASL interpretations

Press interviews with Lawrence Hill prior to the event may be available upon request

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