One Book, One Niagara (OBON) is back for 2025, featuring The Laundryman’s Boy by Edward Y.C. Lee. Set in 1913 St. Catharines, this is a moving coming-of-age story that bravely examines notions of race, duty and friendship in early Canada. The book is available in print, as a book club set, as well as in eBook and audiobook formats on CloudLibrary.
Listen to Edward Y.C. Lee in conversation with author Jolie Phuong Hoang at the OBON finale at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre on October 3 in St. Catharines.
This event is made possible in part thanks to the financial assistance of the Canada Council through The Writers’ Union of Canada.
One Book, One Niagara Programs
Introduction to Chinese Calligraphy
Monday, September 22, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Fleming Branch
Watch a demonstration of traditional Chinese calligraphy and try it yourself. Presented in partnership with Chinese Cultural Federation of Niagara.
Register for This Program
Into the Modern Era: St. Catharines from 1910 to 1920
Monday, September 29, 6 – 7 pm
Central Library, St. Catharines Public Library
The first decades of the 20th century were times of great change across the world and St. Catharines was no different. Big changes are the hallmark of the period from 1910 to 1920 and the modern city as we would recognize it today is beginning to emerge. Join Kathleen Powell, Supervisor of Historical Services and Curator at the St. Catharines Museum, for an illustrated presentation of St. Catharines in the nineteen-teens.
Register for This Program
About One Book, One Niagara
One Book, One Niagara (OBON) is a collaborative literary experience that brings the Niagara community together in celebration of Canadian literature. We believe that a great book has the power to entertain and to generate meaningful conversation about important issues.
Libraries within Niagara select a title each year for community members to read and discuss across a series of events, culminating in a final in-person event with the selected author. Participating libraries include the public libraries of Fort Erie, Grimsby, Lincoln Pelham, Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Colborne, St. Catharines, Thorold, Wainfleet, Welland, and West Lincoln, and Brock University and Niagara College.