August 11, 2019. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Esi Edugyan.

How can a person so be so accomplished at such a young age? Esi has already won two Giller awards. And she is 41. Esi read at our Readers' Festival on Saturday evening. In addition to being an accomplished writer, she also is cute and personable. Her long black curls cascade down her back. Reading from her latest book, Washington Black, was a delight. Esi was born in Calgary whose parents moved to Canada from Ghana. At high school she was urged to study creative writing at the University of Victoria, which she did. But to keep her Mother happy she said she was studying journalism. Her Mother was fearful of her daughter becoming a writer. But it worked out. She is married to a poet who works at the same university and they have two children. She accepted the invitation from the Festival boards because she had never been to Nova Scotia. She and her whole family stayed a week. Esi is worth remembering. Her first book was "The Second Life of Samual Tyne". The second was "Half Blood Blues". And her latest is "Washington Black". She tells good stories. And she is a wordsmith. Every word is carefully selected. Esi is a writer worth watching. I was astonished with her expertise and her accomplishments. It will be fun following her career.