The OCM Bocas Prize-winning author, author of The Tryst, leads a masterclass in addressing the subject of the erotic in fiction and life-writing. In partnership with Wasafiri. Workshop Fee: $100,... Read More
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.
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
Celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the groundbreaking, first-ever Caribbean LGBT literary reading. With drinks, music, sizzling stories, and penetrating poems. Curated by Colin Robinson. Bookmark
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
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
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
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
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
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 and Marjorie Thorpe. 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.
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
An intimate conversation with Barbara Lalla, as she talks to Shivanee Ramlochan about her career wrestling with language as both linguist and novelist. 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.
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.
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
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
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
2018 Children's Festival / 2018 CineLit / 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.
2018 Children's Festival / 2018 CineLit / Read More
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
US poet Kaveh Akbar and Jamaican Shara McCallum read from their poems addressing addiction, madness, home, and the divine. Chaired by Shivanee Ramlochan. Bookmark
2018 Children's Festival / 2018 CineLit / Read More
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.
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
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
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
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
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