Events

Climate change, the world economy, migration —tricky issues like these raise questions about the sustainability of small island societies. With a special focus on island perspectives running through the 2018 festival, we open with a high-level debate on hopes and possibilities for islands like ours. With a wake-up performance by Deneka Thomas.

Readings by and conversation with the 2018 finalists Imam Baksh, Shakirah Bourne and Elizabeth Jones, introduced and chaired by Janet Smyth. In partnership with CODE. Now in its fifth year,... Read More

The author of Kitch, a new novel based on the life of T&T’s iconic calypsonian, leads a workshop on the arts of fictional biography and biographical fiction. Workshop Fee: $100,... Read More

Alex Wheatle reads from his celebrated young adult novels and talks to Carolyn Cooper about the importance of representing diverse communities on the page. Bookmark

Master calypsonians Black Sage and Myron B debate the positives and negatives of life in a small island country, and what the future may hold.

Books and chocolate. Rum and chocolate. Dreams and chocolate. A specially conceived tour for NGC Bocas Lit Fest patrons starts with viewing documents in the Heritage Library collection to comprehend... Read More

Six short films tell the stories of young people in Papua New Guinea and Tonga. In partnership with Commonwealth Writers.

An open mic event for all. Featuring some of T&T’s best new talent.  Bookmark

Scholars Alison Donnell and Evelyn O’Callaghan and writers Kei Miller, Lorna Goodison and Sharon Millar discuss the value of Caribbean literary archives and the challenges of identifying and preserving a writer’s “papers” in the digital age.

Viviana Prado-Núñez, Kevin Jared Hosein, and Lisa Allen-Agostini, 2017 CODE’s Burt Award winners, launch their new books The Art of White Roses, The Beast of Kukuyo, and Home Home. In... Read More

Tracey Baptiste, author of the Jumbies series for young readers, on traditional folklore as subject matter for fiction writers. Bookmark

The Grenadian writer and Peepal Tree Press associate editor leads a masterclass in short fiction, a literary form with a celebrated place in the Caribbean canon. In partnership with Wasafiri.... Read More

The iconic Jamaican novelist and anthropologist Erna Brodber talks to Evelyn O’Callaghan about the range of her life’s creative work. Bookmark

Ingrid Persaud and Celeste Mohammed, both recent winners of international prizes for their short fiction, discuss the art of the Caribbean short story with Ira Mathur. Bookmark

A celebration of the Midnight Robber, one of T&T’s indigenous performance traditions. Writers Vahni Capildeo, Rhoda Bharath and Colin Robinson read new pieces inspired by the art of robber talk, and a master Midnight Robber delivers sinister news and topical commentary.

Widowed Roberto, suffering from Alzheimer’s, goes to live with his daughter’s family and unexpectedly he and his grandson, 22 year old Jan who has Downs Syndrome, find a new closeness and solace in each other.

The launch of Savi Naipaul Akal’s family memoir, The Naipauls of Nepaul Street, featuring the author in conversation with Jeremy Poynting, plus readings by Bhoe Tewarie. Bookmark

1940s factory worker Marta Matamoros became a pioneering unionist fighting for the rights of Panamanians. Incorruptible and unbending despite imprisonment, she achieved the minimum wage and maternity leave for workers.  Her former sister-in-arms recounts her inspiring life story with love and admiration.

The Trinidad and Tobago premiere of Mariel Brown’s feature film about her late father, writer Wayne Brown.

Film version of Nobel Prize-winner Mario Vargas Llosa’s best-selling novel, telling the story of Urania Cabral an independent-minded Manhattan lawyer who, after 30 years, returns to the Dominican Republic to... Read More

Tracy Assing and Jacob Ross, contributors to the groundbreaking anthology So Many Islands, in a conversation about what makes “island” writing unique. Chaired by Nicholas Laughlin. In partnership with Commonwealth... Read More

The late Trinidadian poet, fiction-writer, editor and mentor left an indelible stamp on contemporary Caribbean letters — as attested by his daughter, filmmaker Mariel Brown, and writers Sharon Millar, Keith... Read More

A special workshop for secondary school teachers and students, demonstrating how to use performance poetry to teach the CSEC English syllabus, led by one of T&T’s most accomplished spoken word... Read More

The UK journalist, author of Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, talks to Marina Salandy-Brown about nationalism and ethnic tensions in contemporary Britain, 70 years after the arrival of the... Read More

A documentary on the life and career of the greatest exponent of calypso from Costa Rica, Walter Ferguson, “Calypso King” of Cahuita, followed by a talk on the international reach... Read More

A documentary on the life and career of the greatest exponent of calypso from Limón, Walter Ferguson, “Calypso King” of Costa Rica’s Caribbean region. Panel Discussion to follow the screening... Read More

Books and chocolate. Rum and chocolate. Dreams and chocolate. A specially conceived tour for NGC Bocas Lit Fest patrons starts with viewing documents in the Heritage Library collection to comprehend... Read More

Our signature event for new and budding writers welcomes young voices to share their stories and concerns. Bookmark

The state of our national instrument, and its possible futures, discussed by pan arranger Jeannine Remy, musician Johann Chuckaree, Nestor Sullivan of Pamberi, and journalist Mark Lyndersay, chaired by Sunity... Read More

Meet at the NALIS booth, Library Rotunda. Bookmark

Poets Adalber Salas Hernández of Venezuela and Michael Kelleher of the US read from work ranging from meditations on the nature of art to personal dilemmas in troubled times; chaired... Read More

Celebrated YA author Alex Wheatle leads a masterclass in the fundamentals of creating compelling characters and gripping plot. Workshop Fee: $100.00 (payable in cash at the door) This session is... Read More

Grenadian Jacob Ross and Trinidadians Jennifer Rahim and Keith Jardim read from and discuss their short fiction with a sharp eye on the perils and politics of the contemporary Caribbean;... Read More

The dramatic life of Cuba’s great musician Benny Moré during the 1950s is captured in this fictional account that includes new versions of his songs performed by Chucho Valdes, Juan... Read More

The author of Brother, winner of the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, talks to Kelly Baker Josephs about his novels turning family history into investigations of community and identity. Bookmark

US-based TT poets Mervyn Taylor and Lauren K. Alleyne read from their work and discuss the challenges and responsibilities of immigrant writers in the age of Trump. Chaired by Joanne... Read More

World Premiere: six poets and 6 filmmakers in 6 countries pair up for a series of new poetry films on the theme of “inheritance”, matching words and images across borders.

The brutal murder of a Dominican park-ranger, Eligio Eloy Varga, becomes the metaphor for increasing tension between Haiti and the Dominican Republic over illicit charcoal exploitation and mass deforestation. In... Read More

Four extraordinary new books make their debut! Join us for the launch of Thicker Than Water, a new anthology of fiction, poems, and creative non-fiction by Hollick Arvon Prize finalists,... Read More

Two men, one woman, one wedding and one desire. The story of a passion that destroys the lives of those who suffer the tragedy of a forbidden love. A film full of poetry and cinematic beauty based on Federico García Lorca’s famous drama, Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding). 

The renowned Sri Lankan writer talks to Susheila Nasta about his life and work spanning continents and oceans. Bookmark

The experience of the divine is essential to many, but how does this translate into literature? One of the most celebrated emerging US poets leads a workshop exploring the question.... Read More

Adaptation of the popular 1950s coming-of-age novel by T&T writer Michael Anthony in which 15-year old Shell, growing up in rural Trinidad falls into a love triangle, despite his failing... Read More

The personal becomes the political in the poems of UK Poet Raymond Antrobus, OCM Bocas Prize-longlisted Bahamian Sonia Farmer and Forward Prize-shortlisted Richard Georges of the British Virgin Islands. Chaired... Read More

Workshop your writing with Muli Amaye, head of UWI’s MFA creative writing programme. Free and open to emerging writers. This session is full and registration is closed.    Bookmark

Dramatised excerpts from V.S. Naipaul’s classic political satire, directed by Kenneth Ramchand. Bookmark

Our signature event for new and budding writers. Feature readers: Sterling Henderson, Amanda McIntyre, M. James Cooper. Bookmark

Children’s animation / Film shorts

Presenting new pieces inspired by T&T’s literary archives, by Andre Bagoo, Anu Lakhan, and Breanne McIvor, joined in conversation with Kei Miller. In partnership with Caribbean Literary Heritage, supported by... Read More

Barbadian writer and editor Robert Edison Sandiford on balancing creative and editorial roles, and the literary scene in Bim. Bookmark

Film version of Francisco Hinojosa’s novel about Dr. Funes, who discovers a formula to achieve eternal youth, and when he tests it on himself he becomes a 12-year-old who embarks on new adventures with his friend Martín Poyo.

Extempo masterclass, led by Short Pants and Myron B. Two of T&T’s extempo masters teach the art of fast thinking and clever lyrics. Workshop Fee: $100.00 In partnership with the... Read More

The devastating Haitian earthquake of 2010 underlies the work in fiction and poetry by Haitian-American writers Katia D. Ulysse and Danielle Legros Georges. Chaired by Ibrahim Ahmad. Bookmark

This adaptation of the novella General Field by celebrated writer João Guimarāes Rosa is a moving story of loss and innocence told through Thiago, a sensitive and hopeful boy growing up in Brazil’s rugged and arid sertão region of Minas Gerais in the 1930s.

An intimate conversation with Barbara Lalla, as she talks to Shivanee Ramlochan about her career wrestling with language as both linguist and novelist. Bookmark

Scholar Stephen Stuempfle discusses his new book Port of Spain: The Construction of a Caribbean City, 1888–1962 and what the hidden archives reveal about the development of T&T’s capital, with... Read More

1940s factory worker Marta Matamoros became a pioneering unionist fighting for the rights of Panamanians. Incorruptible and unbending despite imprisonment, she achieved the minimum wage and maternity leave for workers.  Her former sister-in-arms recounts her inspiring life story with love and admiration.

Writers’ Union members present their recent work, plus a feature presentation on “Writing as Worship” by scholar Kumar Mahabir. Bookmark

Words meet costumes and performance in T&T’s traditional protest masquerade. In partnership with the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts. Bookmark

A film on the life of one of Argentina’s greatest writers, Jorge Luis Borges, based on his thoughts, ideology and literary works.

The festival’s centrepiece awards ceremony recognises the past year’s best books of poetry and fiction, and we honour the 2018 Bocas Henry Swanzy Awardee, Anne Walmsley. By invitation only. Bookmark

Battling illness, poverty and family breakdown, Alfonso and his family reunite to face one of their worst struggles to survive the drudgery and hardship of the sugarcane workers’ daily life.

2013 Man Booker Prizewinner Eleanor Catton, author of The Luminaries, talks to Shivanee Ramlochan about the challenges of historical fiction, the literature of New Zealand, and her experience of being... Read More

Shortlisted for the 2017 Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Book of Poems, the BVI writer leads a workshop in writing out of catastrophic situations. Workshop Fee: $100, payable at... Read More

Children’s animation / Film shorts

In North America and Europe, home to substantial Caribbean diaspora populations, recent politics have put questions of ethnicity and migration on the front burner. UK writer Afua Hirsch, author of... Read More

Writers and translators Adalber Salas Hernández of Venezuela, Loretta Collins Klobah of Puerto Rico, Haitian-American Danielle Legros Georges, and Vahni Capildeo of TT/UK on how and why writing crosses borders... Read More

Based on a popular Spanish cartoon, a merry band of stuffed animals set out to defeat the effects of pollution and save the rainforest, restoring its vibrant colours.

Excerpts from the theatrical adaptation of C.L.R James’s classic account of the Haitian Revolution, directed by Wendell Manwarren Bookmark

Anancy is the legendary mischievous spider known for tricking others to get his way. Four short stories explore the historical and cultural significance within the Afro-Caribbean community in Costa Rica... Read More

Readings by the six finalists, as voted by readers across the country, introduced by Newsday editor in chief Judy Raymond. Bookmark

Selkirk, a selfish and unruly pirate, is abandoned by his ship’s captain on an uninhabited island in the South Seas and has to learn how to survive alone, becoming the real Robinson Crusoe in the process.

US poet Kaveh Akbar and Jamaican Shara McCallum read from their poems addressing addiction, madness, home, and the divine. Chaired by Shivanee Ramlochan. Bookmark

What does “Commonwealth literature” mean in the 21st century, and how do writers from the very different nations of the Commonwealth question the history that connects them? Writers Romesh Gunesekera... Read More

Trinidad-born, Canada-based writer André Alexis, author of the multiple-award-winning novel Fifteen Dogs, talks to Michael Kelleher about literature, ideas, and the problematic concept of “home”. Bookmark

Six short films tell the stories of young people in Papua New Guinea and Tonga. In partnership with Commonwealth Writers.

An extraordinary poetry doubleheader as two new books ­– Ricantations by 2012 OCM Bocas poetry prizewinner Loretta Collins Klobah and Venus as a Bear by TT’s own Forward Prizewinner Vahni Capildeo ­–... Read More

An accident in the 1950s on the mythical Orinoco River in Venezuela destines Ana to live with the Yanomami tribe. Her daughter Elena cannot accept her disappearance and ventures into... Read More

Drama ∙ 2015 ∙ 21 mins ∙ Cuba ∙ All Ages. A film about a multi-layered community project designed to protect the special Guamá coastal region in southern Cuba, vulnerable... Read More

It’s the year’s biggest night of poetry, as T&T’s top performance poets vie for the championship and the first prize of TT$50,000. Come and root for your favourites! Tickets are... Read More

The dramatic life of Cuba’s great musician Benny Moré during the 1950s is captured in this fictional account that includes new versions of his songs performed by Chucho Valdes, Juan... Read More