Author Lawrence Hill to teach at University of Guelph starting this summer

Award-winning author Lawrence Hill will begin teaching creative writing at the University of Guelph this summer, the school has announced.

University president Franco Vaccarino said in a release Wednesday that he was "delighted" that Hill would be working at the school.

"Lawrence Hill is a tremendous talent who has influenced our country's literary and cultural history through his writing, public speaking and advocacy work," Vaccarino said.

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Hill has taught fiction and mentored writers at the University of British Columbia, Ryerson University, the Humber School of Writers, the Banff Centre and Johns Hopkins University.

He will be a regular, full-time professor at Guelph, the school said.

'Always loved to teach'

Hill is a member of the Order of Canada and currently chairs the jury for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

He is best known for his novel, The Book of Negroes. His most recent book, The Illegal, came out in 2015 and is a contender for this year's Canada Reads. It will be championed by Olympian Clara Hughes.

"I have always loved to teach, mentor and encourage developing writers, and I can't think of a more exciting way to embrace that passion and to support the world of Canadian letters than to join the school of English and theatre studies at the University of Guelph," Hill said in the university statement.