Author Esi Edugyan discusses 'Washington Black,' slavery with Victor Valley College students By Tim Adell Special to the Victorville Daily Press World-famous writer Esi Edugyan recently spoke to Victor Valley College students via Zoom about her bestselling novel about a young boy who escapes slavery in Barbados and has adventures that range from the Caribbean, to the Arctic Circle, to England and North Africa. The novel, “Washington Black,” was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and it won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and Scotiabank-Giller Prize, Canada’s most prestigious literary award. Published in 2018, it has been translated and loved all over the world.