Preserving the Caribbean's Literary Heritage

‘Inspired by the Archives’ panel chaired by Kei Miller, with Anu Lakhan, 

Breanne Mc Ivor, Andre Bagoo and K. Miller (left to right)

Caribbean Literary Heritage (CLH) is a Leverhulme-funded research project that focuses on raising awareness about the importance of Caribbean literary legacies and their preservation, as well as generating and promoting research on literary archives, author’s record keeping practices and fuller literary histories. Led by Professor Alison Donnell and award-winning Jamaican author and Professor Kei Miller, this three-year long project will explore these issues from a variety of angles with the objective of connecting the past and present of Caribbean literature in thinking about future long-term preservation.

At Bocas Lit Fest, where CLH collaborated with the festival around the theme of literary heritage, Alison Donnell explained how this project had been in her mind for a long time. Introducing ‘Secret Lives: Why Literary Archives Matter’, one of the panels she chaired at the festival, Donnell pointed out: "Sometimes I find the name of a woman writer [in the archives] but no work, sometimes I find the work but nothing about her, so it had always been my dream to be able to have a project that could look seriously at this.”

 ‘Secret Lives: Why Literary Archives Matter’, from left to right: Evelyn O’Callaghan, 

Kei Miller, Alison Donnell and Shara McCallum.

Kei Miller, Caribbean literary scholar Evelyn O’Callaghan and poet Shara McCallum joined Donnell on this panel at Bocas Lit Fest. In reflecting about the role of archives, Miller talked about how the eloquence of Alexander Bustmante’s letters challenges popular portrayals and myths about him, adding the poignant question: “How do the archives counter-stories”?

As stated in the project’s website, Caribbean Literary Heritage is concerned with the Caribbean’s literary past and the region’s tangible and intangible literary heritage. It is particularly interested in neglected writers and writings at risk of being lost, and in thinking about what influences such precarity. At present, there is no established platform to access the location and scope of authors’ papers, including many scattered and undocumented sources. The literary histories that researchers and students can access are often incomplete and privilege male writers, as well as those who migrated and published with presses in the global north. This project wants to enable fuller literary histories to be told and their sources to be known, preserved and made accessible.

The main aims of the project are:
•    to create a fuller literary history of the period 1940-1980
•    to recover stories of forgotten writers and writings
•    to help writers save today’s manuscripts and papers for tomorrow’s researchers
•    to bring together academics, archivists and writers to discuss the changing nature of Caribbean literary archives across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries

Part of the team Caribbean Literary Heritage at Bocas Lit Fest. 

From left to right: Zakiya McKenzie, Jennifer McDerra, Alison Donnell and Kei Miller.

You can check out this link to find out more about the project’s team members:
https://www.caribbeanliteraryheritage.com/people/

The project’s blog publishes stories and reflections around literary archives and research from a variety of perspectives and experiences: those of writers, researchers, librarians and archivists. It aims to be a space for dialogue, sharing and collaboration and we invite those interested to contribute by getting in touch with us via our site’s contact form or email address (www.caribbeanlitheritage@gmail.com) 

The partnership between CLH and Bocas Lit Fest also resulted in the commission of three Trinidadian writers: Andre Bagoo, Anu Lakhan, and Breanne McIvor visiting and responding to a variety of local archives at the Alma Jordan Library, UWI St. Augustine. They shared powerful creative writing inspired by that experience in a Bocas Lit Fest event chaired by Kei Miller and wrote three engaging pieces for our blog. You can enjoy them, and all our other blog posts here: https://www.caribbeanliteraryheritage.com/blog/

There is also a section entitled 10 Questions on Caribbean Literary Heritage in which Caribbean writers discuss their first piece of writing, their first and current readings, and their interest in the literary past.
https://www.caribbeanliteraryheritage.com/ten-questions/

 

Zakiya McKenzie interviewing Breanne Mc Ivor at Bocas Lit Fest

We would like to share our call to Caribbean writers and those of Caribbean descent. Please check out and fill in our author questionnaire about your own working papers and recording practices. We are very interested in hearing writers’ views!

https://www.caribbeanliteraryheritage.com/writers-survey/ 

***

You can follow us on Twitter: @CaribLiteraryH, Facebook: Caribbean Literary Heritage, and Instagram: caribliteraryh

(!) TUNE IN on Twitter and FB for International Archives Day, this Saturday 9th June!! Follow our links as we celebrate archives, and tell us about your experiences and best memories in the archives using the #CaribbeanLitHeritage and #InternationalArchivesDay

An Interview with Diana McCaulay, author of Gone to Drift

What prompted you to write Gone to Drift?
 
Gone to Drift arose from a commissioned short story originally called The Dolphin Catchers. I had this picture in my mind of a boy sitting on a crumbling wall staring out to sea in the rain. And I started to think about this boy – why was he waiting? Who was he waiting for? I grew up going to sea with my parents and my environmental work often has a marine component, so I also wanted to write about the Caribbean Sea.

You describe the loss of traditional livelihoods and the consequences. Could you expand on this?
 
Yes, in my lifetime I have seen the significant reduction of fish catches and the affect it has had on fishing, both as a livelihood and as a culture. I wanted to look at the difference in how an “old-time” fisher might regard the sea, compared to a young fisher. I have also been struck by the independence and skill of fishers – the sea is their boss, but the sea could kill them too. Of course, fishing as a livelihood and as a culture has done much damage – so I wanted to explore these contradictions.

There are two voices in the book: Lloyd and his grandfather. What are you trying to do here?

I want to draw comparisons between the grandfather’s fishing world when he was a child in a rural fishing village in Treasure Beach roughly fifty years ago, compared to his grandson’s fishing life in Kingston in the present day. I also wanted to explore cross-generational relationships and how ethics and attitudes might be transmitted. I wanted to write about how good people could be driven to acts of desperation by economic circumstances.

There's a lot of detailed documentation about marine life, the culture of fishing communities etc. How did you research this? Or was it already familiar to you?

I knew some. My childhood and young adulthood on the sea helped, as well as my environmental work. The research I did was more about how fishers lived 40-50 years ago, what their catches were like, how they regarded the sea and how they related to it. I am very grateful to many people who generously shared their recollections and stories with me.

How can we engage young people in caring about the environment? Is literature a useful tool?

Only if young people are readers! Reading was such a sanctuary when I was a teenager, I wanted to see if I could tell a Jamaican story, a Caribbean story that would interest even an urban teenager.

What message would you have for Jamaican teenagers about the environment?

That this is THE issue of your generation. This is about the world you will inherit. That the environment is not a trivial matter – every human being on earth is dependent on it for water, food, shelter – for life itself. That we can’t say we love Jamaica if we don’t include the land and the sea.

How do you see Lloyd? Is he a "typical" Jamaican boy? How would Jamaican teenagers identify with him?

He is a typical Jamaican boy of a certain socio-economic class. I am wary of calling anyone “typical” – if Jamaica is one thing, that thing is diverse. I think many Jamaican teenagers have the experience of helping their parent or guardian in a small business and having a loving relationship with a grandparent. I hope young readers identify with Lloyd’s search for his grandfather, and for those with no experience of the sea or fishing, I hope the book opens a world for them.

Do some of the events in the book have an echo in your childhood experiences?

Yes – some of the places described, but my no means all, were childhood places. But I never had to wrest a living from the sea – the people in Gone to Drift come from a very different place.

Pedro Cays sound fascinating. Can you explain more about them and their importance?

The Pedro Cays are three small islands that rise from a submarine bank in the Caribbean Sea, south-west of Jamaica. The Pedro Bank is large – nearly three-quarters of Jamaica’s size. It’s our best remaining fishing ground, and it’s important for sea birds and other migrating animals like sea turtles, but it is very poorly managed. People live on two of the cays year round so Jamaica can claim it as an archipelagic state; so the Pedro Cays have political importance as well.

Are dolphins under threat in Jamaica and the Caribbean? 

There are different species of dolphins in the Caribbean, so it is hard to make a blanket statement about that. I do think we are removing wild dolphins from populations for the captive industry without adequate study, and, personally, I don’t think we can provide what dolphins need as a species in captivity. I will say that all species of dolphins are protected under international trade laws and in our local laws as well because it has been recognised that they are in need of protection.

About Diana McCaulay

A lifelong resident of Kingston, Diana McCaulay founded the Jamaica Environment Trust in 1991 and still serves as its CEO and guiding force. She is also a former Gleaner columnist. She says:“As reading meant so much to me as a teenager, I’m hoping Gone to Drift will be read and enjoyed by many Caribbean young people. I wanted to pay tribute to our long tradition of fishermen, and to look at what the loss of traditional livelihoods and the depletion of fisheries in the Caribbean means to us.”

Gone to Drift @ Amazon


For further information, please contact info@papillotepress.co.uk

‘Whatless Boys’ wins it for writer Antoni - Stabroek News - Georgetown, Guyana

Winner of the 2014 One Caribbean Media (OCM) Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, Robert Antoni, said he will share the US$10,000 prize money with the other finalists.

Antoni was announced as the winner from the top three writers for his book As Flies to Whatless Boys at an awards ceremony at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port of Spain, on Saturday.

‘Whatless Boys’ wins it for writer Antoni - Stabroek News - Georgetown, Guyana:



'via Blog this'

Finalists for Inaugural Burt Award for Caribbean Literature Announced

Unique initiative aims to develop the love of reading amongst Caribbean youth

Port of Spain, 16 March 2014 — CODE is proud to announce the finalists for its inaugural Burt Award for Caribbean Literature.

The shortlisted titles are (in alphabetical order):

·         Island Princess in Brooklyn by Diane Browne, Jamaica (published by Carlong)

·         All Over Again by A-dZiko Gegele, Jamaica (published by Blouse & Skirt Books)

·         Barrel Girl by Glynis Guevara , Trinidad and Tobago (manuscript to be published)

·         Musical Youth by Joanne Hillhouse, Antigua and Barbuda (manuscript to be published)

·         Abraham's Treasure by Joanne Skerrett, Dominica (published by Papillotte Press)

·         Inner City Girl by Colleen Smith Dennis, Jamaica (published by LMH Publishing)

The finalists were selected by a jury administered by The Bocas Lit Fest and made up of writers, literacy experts and academics from the Caribbean and Canada.

“In the Caribbean, as in much of the world, demand for relevant, entertaining books that speak to young people in their own language is constantly growing,” said CODE Executive Director Scott Walter. “With the Award, we’re hoping to help address this demand by supporting the development of new titles that reflect the lives of their readers, while providing opportunities for promising writers to emerge and regional publishers to prosper. Our ultimate goal is for young people across the Caribbean to have access to good books they will enjoy so they can develop the love of reading and become lifelong learners.”

The three winners of the first edition of this annual Award will be announced on April 25th, 2014 at a Gala to be held as part of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. A First Prize of $10,000 CAD, a Second Prize of $7,000 CAD and a Third Prize of $5,000 CAD will be awarded to the authors of the winning titles. In addition, publishers of the winning titles will be awarded a guaranteed purchase of up to 2,500 copies, ensuring that the books get into the hands of young people through schools, libraries and community organizations across the Caribbean. Winning publishers also commit to actively market an additional minimum of 1,200 copies of each winning title throughout the region.

Marina Salandy-Brown, founder of The Bocas Lit Fest says, “We are delighted to be working with CODE and William Burt in administering this exceptional prize that not only supports writers of an underserved genre in the Caribbean – young adult literature – but publishers too, and which addresses headlong the critical issue of marketing and distribution in our region.”

The Burt Award for Caribbean Literature was established by CODE – a Canadian charitable organization that has been advancing literacy and learning for 55 years – in collaboration with William (Bill) Burt and the Literary Prizes Foundation. The Award is the result of a close collaboration with CODE’s local partners in the Caribbean, The Bocas Lit Fest and CaribLit.

CODE’s Burt Award is a global readership initiative and is also currently established in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Canada.

For further details on the Burt Award for Caribbean Literature, go to www.codecan.org/burt-award-caribbean  

or contact: info@bocaslitfest.com Telephone:  222 7099  www.bocaslitfest.com

2014 Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize

Bringing on new writers

The region’s only prize that seeks to open doors for budding writers will close for submissions on 30^th September.

The 2014 Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize will be awarded to an emerging writer of literary non-fiction, which includes biography, memoir, travel writing, history, current affairs, and non-academic essays on diverse subjects. 

The Prize, administered by The Bocas Lit Fest and worth a total of US$15,000, will give the winning Caribbean-based writer time to advance a work in progress. It includes a year’s mentoring by an established author and travel to the United Kingdom to attend a one-week intensive creative writing course of their choice at Arvon.

The winning writer will also have three days in London to network with literary professionals, hosted by the UK’s leading creative writing organisation, Arvon, in association with Free Word Centre and agents Rogers, Coleridge & White, and receive a cash award of 3,000GBP or US$4,500.

“The deadline is imminent but there is still a little time to get entries in”, says Bocas Lit Fest founder Marina Salandy-Brown.  “To qualify, writers must simply be of Caribbean birth or citizenship, aged over 18, living in the region, and not yet published a non-fiction work.  We require just 2000 words of the work in progress and to see another previously published piece of the same length and genre, but full details are on the website.”

The winner will be announced at the 2014 NGC Bocas Lit Fest, Trinidad and Tobago’s annual literary festival, in April in Port of Spain.  This year’s inaugural Prize for fiction turned up some fine writers from all over the Caribbean and organisers are expecting another exciting crop of new and nearly new writers to emerge.

See www.bocaslitfest.com for application form and more information.

***

The Burt Award for Caribbean Literature (23-8-2013) | Commonwealth Writers

An exciting global initiative in Young Adult literature is coming to the Caribbean. Established by CODE with the support of Canadian philanthropist William (Bill) Burt and the Literary Prizes Foundation, in partnership with the Bocas Lit Fest, the Burt Award for Caribbean Literature was launched on April 27, 2013, at the NGC Bocas Lit Fest in Port of Spain.

The Award will be given annually to three English-language literary works for Young Adults by Caribbean authors. A First Prize of $10,000 CAD, a Second Prize of $7,000 CAD and a Third Prize of $5,000 CAD will be awarded to the winning authors. Publishers of winning titles will be awarded a guaranteed purchase of up to 3,000 copies, ensuring the books will get into the hands of young people in schools, libraries and community organisations across the Caribbean.

The Burt Award for Caribbean Literature (23-8-2013) | Commonwealth Writers:

***

The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897

Thank you for your support..

Finalists: Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize.

Fourteen writers from seven countries have been named as finalists for the inaugural Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize.

Announced by the judges on 10 March, 2013, the finalists include emerging writers from Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. The winner of the Prize will be announced on 27 April, during the third annual NGC Bocas Lit Fest in Port of Spain.

The finalists are:

Lisa Allen-Agostini (Trinidad and Tobago)
Katherine Atkinson (St. Lucia)
Angela Barry (Bermuda)
Vashti Bowlah (Trinidad and Tobago)
Brenda Lee Brown (Antigua and Barbuda)
Lenworth Burke (Jamaica)
Barbara Jenkins (Trinidad and Tobago)
Ilsa Lopez-Valles (Puerto Rico)
Ira Mathur (Trinidad and Tobago)
Sharon Millar (Trinidad and Tobago)
Amanda Choo Quan (Trinidad and Tobago)
Lelawatee Manoo-Rahming (Bahamas/Trinidad and Tobago)
Ann Second (Trinidad and Tobago)
Hazel Simmonds-McDonald (St. Lucia)

The Prize, worth US$15,000, will offer the winning Caribbean-based writer time to advance a work in progress. It includes a year’s mentoring by an established author, and travel to the United Kingdom to attend a one-week intensive Arvon Foundation creative writing course of their choice. The winning writer will also have three days in London to network with literary professionals, hosted by Arvon, the UK’s leading creative writing organisation, in association with Free Word Centre and literary agents Rogers, Coleridge & White. The winner will also receive a cash award of £3,000 (US$4,500).

“We were very pleased with the quality of entries and the range of new writers coming up in the region,” says Funso Aiyejina, chair of the judging panel, who also remarked on the fact that only one of the finalists is male. A total of 65 writers writing in English, from thirteen Caribbean countries, submitted entries for the Prize.

Marina Salandy-Brown, co-founder of the Prize and Director of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, says the Prize is guaranteed for three years, thanks to the Hollick Family Charitable Trust in London. “This is a rare and valuable opportunity for our writers, who largely lack access to those who can help advance their work. One person will take home the Prize, but nobody loses by putting their work out there. You never know what might happen as a result.”

Further information on the Hollick Arvon Prize, click here

Longlist for the 2013 OCM Bocas Prize

The judging panels for the 2013 OCM Bocas Prize have announced a longlist of ten books in the three genre categories, with a further three books receiving special mention:

POETRY

Dark and Unaccustomed Words, by Vahni Capildeo (Trinidad and Tobago)
Fault Lines, by Kendel Hippolyte (St Lucia)
South Eastern Stages, by Anthony Kellman (Barbados)

Special mention:
The Festival of Wild Orchid, by Margaret Ann Lim (Jamaica)

FICTION

This Is How You Lose Her, by Junot Díaz (Dominican Republic/USA)
Archipelago, by Monique Roffey (Trinidad and Tobago)
Light Falling on Bamboo, by Lawrence Scott (Trinidad and Tobago)
God Carlos, by Anthony C. Winkler (Jamaica)

NON-FICTION

The Predicament of Blackness: Postcolonial Ghana and the Politics of Race, by Jemima Pierre (Haiti/USA)
The Sky’s Wild Noise: Selected Essays, by Rupert Roopnaraine (Guyana)
Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire, by Andrea Stuart (Barbados)

Special mention:
Abolition and Plantation Management in Jamaica, 1807–1838, by Dave St Aubyn Gosse (Jamaica)
Ismith Khan: The Man and His Work, by Roydon Salick (Trinidad and Tobago)

The prize shortlist will be announced in March 2013.

Bocas in Miami!

The body of water Miami faces is the Atlantic Ocean, but — 180 miles from Nassau, 220 miles from Havana — there’s no doubt it’s also a Caribbean city. And for a few days in mid-October, Miami will also be a major hub for Caribbean literary scholarship, as the University of Miami hosts the 31st annual West Indian Literature Conference, with the theme “Imagined Nations, 50 Years Later: Reflections on Independence and Federation in the Caribbean.”

And the NGC Bocas Lit Fest will be part of the mix! We’ll be hosting a reading by five remarkable writers of different generations, as part of the closing night events of the WILC — and everyone is invited. The details:

Nations and Imaginations: An Evening with the NGC Bocas Lit Fest in Miami

Featuring 2012 OCM Bocas Prize winner Earl Lovelace, 2013 OCM Bocas Prize chair Olive Senior, Edwidge Danticat, Edward Baugh, and Lisa Allen-Agostini.

Saturday 13 October, 8 pm

Books and Books, 

265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables

The event is free and open to the public. Bocas fans in Miami, hope to see you there!

***

Blog Disclosure Policy

Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.

*** 

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

The 2013 Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize

The Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize is an annual award which allows an emerging Caribbean writer living and working in the Anglophone Caribbean to devote time to advancing or finishing a literary work, with support from an established writer as mentor. It is sponsored by the Hollick Family Charitable Trust and the literary charitable trust the Arvon Foundation, in association with the non-profit organisation the Bocas Lit Fest.
The Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize will be offered annually, initially for the next three years, and across three literary genres: fiction in 2013, non-fiction in 2014, and poetry in 2015.
The Prize
The Hollick Arvon Prize, with a total value of £10,000 (approx. US$16,000), consists of:
1.    a cash award of £3,000 (approx. US$5,000) 2.    a year’s mentoring by an established writer 3.    travel to the United Kingdom to attend a one-week intensive Arvon creative writing course at one of Arvon’s internationally renowned writing houses 4.    three days in London to network with editors and publishers, hosted by Arvon, in association with the Free Word Centre and the Rogers, Coleridge & White literary agency.
The winner of the 2013 Hollick Arvon Prize will be announced in March 2013. Presentation of the prize will take place in April 2013 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
Eligibility
To be eligible for entry, a writer must:
1.    be of Caribbean birth or citizenship, living and working in the Anglophone Caribbean and writing in English 2.    be over the age of 18 by 30 September, 2012 3.    have had at least one piece of creative writing of no less than 2,000 words published 4.    not yet have published a full-length book in the genre category.
How to enter
Each entrant may make only one submission for the 2013 Hollick Arvon Prize. Each submission must include:
1.    a maximum of 3,000 words from a work in progress which the Prize will allow the writer to advance or complete. This may be an excerpt from a novel or from a series of short stories 2.    an outline of the entire work in progress and how the writer plans to develop it 3.    a statement of no more than 500 words about why your work should be supported by this Prize 4.    a copy of up to two pieces of previously published creative writing (not exceeding 2,000 words each). An extract from a longer work is acceptable. State the date and place of publication 5.    a completed entry form
Note: all submissions should be typed with double spacing.
Submissions must be made electronically. Please send all submission materials attached to a single email addressed to info@bocaslitfest.com. The email subject line should read “Hollick Arvon Prize”.
Deadline
The 2013 Hollick Arvon Prize opens for entries on 30 June, 2012. The closing date is 30 September, 2012, at 6 pm TT time. No late entries will be accepted.
Judging
The Hollick Arvon Prize will be judged by a panel comprising representatives of the Hollick Family Charitable Trust and the Arvon Foundation, an agent from the Rogers, Coleridge & White literary agency, and up to three representatives of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest. The Prize will be administered by the Arvon Foundation and Bocas Lit Fest, in conjunction with the Hollick Family Charitable Trust.
For any queries about eligibility requirements or the submission process, please contact the prize administrators at: info@bocaslitfest.com or follow this link: http://www.bocaslitfest.com/hollick-arvon-caribbean-writers-prize.html
***

Launch of Caribbean Literature Action Group

The NGC Bocas Lit Fest, British Council, and Commonwealth Writers have announced a new partnership that will work towards enhancing the Caribbean literary scene and help kick-start an infrastructure to support writers, writing, and publishing. The Caribbean Literature Action Group (CALAG) will be launched in Port of Spain at a one-day brainstorm workshop on Wednesday 25 April, on the eve of the 2012 NGC Bocas Lit Fest.

The Caribbean has produced some of the world’s greatest contemporary writers, including three Nobel Prize laureates. Its literature is one of the region’s most celebrated cultural products. But Caribbean writers continue to migrate to North America and Europe in order to obtain financial support for their work and to achieve the highest level of international recognition. Literary publishing within the region remains in an embryonic state, and talented writers who choose to stay “at home” often find it difficult to access international publishers, or find opportunities for local publication and promotion.

In light of these common interests, the British Council and Commonwealth Writers have now developed a plan to work in partnership with the NGC Bocas Lit Fest and other literary professionals in the region. The first stage is to assemble a small, results-oriented action group of professionals from all areas of the Caribbean literary sector: writers, publishers, editors, teachers, booksellers, and organisers of festivals and writing programmes. (See a full list of participants below.)

Facilitators for the action group include Nicholas Laughlin (editor of The Caribbean Review of Books), Linda Leith (founder of Blue Metropolis Bleu in Quebec), Anita Sethi (writer), and Susie Nicklin (Director of Literature, British Council).


“The NGC Bocas Lit Fest was established to promote Caribbean writers and writing. Joining forces with the British Council and Commonwealth Writers, two entities dedicated to advancing literature in many other regions of the world, presents a real opportunity to help push forward development in the region’s publishing sector. We are delighted to be able to work with fellow Caribbean people who share the same ambition.”
—Marina Salandy-Brown, Festival Director and Founder, NGC Bocas Lit Fest

“The British Council is privileged to have been invited to join such a distinguished group to address issues of concern, not just to the Caribbean but to writers across the Americas. With the Council’s global remit I hope that my experience and expertise will be helpful, but I expect to learn far more than I can teach from such vibrant and accomplished people.”
— Susie Nicklin, Director of Literature, British Council

“Commonwealth Writers is excited to be part of this timely action group to generate practical ideas to help shape a dynamic publishing infrastructure across the Caribbean. We hope that the initiatives which emerge from CALAG will in the longer term be transferable to other regions where opportunities for writers are scarce.”
— Lucy Hannah, Programme Manager, Culture, Commonwealth Foundation


Participants in the inaugural CALAG meeting, 25 April, 2012:


Lisa Allen-Agostini, Trinidad and Tobago: writer, founder of the Allen Prize for Young Writers
Ellah Allfrey, UK: deputy editor of Granta
Funso Aiyejina, Trinidad and Tobago: writer, Dean of Humanities at UWI St. Augustine, co-ordinator of the Cropper Foundation Writers' Workshop
Donna Benny, Trinidad and Tobago: editor, head of StarApple Books
Nicolette Bethel, the Bahamas: writer, editor of tongues of the ocean, head of the Shakespeare in Paradise theatre festival
Alwin Bully, Dominica: writer, co-founder of the Nature Island Literary Festival
Gracelyn Cassell, Montserrat: chair of the Alliougana Festival of the Word
Shruti Debi, India: literary agent, Aitken Alexander Associates
Justine Henzell, Jamaica: co-founder of the Calabash International Literary Festival
Kendel Hippolyte, St. Lucia: writer, co-ordinator of the Word Alive Literary Festival
Mitchell Kaplan, US: bookseller, founder of Books and Books, co-founder of the Miami Book Fair
Antonia MacDonald-Smythe, St. Lucia/Grenada: senior associate dean, School of Arts and Sciences, St. George's University
Kellie Magnus, Jamaica: writer, head of Jackmandora Publishing, executive member of the Book Industry Association of Jamaica
Kei Miller, Jamaica: writer, professor of creative writing at the University of Glasgow
Esther Phillips, Barbados: writer, editor of BIM, head of the BIM Literary Festival
Jeremy Poynting, UK: founder of Peepal Tree Press
Monique Roffey, Trinidad and Tobago/UK: writer, writing instructor
Patricia Saunders, Trinidad and Tobago/US: professor of literature, University of Miami
Lasana Sekou, St. Martin: writer, founder of House of Nehesi Publishers, co-founder of the St. Martin Book Fair
Linda Speth, Jamaica: head of the University of the WI Press



***


If you enjoyed this post, check out my page on Amazon. I’d also be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you!