In Dancing Lessons, Jamaican-Canadian author Olive Senior gives us the story of G, a remarkable character whose story unfolds in the form of a series of meandering notebook entries.

For a novel set mainly in sombre circumstances, Half-Blood Blues is surprisingly buoyant. It’s deftly paced in incident and tone, moving from scenes of snappy dialogue, in which the band members squabble and banter humorously, to tense, atmospheric passages of description.

Warner’s first book, Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged, is the perfect choice to share with children who are eager to learn Black history, but may have a difficult time finding age-appropriate, engaging and educational books about African-Canadian identity.

Esi Edugyan, Calgary-born daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, was awarded the $50,000 Giller Prize — Canada’s richest literary award — at a gala ceremony in Toronto Tuesday night for her second novel, Half-Blood Blues.

Literature for Life’s Third Annual Black, White and Read All Over Fundraising Gala was held October 26, on the 40th floor of the posh RBC Tower downtown Toronto.

The Journalism graduate-turned author discusses his disappointment with mainstream news coverage and how the experience of teaching abroad in China led to his career change.

Nearly 300 people attended the two-hour book launch held at Ontario Institute for Studies Education (OISE), for Sister Souljah’s fourth work Midnight and the Meaning of Love, originally released in November 2010.

The Jamaican born child advocate, who spent 39 years as a teacher and school principal in Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas, is also the author of Transformational Leadership taking Responsibility for Successful Schools: a guide for educators that offers a fresh perspective on how to lead people so that they can view their work as a calling instead of a job.

It’s easy to question the necessity of a book from a 39-year-old man who has lived half of his life in the public eye. But Common does an excellent job of telling the story of Lonnie Rashid Lynn the man, more so than the entertainer. “I’ve written this book, so that I can show myself as a man in full,” he says.

The Dutch group, the Federation for Honour and Reparation of Slavery in Suriname, previously announced it would publicly burn the book if the title weren’t changed. The book has only recently been published in the Netherlands under the title Het Negerboek.