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  • ABOUT ONE BOOK ONE AURORA
  • FINDING EDWARD
  • AUTHOR BIO
  • IF YOU LIKED
  • ART EXHIBIT
  • EVENTS
  • EVENTS
  • EVENTS
  • EVENTS
  • CONTESTS
  • CONTESTS
  • BOOK CLUBS
  • GET A COPY
  • INTERVIEWS & PRESS
  • EVENTS
  • EVENTS
  • EVENTS
  • Aurora Public Library
  • Our community reads

     

     

    FINDING EDWARD

     

    by Sheila Murray

  • ABOUT ONE BOOK ONE AURORA

     

    OBOA builds community through the shared experience of reading the same book and participating in

    multi-faceted programming inspired by the themes found within the narrative.

     

    The 2023 selection is Finding Edward by Sheila Murray


    We hope you enjoy this year’s selection, take part in some of the events and join us at the OBOA grand finale on

    Saturday, October 21, 2023.

     

    This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the OBOA.


    Previous Selections

    Swimming Back to Trout River by Linda Rui Feng (2022)

    Chasing Painted Horses by Drew Hayden Taylor (2021)

    Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez (2020)

    Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibbs (2019)

    Strangers with the Same Dream by Allison Pick (2018)

    Natural Order by Brian Francis (2017)

    Under the Visible Life by Kim Echlin (2016)

    Burmese Lessons by Karen Connelly (2015)

    Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat (2014)

  • FINDING EDWARD

     

     

    Cyril Rowntree migrates to Toronto from Jamaica in 2012. Managing a precarious balance of work and university, he navigates his way through the implications of being racialized in his challenging new home.

     

    A chance encounter with a panhandler named Patricia leads Cyril to a suitcase full of photographs and letters dating back to the early 1920s. Cyril is drawn into the letters and their story of a white mother’s struggle to come to terms with the need to give up her mixed race baby, Edward. Abandoned by his white father as a small child, Cyril feels a compelling connection to the boy and begins to look for the rest of Edward’s story.

     

    As he searches, Cyril unearths fragments of Edward’s itinerant life and discovers hidden pieces of Canada’s Black history.

  • AUTHOR BIO

    Photo Credit: Brock Weir, The Auroran.

    Sheila Murray

    Sheila Murray’s articles and short fiction have appeared in Canadian magazines and journals including Refuge Journal, Descant, The Dalhousie Review, Exile, White Wall Review, TOK: Writing the New Toronto, Room and The New Quarterly.

     

    Sheila was born and raised in England. Her father was Black Jamaican, and her mother, white English. But her DNA shows a multiracial ancestry that spans much of the globe.

     

    Sheila has worked as a documentary filmmaker and television sound editor. She moved to the non-profit sector in 2009, and now leads a grassroots, volunteer-driven initiative that engages urban residents in adapting to local climate change impacts.

     

    Finding Edward was a finalist for the 2022 Governor General’s Literary Award.

  • IF YOU LIKED...

    If you liked Finding Edward, you may like the following:

     

     

  • UPCOMING EVENTS

    Please check back in the spring for OBOA event listings.

    OBOA GRAND FINALE

    MEET SHEILA MURRAY

     

    Meet Sheila Murray and enjoy a fascinating glimpse into the experiences

    that shaped this powerful book.

     

    Conversation | Reading | Q&A

     

    Saturday, October 21, 2023 | 2 PM | Living Room

     

    Register for preferred seating at bit.ly/3iFujxX

     

    Tickets available August 1

     

  • CONTESTS

    WRITING CONTEST

    Social Justice

    Central to Finding Edward is the theme that the same prejudices and bigotry that existed historically continue today. This year’s OBOA Writing Contest invites you to consider the meaning of social justice in any way that speaks to you.

     

    Submission Guidelines:

    • There are two categories: Youth (ages 14 – 17) and Adult (ages 18+)
    • Submissions can be in any genre, in original and unpublished in any form
    • Maximum length 10 pages, double spaced
    • Handwritten submissions will not be accepted
    • Manuscripts will not be returned, but the author retains all rights to their work
    • Winners will be announced at the OBOA grand finale on October 21, 2023
    • Winning entries will be published in the online winter edition of Borealis
    • APL employees/Board/judges and their immediate families are ineligible to win
    • Send your entries to writingcontest@aurorapl.ca
    • Contest deadline: Friday, September 29, 2023
    • Prizes: Winner $150 Gift Card | Runner-Up $100 Gift Card

    PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

    A Sense of Place

    Finding Edward takes us from Jamaica to Toronto and back in time to Africville and the lumber camps of British Columbia. Inspire us with a sense of place that your photo uncovers – whether from afar or within your own community.

     

    Submission Guidelines:

    • There are two categories: Youth (Ages 14 – 17) and Adult (Ages 18 +) 
    • Images may be digitally altered 
    • Photographs must be high resolution for print
    • Winners will be announced at the OBOA grand finale on October 21, 2023
    • Winning photographs will be published in the Auroran
    • APL Employees/Board/Judges and immediate families are ineligible to win
    • Please send submissions to brock@lpcmedia.ca
    • Contest Deadline: Friday, September 29, 2023
    • Prizes: Winner $150 Gift Card | Runner-Up $100 Gift Card

     

  • BOOK CLUBS

    MULTIPLE COPIES FOR BOOK CLUBS

    If your book club would like to borrow multiple copies of Finding Edward,

    please contact Reccia at rmandelcorn@aurorapl.ca

     

    Copies will be available from January through August 2023.

     

    While quantities last.

     

     

    The story is told through the different perspectives of Edward and Cyril. As a reader, did you find this an effective approach?

     

    Why was fascism erupting in Canada in Edward’s day - and what is its legacy in today’s world?

     

    Nelson used to ask Cyril two questions: “What are you going to give the world?” and “What makes your heart sing?” (p. 287). How would you respond?

     

    The author has intentionally set the novel in 2012. What was significant about that year from the perspective of race relations?

     

    Finding Edward combines historical fact in a fictional narrative. Did you know much about the Black experience in Canada? Did this book make you want to learn more?

     

    There are multiple elements going on in the book; coming of age, the immigrant experience, systemic racism (historical and current) and a mystery to be solved. As a reader, what was the most compelling for you?

  • GET A COPY OF THE BOOK

     

    Look for copies of Finding Edward in our little lending libraries this summer.

    Enjoy the book, but please return it so that others might read it as well.

     

    Print and digital formats are available to borrow from Aurora Public Library.

    We hope you like the book and look forward to seeing you at the events.

     

  • INTERVIEWS & PRESS

     

    "Finding Edward” picked by Library for One Book One Aurora 2023

    The Auroran, January 5, 2023

     

    Aurora Public Library would like to thank Cormorant Books

    and most especially Marc Coté for their generous support of OneBookOneAurora

     

     

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