Join author Michael Afenfia as he discusses his latest novel, Leave My Bones in Saskatoon (Griots Lounge Publishing Canada). This event will feature a reading, drumming by Moses Idowu, a conversation hosted by Cultural Bridging Facilitator Anita Ogurlu, and a book signing.
The event will be hosted live in the Travel Alcove, and also available as a simultaneous YouTube stream. The video will remain available for viewing thereafter. Before arriving, please review details of how to attend physical events here at the store.
Seen through the eyes of Owoicho, a television presenter seeking a better life for himself and his family, Leave My Bones in Saskatoon spans two cultures and continents. It is honest, heartfelt and enlightening. The story begins with Owoicho’s good news. He can’t wait to tell his family that their permanent residency application to Canada was successful. But while he was in Abuja, happy about this breakthrough, somewhere in the outskirts of Makurdi, a dark and troubling event threatens to torpedoe all the plans he and his wife, Ene had of moving their family to Saskatoon. We also meet Ochanya, Owoicho’s teenage daughter who has to deal with the twin shock of losing close family and the unavoidable transition from girl to adolescence that pitches her against the people that love and care for her the most. With everything Owoicho and Ochanya have to deal with, do they still make it out to Canada as planned, and whose bones are in Saskatoon?
Michael Afenfia is a storyteller and author of several critically acclaimed novels that have been nominated for awards in his home country Nigeria. He is a lawyer with a master’s in business administration (MBA), a public speaker and mentor to many upcoming writers. He is currently the Executive Director of Saskatchewan Association of Immigrant Settlement and Integration Agencies (SIASIA).
Anita Ogurlu is a cultural bridging facilitator and university lecturer who has lived for over 25 years in Istanbul, Turkey, she experienced rapid social change first hand through the effects of globalization. Born in Saskatchewan, educated in Toronto, Istanbul and London, she has published works on social change, mass media, autobiography and the European interwar period.