Tamika Gibson (Dreams Beyond the Shore), Danielle Y.C. McClean (The Protector’s Pledge), Florenz Webbe Maxwell (Girlcott), and Imam Baksh (Children of the Spider) are all winners of the annual, much coveted Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult Literature, sponsored by the Canadian literary development agency CODE and managed by the Bocas Lit Fest.
In a bid to actively engage young readers, these four winning writers – two Trinbagonians, a Guyanese and a Bermudian – will spend five days, 9-13 November, visiting secondary schools in East and South Trinidad, as well as public libraries in Arima, Pt. Fortin and Scarborough to meet Bocas book club members.
On Saturday 11 November from 4-6pm all four authors will be reading from their book and signing copies at the Nigel R Khan Bookseller in West Mall [refreshments served]. And on Sunday 12 November they will feature in Raise the Bar, a youth spoken word showcase at the Government Campus Plaza auditorium on Wrightson Road, a free and open event for all secondary school students, their families and teachers.
At Raise the Bar, we’ll also launch CODE’s Read with Me social media campaign in which inspirational figures and local celebrities act as Reading Champions and post their own stories using the hashtag #readwithme to make reading feel relevant and exciting to youth.
“The tour focuses on bringing the authors into personal contact with readers aged 12-18 who need encouragement and support to discover the lasting joy of reading, and during the tour hundreds of copies of the winning titles will be given out. Those books will also help teachers and parents with some of the best reading material that resonates with our young readers, which is why the Burt Award is so important”, says Marina Salandy-Brown, founder of the Bocas Lit Fest.
So…where did your latest read take you? Was it an eerie forest full of mythical creatures? A boycott to end racial segregation in 1959 Bermuda? Or UWI campus with a bad boy in low riding jeans? We want to know! Join in our campaign to promote a love of reading by sharing your reading activities with us on social media using the #readwithme hashtag and tag @codeburtawards @bocaslitfest.
