"Write it Now": Creative Writing Workshops With Caribbean Writers

The Louise Bennett-Coverley-Heritage Council (LBHC) in association with the South Regional/Broward College Library and the friends of the South Regional Broward College Library is pleased to announce its hosting of a one-day writer’s clinic - “Write it Now”- on Saturday, September 8, 2018, 10 am – 5 pm at the South Regional BC Library, 7300 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, FL 33024.

Three workshops, Fiction, Poetry and Performance Poetry will be held simultaneously and a session on Independent Publishing will be held in the afternoon. The sessions will cover: character and plot development, stage craft and delivery, playing with rhyme and rhythm, and other topics. To celebrate Louise Bennett-Coverley’s iconic contribution to Caribbean literature, the Writer’s Clinic will be taught by four outstanding Caribbean writers who live in Florida.

Christine Craig will host the Poetry clinic. She was born in Jamaica and is a graduate of the University of the West Indies. Her short stories and poems have been published in British, American and Caribbean journals. Described as “One of the Caribbean’s most original and innovative poets” - her poetry collection All Things Bright…and Quadrille for Tigers was published by Peepal Tree Press, UK. Her short story collection Mint Tea and other Stories, and children’s fiction Bird Gang, were published by Heinemann Caribbean.  

Geoffrey Philp,  an award-winning author from Jamaica, will host the Fiction clinic. He has written two novels, two collections of short stories, and three children’s books, His work is represented in nearly every anthology of Caribbean literature including the Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories and the Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse.

Malachi Smith is the presenter of the Performance Poetry clinic. He is a fellow of the University of Miami’s Mitchner Caribbean Writer’s Institute, an alumnus of Florida International University, Miami-Dade College and Jamaica School of Drama. Malachi was a founding member of Poets in Unity. He has recorded seven CD collections of his poetry and has read and performed his poetry internationally.

Judith Falloon-Reid will host the Independent Publishing session. She is an author, screenwriter, poet and award-winning film maker. She has several published works to her credit and is the writer and director of two award-wining Jamaican films, The Gift Everlasting and Just Another Friday. Her poetry collection, Screeeem and Riot, was published in 2018. 

Lunch and handouts will be provided compliments of South Regional BC Library and the LBHC. Applicants are required to submit a sample of their writing. For poetry and performance applications, email Malachi at malismith@aol.com .

For Fiction applications, please follow this link: Fiction Workshop