More Than A Literary Festival

Bocas Children’s Book Prize Payment

The annual Bocas Lit Fest’s Children’s Book Prize is a prize given to one English-language book for children, written by a Caribbean* author. The prize is administered by the Bocas Lit Fest, and sponsored by The Wainwright Family. It is awarded annually for the most outstanding contribution to Caribbean literature for young independent readers, ages 7 to 12. 

The prize is open for entries from 17 July to 18 September 2023. The winner will be announced in December 2023, and will receive a US $1,000 cash prize. 

The entry fee is US$20/TT$140 per title.

$140.00 TTD

SKU: children-book-prize Category: Tag:

Works of fiction (including short story collections and books in verse), literary nonfiction, and graphic novels written for children are eligible. Works of drama, multiple-author anthologies, illustrated picture books, textbooks, or instructional manuals are not eligible. 

To be eligible for entry for the 2023 Prize, a book must: 

  • Be a new, original work written for children aged 7 to 12 published for the first time in book form between 1 September, 2022, and 31 August, 2023. Self-published books are eligible, and there is no requirement for the publisher or author to be based in the Caribbean; 
  • Have been written by a single author, or co-authored by up 3 persons who either hold Caribbean citizenship or were born in the Caribbean (this must be verified by the publisher), regardless of current place of residence;
  • Have been written by an author or co-authors who are living on 31 August, 2023;
  • Have been written and first published in English (i.e. translations are not eligible);
  • Have an ISBN and be available for purchase in print (not e-book edition only);
  • Tell the story primarily through prose rather than pictures or illustration. The book can include illustrations but should have a minimum word count of approximately 1,500 and should not rely entirely on visual storytelling.

Entry Fee 

The entry fee of US$20/TT$140 per title can be paid by: 

  • Credit card payment via the online WiPay or Paypal platforms; 
  • US dollar bank drafts in amount of US$20 (routed through a US-based bank) made payable to The Bocas Lit Fest and mailed via reliable courier service; 
  • Trinidad and Tobago online bank transfers in the amount of TT$140.00. (Note: International wire transfers can only be accepted if the sender agrees to include the US$13.25 bank fee). 

Please select your preferred payment method when completing the online entry, and an invoice with details will be issued for payment. Payment must be received by the submission deadline in order for the book to be eligible. 

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