METICULOUSLY RESEARCHED, REVELATORY HISTORY: Kai spent years researching Black lives across eastern North America, including how they intersected with Indigenous individuals and communities. In the Upper Country opens a window onto the history of the War of 1812, of Black activism and journalism, and a fascinatingly complex intersection of North and South, of Black, Indigenous, and white, and of history and story to create an utterly original and important work of historical fiction.

THE AUTHOR: Kai is a Canadian descended from Trinidadian veterans of the War of 1812, currently living and working in upstate New York where he continues to be inspired by his relationship to the land as an outdoor educator, farmer, and homesteader. He has connections to a number of Canadian centres and institutions, as well as to important creative voices in several communities.

THE SUBJECT MATTER: The stunning success of literary historical explorations of Black lives in North America of such authors as Esi Edugyan, Yaa Gyasi, Robert Jones, Jr., and Colson Whitehead show the eager and ever-growing audience for a work such as this.

PERFECT FOR BOTH BOOK CLUBS AND AWARDS JURIES: This tale of two unforgettable, vibrant female protagonists who share an extraordinary hidden connection is both accessible and as beautifully crafted as it is stunningly original.

KAI THOMAS is a writer, carpenter, and land steward. He is Afro-Canadian, born and raised in Ottawa, descended from Trinidad and the British Isles. In the Upper Country is his first novel.





Author Residence: Upstate New York

Author Hometown: Ottowa, Canada

One of
Book Riot’s “10 New Historical Fiction Books Hitting the Shelves”
USA Today’s “20 winter books we can’t wait to read”
Cosmopolitan’s “10 Best Historical Fiction Books of 2023”
Lit Hub’s “20 new books to read right now”

“Fresh and propulsive…. Thomas uses evocative detail and immersive description to explore slavery in Canada, a country that has been mythologized as an escape from the institution…. He also deftly makes clear the interconnectedness and rippling traumas it caused from Africa to the Caribbean to the Americas…. [In the Upper Country] is a testament to the power of story and a veneration of those whose tales are often forgotten in mainstream media.”
—New York Times Book Review

“In the Upper Country is not only fiction alive with history; it is historic…. In the Upper Country reminds me—yes—of Lawrence Hill’s Book of Negroes and Ernest J. Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying. And practically every page turns up a sentence or a phrase that could have been penned by Toni Morrison or James Baldwin…. A gift of lyric genius to enthrall all—and to educate Afro-Métis people about the love and courage that enabled their creation.”
—George Elliott Clarke, author of Where Beauty Survived: An Africadian Memoir

“Canadian history has long oppressed and neglected the Black and Indigenous stories at the foundation of the society that now exists here…. Now, in the spirit of storytelling that has helped these cultures survive despite the horrors of history, a tremendous novel has emerged to fill that void. In the Upper Country enlightens and empowers in a way few other literary sagas can, by humanizing people who have long been historical footnotes and bringing their stories to the centre. Kai Thomas is a visionary, an advocate, and overall a groundbreaking storytelling voice who has now contributed a classic to this country’s canon. This novel will resonate for generations to come.”
—Waubgeshig Rice, bestselling author of Moon of the Crusted Snow

“Kai Thomas’s In the Upper Country is a sweeping epic that imagines all the ways our ancestors tried to get free. This is an exciting new voice in fiction, as interested in the complexities of land and belonging as in the vagaries of human love and connection.” 
—Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of Libertie

“Stories within stories; until I read them, I hadn’t realised these are ones I’d long been wanting, needing even. In this remarkable debut, Kai Thomas fills out the picture of a place, a time, peoples and their relationships, all previously neglected in the day-to-day unfolding of the nations. His immensely compelling details, and a host of voices so well-wrought you can see and hear the speakers long after you’ve finished reading, will leave you eager to see what he’ll do next.”
—Shani Mootoo, author of Polar Vortex

“Thomas’s mesmerizing debut explores freedom, family, and the interconnections between white, Black, and Indigenous communities in 1859 Canada…. Excerpts from a collection of enslaved people’s narratives [and] stories of… Black Canadians during the War of 1812; and the American enslaved people who settled Dunmore add to the vivid tapestry. At once intimate and majestic, Thomas’s ambitious work heralds a bright new voice.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The harshly real and the fantastic mingle in ways that recall Ta-Nehisi Coates’s The Water Dancer and Esi Edugyan’s Washington Black. What’s most impressive is Thomas’ imaginative power; sure-handed, often lyrical prose; and strong, complex, resilient women. An exceptional work that mines a rich historical vein.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Eye-catching debut fiction, In the Upper Country delivers a novel of nestled stories…while also meditating on family, community, indigeneity, history and Canada’s role in the slave trade…. Thomas utilizes a theatrical setup — two apparent strangers in a shadowy cell who swap tales as an indirect way of both communicating and understanding one another…. There’s undeniable force to the embedded stories and the historical truths they bring to vivid life.”
—Toronto Star

“[A] sweeping, powerful novel set at the terminus of the Underground Railroad…. In the Upper Country weaves together unlikely stories of love, survival, and familial upheaval that map the interconnected history of the peoples of North America in an entirely new and resonant way.”
—Book Riot

“Thomas’ mastery of tone and intimacy in conversation, wry humour and attention to detail are on full display [and his] ability to render the land as an active character with many possibilities and image-laden contradictions infuses the story with a powerful rhythm and dark energy. Well-researched, strong and relatable characters emerge from this darkness, supported by a narrator (herself an author, by the way) whose unmistakeable courage keeps the reader perched above the hooves of history, enjoying an unprecedented view of the struggle for freedom in a continent descending into the abyss of civil and imperial war.”
—Chanzo Greenidge, translator, international political economist, and member of Intemerate Earth

“This fascinating series of stories within stories reflects the fragmentary history of African and Indigenous people experiencing the effects of enslavement, particularly from a Canadian perspective. Engrossing and intensely readable, this book represents just the beginning of a larger narrative, with many chapters yet to be told; very highly recommended.”
—Library Journal

“In his debut novel, In the Upper Country, Kai Thomas creates something wholly different from many of the narratives around enslaved and formerly enslaved people in colonial North America…. [This novel is an] exploration that tackles the underrepresented history of Black and Indigenous relationships in North America.”
—Shondaland

“In the Upper Country weaves together unlikely stories of love, survival, and familial upheaval that map the interconnected history of the peoples of North America in an entirely new and resonant way.”
—Kobo

“In the Upper Country …delves into the historical connections between Indigenous and Black enslaved people in North America. This book is heartbreaking, moving, and insightful all at once.”
—Cosmopolitan