Author Hay impresses crowd at campus reading

“Rejection is a fundamental part of writing”

Eagerly waiting students and faculty crowded room D1060 in anticipation of a well-known author.

On Thursday February 25, Canadian author Elizabeth Hay came to speak to Fanshawe students about what it means to follow your dreams and not giving up when things get a little out of the ordinary.

Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, Hay is the daughter of a high school principal and a painter. She is one of four children.

Author Elizabeth Hay

Hay began writing at the age of 15 and said it was at that time she discovered her love for the craft.

As Hay read a scene from her new novel, Late Nights on Air, the crowd held on to her every word as each sentence was filled with emotion and depth.

Hay described her latest book as a novel that followed a fictional path through a personal path.

Her suggestion to fellow writers was to write because you love the art of writing and know that to be able to write truly well, you will face bumps on the road to success.

As human beings we should have the capacity to escape limitations we set for ourselves and be able to enter a much larger world, Hay noted.

Late Nights on Air earned Hay the Giller Award, the most prestigious literary award in Canada.

Hay now lives in Ottawa with her husband and two children.