New Book: ¡Perdida! Una Aventura En El Mar Caribe

¡Perdida! Una Aventura En El Mar Caribe (Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure) is one of two new picture book titles (the other being Dulce Victoria/Sweet Victory) in translation from CaribbeanReads – the first Spanish language titles from the independent publisher. Both debuted at the Miami Book Fair in November 2018. Additionally, Joanne C. Hillhouse, the Antiguan and Barbudan author of Lost!/¡Perdida!  read at the Fair, as part of a panel entitled Read Caribbean presents Adventures for Kids.

 
The book reimagines the real life tale of an Arctic seal who became stranded on a beach in Antigua and had to be rescued. It is illustrated by Trinidadian poet and artist Danielle Boodoo Fortune, and has been translated by Loudymar Lightfoot and Nneka Edwards.

Hillhouse believes that the underwater adventure, which is about making new friends and being kind to others (as well as an original tale associated environmental themes) will travel well. Since the release of the original last year, reviews have reflected the universal appeal of this Caribbean specific tale.

“This was a charming, honest narrative about friendship and adventure.," wrote blogger The Caffeinated Reviewer at Nonna’s Corner, who added that its environmental theme, “opens the door for discussions on preserving our earth and wildlife.” Over at The Feathered Quill, another book review site, ¡Perdida! Una Aventura En El Mar Caribe was described as “an enjoyable read that is sure to captivate young readers." The review also touted the fun and fascinating environmental facts.

Kirkus Reviews said “Children will likely relate well to this story of getting lost while daydreaming and to the reassurance that kindly adults will look after strays. The book also gives them a chance to learn more about the work of environmentalists and Caribbean sea life. An appealing book, all the more so for being based on real life.” 

Inspired by the real life efforts of an island to save a wandering Arctic seal, the story has delightful characters such as Dolphin and other anthropomorphic characters such as Coral, the Jellyfish. As one rescuer put it, "It was in many ways about the best of the human spirit...how a community rallied to make sure that a stranger who wandered into inhabitable (for him) territory found his way home."

Joanne C. Hillhouse (Miami Book Fair 2018)

The announcement of the Spanish edition was made by CaribbeanReads – which has also issued the book (the English version) in print, Kindle, and audio versions – in a recent newsletter. The newsletter also announced that Musical Youth, a Burt Award winning teen/young adult title, also published by CaribbeanReads, is now on the Antigua and Barbuda schools’ curriculum. Lost! is one of six books of fiction, and one of two picture books, by Joanne C. Hillhouse.

For all of Hillhouse’s books and more (including first pages of both Lost! and ¡Perdida!, visit her blog: http://jhohadli.wordpress.com

Visit the Lost! page on her publisher site at http://www.caribbeanreads.com/lost

And check out the announcement re the Lost! Spanish language edition in the CaribbeanReads newsletter https://mailchi.mp/e815cec23c95/spanish-titles-2018?fbclid=IwAR3oLIZeU_hTbtPgnmH3Bc-Aunw9vp8PSzDVMGiaDY6L64FQNlLw1iUNSok

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

Forthcoming Young Adult novel by Diana McCaulay

Papillote Press is delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of Gone to Drift by the award-winning Jamaican writer Diana McCaulay. This young adult novel, which won second prize in the CODE’s Burt Award for Caribbean Literature (2015), will be published on 29 February 2016.

Gone to Drift tells the story of a 12-year-old Jamaican boy, Lloyd, and his search for his beloved grandfather, a fisherman who is lost at sea. An adventure story about a boy confronted with difficult moral choices it will inspire its readers to choose bravery over cowardice and to follow their hearts. 

"This is my first novel for young adults," says McCaulay, "and 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 I'm so grateful the Burt Award has made that possible. I'm also thrilled that Gone to Drift will be published by Papillote Press, a Caribbean publishing house which I've long admired." 

Gone to Drift follows on from McCaulay’s two acclaimed novels, Dog-Heart (2010) and Huracan (2012) and is built on her 2012 Regional Commonwealth prize-winning short story, The Dolphin Catchers  (Granta Online). As well as writing, McCaulay founded and, for many years, ran the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET); she was also a popular newspaper columnist. 

As Pamela Mordecai, author of The Red Jacket, sa ys: "Gone to Drift  is a love story about Lloyd's deep affection for his grandfather, and about the author's deep love for Jamaica, its land and seas. A Jamaican coming-of-age story - realistic, often funny and deeply touching - it’s a story for adventurous boys and girls, and for grownups too." 

CODE's Burt Award for Caribbean Literature is an annual award given to English-language literary works for young adults (aged 12 through 18) written by Caribbean authors. Established by CODE - a Canadian NGO that has been supporting literacy and learning for over 55 years - with the generous support of the Literary Prizes Foundation and in partnership with the Bocas Lit Fest, the Award aims to provide  engaging and culturally relevant books for young people across the Caribbean.

Founded in 2011, the Bocas Lit Fest administers major literary prizes for Caribbean authors and organises the annual NGC Bocas Lit Fest, Trinidad and Tobago’s premier literary festival.

Papillote Press, based in Dominica and London, specialises in books about Dominica and the wider Caribbean. “I love this story. It entwines a tale of modern Jamaica with memories of the old ways of the sea. The reader follows Lloyd’s desperate search for his grandfather every step of the way.” says Polly Pattullo, publisher of Papillote Press.

For further information please contact the publisher: info@papillotepress.co.uk

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