Chris Benjamin

Writer in Residence & Book Launch in Antigonish, Sept 9

Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library’s 2014 Writer-in-Residence, Chris Benjamin, will launch his newest book with a reading on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 7:00 p.m. at the Antigonish Town and County Library (283 Main St., Antigonish, Nova Scotia).

Indian School Road: Legacies of the Shubenacadie Residential School is released this month and won the Dave Greber Freelance Writing Award.

Benjamin is also the author of the novel Drive-By Saviours and the non-fiction book Eco-Innovators: Sustainability in Atlantic Canada.

For more information on this and other writer-in-residence programs, including mentoring sessions and writing workshops, go to www.parl.ns.ca.

Chris Benjamin is Writer in Residence at Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library

From the Aug 25 NG News:

It all started at the age of six years old when he wrote the story of a boy and his dinosaur. After that, Chris Benjamin was hooked on writing. As a shy boy growing up in Beaverbank, Nova Scotia, writing was a creative outlet that he knew he was good at – getting praise locally, nationally and internationally for his work.

It appears the Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library (PARL) also took notice, which is why he has been chosen as their 2014 Writer-in-Residence. Read more

Indian School Road Book Launch

In Indian School Road, journalist Chris Benjamin tackles the controversial and tragic history of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, its predecessors, and its lasting effects, giving voice to multiple perspectives for the first time.

Benjamin integrates research, interviews, and testimonies to guide readers through the varied experiences of students, principals, and teachers over the school’s nearly forty years of operation (1930–1967) and beyond.

Exposing the raw wounds of truth and reconciliation as well as the struggle for an inclusive Mi’kmaw education system, Indian School Road is a comprehensive and compassionate narrative history of the school that uneducated hundreds of Aboriginal children.

Chris Benjamin’s first nonfiction book, Eco-Innovators: Sustainability in Atlantic Canada; won the Best Atlantic-Published Book Award and was a finalist for the Evelyn Richardson Prize. His novel, Drive-by Saviours, won the Bill Percy Award and was longlisted for Canada Reads. Chris writes opinion and features for magazines across North America and won the 2013 Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for his (then-unpublished) manuscript of Indian School Road.

Light refreshments and signed copies of Mister Benjamin’s book will be available after the presentation.

For additional information:
Richard MacMichael
902-424-8897
[email protected]