It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of one of our authors, James Nantau. His novel, Poletown Princes, debuted just two weeks before James passed away after a courageous fight with melanoma. James was always pleasant and ever-patient, and we had no idea that he had been fighting an illness for the past 18 months. James did not disclose anything until the day of his book release at our Living Detroit Series event at the Carr Center, as he was unable to attend. His widow has informed me that he desperately wanted to be there. He did get to hold the book—his first novel—in his hands before he left this life. As a publisher, I can attest that James had a promising future as a writer—his writing was a lively blend of noir intrigue and ironic humor. His work was unique because it was entertaining, yet literary at the same time. The other interesting thing about James was that he was Canadian but knew Detroit like the back of his hand. His love of Detroit came through in virtually every line of his novel. James was profiled in the Windsor Star newspaper, hailed as a hero for his city, deservedly so. He was a hero for Detroit, too.

To learn more about the Living Detroit Series, visit our Living Detroit page

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