Children’s Literature Author to be Presented with the 2023 My People Award at 2023 Black and Caribbean Book Affair

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed        Children's literature author Yolanda T. Marshall

Blackhurst Cultural Centre: The People’s Residence will present the 2023 My People Award to children’s literature author, Yolanda T. Marshall at the opening night of its three-day Black and Caribbean Book Affair on October 12.

The My People Award is presented to an African, Black or Caribbean writer in Canada who is excelling at their craft and telling the stories of our heritage in their work.

 Marshall is an award-winning Guyanese-born Canadian author who writes diverse, inclusive and festive children’s literature. She ventured into the world of publishing in 2008 and is the author of 17 books. Marshall is currently agented and traditionally published; in 2019 she received a multi-book deal. 

 

“My son is my greatest inspiration,” says Marshall on her website.

 

Marshall’s books include: A Piece of Black Cake for Santa, Miles Away In The Caribbean, Sweet Sorrel Stand, C is for Carnival, Hot Cross Buns for Everyone and one of CBC’s best Canadian picture books of 2020 and TD’s Top Recommended Reads for 2023 - My Soca Birthday Party: with Jollof Rice and Steel Pans. 

 

She is also a columnist/editor for Caribbean Camera newspaper where her column “Lit Corner” promotes the books of other marginalized, Canadian authors. 

 

For the last few years in Canada, Marshall has read for over 25,000 students annually, and was recently invited by a New York school board into their classrooms.  

 

She appeared in numerous television interviews, magazine and news articles and is a recipient of the Caribbean media Loop Awards: Author of the Year 2022, CBC’s 2020 Best Canadian Picture Book List, CIBWE Top 100 Black Women to Watch 2017, and one of Canada’s 100 Accomplished Black Women in 2022.

 

Marshall is a Membership Chair on the CANSCAIP Board (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers), a professional member of The Writer’s Union of Canada and a PAL member of the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators). 

 

 

From October 12 to 14, the annual Black and Caribbean Book Affair under the theme “Books Open Our Worldview, Bans Limit It” and tagline “Affirming African presence and history, no erasure here — International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024)” will showcase the works of several authors, among them GauZ’ (Armand Patrick Gbaka-Brédé) whose book, Standing Heavy, was shortlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize.

 

On October 12, 6:00-8:00pm, the Book Affair will open with reflections on the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024 by Kemba Byam, Acting Manager, City of Toronto’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit, the presentation of the My People Award, and a Conversation with GauZ’ about his book, Standing Heavy, now published in English by Biblioasis. He will be interviewed by Ottawa-based translator and television and radio host, Sarah Onyango, on Zoom.

 

Standing Heavy is a funny, fast-paced, and poignant take on Franco-African history, as told through the eyes of three African security guards in Paris.

 

On Friday, October 13, there will be two sessions dedicated to students and teachers. Community historian Kathy Grant will present the book, We Remember the Black Battalion by Serena Virk. In the First World War, when so many brave young men enlisted to fight, there were many Black men who wanted to join, but many were denied. This resulted in the Black Battalion being created. Illustrator Ken Daley will showcase virtually the world of illustration and books to these young people.

 

In the evening, from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Sheila White, author of The Letters: Postmark Prejudice in Black and Whitewill be in conversation with Itah Sadu, Managing Director of Blackhurst Cultural Centre, about her book which tells the story of her parents.

 

Vivian Keeler is an intelligent, attractive and determined white woman from a traditional Nova Scotia family who risks it all by falling in love with a Black man. Billy White is a charismatic and gifted member of a prominent Black family; he’s the brother of celebrated classical singer Portia White and the son of a renowned Black minister who garnered fame as an officer during the First World War.  

 

The closing day on Saturday, October 14, is filled with activities starting at 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. with a workshop titled “The World of Distribution – the Dos and Don’ts” for aspiring writers who want to know about the industry.

 

From 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., mental health coach and philanthropist, Audley Coley, will talk with poet and educator Michelle Muir about the book, Audley Enough: A Portrait of Triumph and Recovery in the Face of Mania and Depression, written by Lesley Whyte Redford and Patricia Lavoie.

 

To celebrate “Culture Days,” Yolanda Marshall and Suzette Vidale will host a

a story time and steel pan event incorporating reading and soca music for kids from 1:00-2:00 p.m.

 

Educator and children’s book author Nadia Hohn will present her book, The Antiracist Kitchen: 21 Stories (and Recipes), an anthology featuring stories and recipes from racialized authors about food, culture and resistance, from 2:30-3:15 p.m.The book is a celebration of food, family, activism and resistance in the face of racism. 

 

Actor, singer, producer and writer Asha Bromfield will launch her book, Songs of Irie from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in a conversation with author Gayle Gonsalves. Perfect for fans of The Black Kids, Songs of Irie is a sweeping coming-of-age novel about a budding romance struggling to survive amidst the Jamaican civil unrest of the 1970s.

The Book Affair closes with a community conversation about “Black Women, Oral History and Social Activism in Canada.” 

 

Building on the works of Dr. Karen Flynn’s Moving Beyond Borders and Dr.  Funké Aladejebi’s Schooling the System, this session will explore the ways oral history projects can shift conversations in Canadian history and reveal the significance of Black women’s lived experience and ways of knowing. Both scholars will be interviewed by PhD candidate Catherine Grant-Wata, Department of History, University of Toronto.

 

“As the keepers of memories, communities, and family histories, Black women lives and experiences respond to important silences, gaps, and omissions often missing, buried, or unrecorded in traditional archives and national histories. In this session, three Black women historians, at different stages in their careers, explore ways to collate, tell, and preserve the life stories of Black women in Canada. In conversation with community members, we will consider how oral histories challenge traditional historical narratives and why it is important for Black women to tell their histories on their own terms,” notes a synopsis of the event.

 

All of the events take place at Blackhurst Cultural Centre – The People’s Residence at 777 Bathurst Street in Toronto, Canada. 

 

The 2023 Black and Caribbean Book Affair is supported by: Biblioasis, Yorkland Publishing, Orca Book Publishers, MacMillian Publishers, Toronto Arts Council and Caribbean Camera.