Walcott , Dabydeen, and Jagdeo Agreement for Caribbean Publishing House

As publishing opportunities for Caribbean writers continue to shrink with Heinemann and Macmillan closing their Caribbean series (Peepal Tree Press being the lone standout in this area), Derek Walcott, David Dabydeen, and Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo have agreed to pursue the development of a Caribbean publishing house located in Guyana.

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clipped from www.stabroeknews.com The encounter at the symposia, the issues raised there and the dialogue that followed prompted President Jagdeo to commit his government to another major investment in his decision to put some $20 million into the development of a Caribbean publishing house located in Guyana. Details of how this is to work were agreed on by Jagdeo, Dabydeen and Walcott. Dabydeen in the Opening Symposium had revealed that there is a decline in the publishing opportunities provided for West Indian writers by the leading houses in the UK. Both Heinemann and Macmillan have closed their Caribbean series, the Macmillan-Warwick series is coming to an end and most of the other large houses focus on sales and the promise of sales. This new publisher will help to fill a huge vacancy in the opportunities for Guyanese and West Indian authors.