The overall winner of the 2018 People’s Choice T&T Book of the Year, as chosen by the voting public, is Soulspection: A Collection of Poetry, by Michelle Borel.
The other books in the final voting round were (in alphabetical order by title):
21 Powerful P’s to Success, by Nichola Harvey
Don’t Go Mango Picking, by D.H. Gibbs
Everyone Knows I Am a Haunting, by Shivanee Ramlochan
Men and Misfits, by Lyndon Baptiste
The Repenters, by Kevin Jared Hosein
Congratulations to all the finalists!
An initiative of the Bocas Lit Fest in partnership with Newsday and NALIS, the prize was intended to promote reading and buying of local books, and to get people talking about them. Judy Raymond, editor-in-chief of the Trinidad & Tobago Newsday, shared this sentiment, saying “Obviously as a news organisation we want more people to read — and write — and this prize is a brilliant way to encourage people to do both! As the people’s paper we’re especially glad to be associated with a prize that’s awarded to a local writer by local readers.”
A total of 39 books were entered for voting, and Borel’s book earned the most votes from a finalists’ list of 6.
Find out more about the People’s Choice T&T Book of the Year here.