The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature

Entering a book for the 2017 Prize

Download the guidelines and entry form here.

2016 winner

The winner of the 2016 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature is The Pain Tree, by Olive Senior.

2016 OCM Bocas Prize shortlist

POETRY

Wife, by Tiphanie Yanique (Peepal Tree Press)

FICTION

The Pain Tree, by Olive Senior (Cormorant Books)

NON-FICTION

The Gymnast and Other Positions, by Jacqueline Bishop (Peepal Tree Press)

2016 OCM Bocas Prize longlist

POETRY

BURN, by Andre Bagoo (Shearsman)
Providential, by Colin Channer (Peepal Tree Press/Akashic Books)
Wife, by Tiphanie Yanique (Peepal Tree Press)

FICTION

Fifteen Dogs, by Andre Alexis (Coach House Books)
The Whale House and Other Stories, by Sharon Millar (Peepal Tree Press)
The Pain Tree, by Olive Senior (Cormorant Books)

Special mention:
Madinah Girl, by Anna Levi (Karnak House)

NON-FICTION

The Gymnast and Other Positions, by Jacqueline Bishop (Peepal Tree Press)
’Membering, by Austin Clarke (Dundurn)
Ties That Bind: The Black Family in Post-Slavery Jamaica, 1834–1882, by Jenny M. Jemmot (UWI Press)

About the Prize

The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature is a major award for literary books by Caribbean writers. Books may be entered in three categories: poetry, fiction, and literary non-fiction. The prize includes an award of US$10,000 for the overall winner, sponsored by One Caribbean Media. The other category winners receive a cash award of US$3,000.

The OCM Bocas Prize has two stages. First, panels of distinguished judges select the best book in each of the three genre categories. Next, the chairs of the poetry, fiction, and non-fiction panels, joined by the overall chair and vice-chair of the prize, form a final prize jury to select the overall winner from the three genre winners.

To be eligible for the 2017 prize, a book must be published in the calendar year 2016, and written by an author born in the Caribbean or holding Caribbean citizenship. Books must also be originally written in English.

Download the full submission guidelines here. The submission deadlines for the 2017 Prize are 10 November, 2016 (for books published up to 31 October, 2016), and 11 January, 2017 (for books published between 1 November and 31 December, 2016).

For further information about the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, contact us at info@bocaslitfest.com.

2017 OCM Bocas Prize Judges

OVERALL CHAIR: Edward Baugh (Jamaica)
VICE CHAIR: Marjorie Thorpe (Trinidad and Tobago)

POETRY JUDGES

David Dabydeen, Chair (Guyana/United Kingdom)
Nancy Morejón (Cuba)
Peter Straus (United Kingdom)

FICTION JUDGES

Susheila Nasta, Chair (United Kingdom)
Malaika Adero (USA)
H. Nigel Thomas (St. Vincent and the Grenadines/Canada)

NON-FICTION JUDGES

Kim Robinson-Walcott, Chair (Jamaica)
Aaron Kamugisha  (Barbados)
Patricia Mohammed (Trinidad and Tobago)

*Note to publishers: please contact us at info@bocaslitfest.com for mailing addresses to send an entry directly to a judge based in your country.

 2012 OCM Bocas Prize winners

• POETRY: The Twelve-Foot Neon Woman, by Loretta Collins Klobah (Peepal Tree Press)
• FICTION and OVERALL PRIZE: Is Just a Movie, by Earl Lovelace (Faber)
• NON-FICTION: George Price: A Life Revealed, by Godfrey P. Smith (Ian Randle Publishers)

2011 OCM Bocas Prize winners

• POETRY and OVERALL PRIZE: White Egrets, by Derek Walcott (Faber/Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
• FICTION: How to Escape from a Leper Colony, by Tiphanie Yanique (Graywolf)
• NON-FICTION: Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work, by Edwidge Danticat (Princeton)