By Neil Armstrong
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| Photo contributed Illustrator and artist Ken Daley |
Blackhurst Cultural Centre will present the 2024 My People Award to illustrator and artist, Ken Daley, at its four-day Black and Caribbean Book Affair, October 16-19.
The award is presented to an African, Black or Caribbean writer or illustrator in Canada who is excelling at their craft and telling the stories of our heritage in their work.
Daley is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and artist, and is known for his use of bold, vibrant colours, and authentic details to depict Black Life, in all its iterations.
His passion lies with stories that reflect his heritage as the child of immigrants, his connection to the Caribbean, and the richness and expanse of the African Diaspora.
Daley believes that diverse stories are essential to creating a more just, and equitable world, and this is something he is deeply committed to manifesting through his art. He has illustrated numerous children’s books and received an Américas Award Honor Book and a Kirkus Best Picture Book for Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings.
Daley was born in Cambridge, Ontario to parents who emigrated from Dominica. He is an honours graduate from the Art Centre of Central Technical School as well as an architectural technology graduate from Humber College in Toronto.
The artist and illustrator has exhibited his artwork within Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, and his work can be found in numerous private collections. His work has also been featured in print publications as well as on television. The award will be presented to him on October 19.
Organized by Blackhurst Cultural Centre in collaboration with A Different Booklist, the annual Black and Caribbean Book Affair will be held at 177 Bathurst Street in Toronto under the theme “Authors Writing into the AI Future.”
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| Photo credit: Jani Lail Chido Muchemwa, author of Who Will Bury You? And Other Stories, published by House of Anansi Press. |
The four-day festival kicks off on Wednesday, October 16, 6:00-8:00 p.m., with the launch of Chido Muchemwa’s debut collection, Who Will Bury You? And Other Stories, showcasing intimate stories about Zimbabweans in moments of transition that force them to decide who they really are and choose the people they call their own.
On Thursday, October 16, 6:00-8:00 p.m., there will be a workshop and showcase with aspiring writers from Blackhurst Cultural Centre’s The Art of Writing Techniques program facilitated by author Gayle Gonsalves.
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| Photo contributed Author Gayle Gonsalves will facilitate the workshop and showcase with aspiring writers on October 17, 2024. |
The programming in the morning and afternoon of Friday, October 18, is designed for students and teachers. Titled “A World of Illustrations and Books,” Ken Daley will lead the 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. session and Bushra Junaid, an artist, illustrator and author will host the one from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Photo contributed Artist, Illustrator and Author Bushra Junaid
From 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. that evening, author and storyteller Itah Sadu will be in conversation with award-winning Haitian-American-Canadian author Myriam J.A. Chancy about her new novel, Village Weavers. The book is described as “an extraordinary and enduring story of two families — forever joined by country, and by long-held secrets — and two girls with a bond that refuses to be broken.”
Photo contributed Myriam J.A. Chancy, author of the novel Village Weavers published by Tin House.
Her 2021 novel, What Storm, What Thunder, was named a best book of the year by NPR, Kirkus, Library Journal, The Boston Globe, and The Globe and Mail, and was awarded the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. Her other novels include The Loneliness of Angels, Scorpion's Claw, and Spirit of Haiti. She has published five academic books, including Harvesting Haiti: Reflections on Unnatural Disasters. Chancy is a Guggenheim Fellow and the HBA Chair of the Humanities at Scripps College in California.
The last day of the Book Affair showcases authors of children’s literature, book launches, poetry, and a panel on artificial intelligence.
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| Photo contributed Musician, poet and author of The Lion and the Zebra, Njacko Backo |
On Saturday, October 19, 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., there will be “Storytelling for the Kids” with Njacko Backo, musician, poet and author of The Lion and the Zebra written with Clark Backo and illustrated by Julien Kandolo (Kando).
Children’s literature author Yolanda Marshall will launch her new book, My Kwanzaa Wish, from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., with illustrator Jamie Ellis Pasquale.
That will be followed 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. with the launch of Making the Moment by Diva Newbold and LeRoi Newbold,published by Flamingo Rampant.
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| Photo contributed Poet Ryan O'Neil |
Poet Ryan O’Neil will host “Verses and Visuals: Mixing Media to Propel the Art of Poetry in the Social Media Age,” 2:30-3:15 p.m., with an exploration of how Black and Caribbean specific expressions of poetry, including our heritage of mixed media, can find a home in modern artistic channels.
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| Photo contributed Morgan Christie, author of I,Too,Am Here published by Second Story Press |
“I, Too, Am Here,” written by Morgan Christie and illustrated by Marley Berot, is a multigenerational story of immigration, racism, and what it truly means to belong. It is inspired by Langston Hughes’ poem, “I, Too.” Christie will present it from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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| Photo contributed Lorna Green, author of children's series Beng and Friends: What is a Career? Beng and Friends: Learn About a New STEM Career and Beng and Friends: Choose a STEM Career: Big Data Engineering |
A “Conversation on AI and Authorship,” a book launch, and a book signing ends the day. Lorna E. Green, ICT Entrepreneur, CEO and Chairman, Digital Transtec Ltd (DTL), and author of the series — Beng and Friends: What is a Career? Beng and Friends: Learn About a New STEM Career and Beng and Friends: Choose a STEM Career: Big Data Engineering — and Prof. Jude Kong, Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Mathematical Modeling lab (AIMMlab), University of Toronto will discuss the topic. He is also an assistant professor at York University and the founding director of the Africa-Canada Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation Consortium (ACADIC)
Host Silja Mitange is pursuing a master’s degree in communications and culture at Toronto Metropolitan University and York University, where her research focuses on the intersection of politics and technology. As a contributor to the Getting on with Tech initiative, she leads workshops designed to bridge the gap between technology and everyday users, with a special focus on AI-driven tools and their impact on human interaction.
Green will be launching her books and signing copies as well.
The event is supported by publishers: Tin House, Second Story Press, Flamingo Rampant, Rosehall Press, and Bookclick 360 Wordeee.
