OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature

Eligibility and entry guidelines

These guidelines have been updated for the 2023 OCM Bocas Prize. Please read carefully.

The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, first presented in 2011, is an annual award for literary books by Caribbean writers. Books are judged in three categories: poetry; fiction — both novels and collections of short stories; and literary non-fiction — including books of essays, biography and autobiography, history, current affairs, travel, and other genres, which demonstrate literary qualities and use literary techniques, regardless of subject matter. (Note: textbooks, technical books, coffee-table books, specialist publications and reference works are not eligible.)

There will be a panel of three judges for each category, who will determine category shortlists and winners.

The three category winners will then be judged by a panel of four judges — consisting of the chairs of the category panels and the prize chair — who will determine the overall winner.

The author of the book judged the overall winner will receive an award of US$10,000. The other category winners will receive US$3,000.

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

1. Have been first published in the calendar year 2022 (1 January to 31 December);
   
2. Have been written by a single author who either holds Caribbean citizenship or was born in the Caribbean (this must be verified by the publisher), regardless of current place of residence;
   
3. Have been written by an author who is living on 31 December, 2022;
4. Have been written and first published in English originally (i.e. translations are not
   eligible);
   
5. Be a new work, previously unpublished in book form (though collections including poems, stories, essays, or other short pieces that have individually appeared in print in periodicals or anthologies are eligible).

See Appendix 1 for a list of territories which constitute the Caribbean for the purposes of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.

• Books must be entered by their publishers (though judges may call in further books at their discretion).
• Books must be available for purchase in hardcopy, i.e. books that are only available as e-books are not eligible.
• Publishers must complete the online entry form for each title, and upload a PDF of the final book file.
• Publishers must also provide five physical copies of each title entered sent by reliable courier to The Bocas Lit Fest (or one copy to any judges based in the same country and others to The Bocas Lit Fest).
• Publishers must agree to provide a further six copies of shortlisted titles.
• Self-published books may be submitted by their authors, following the same procedure outlined for publishers. Self-published authors should provide their own contact information on the entry form.
• There is no requirement for publishers of eligible books to be located in the Caribbean.
• Each publisher may enter a maximum of five books per category (poetry, fiction, non-fiction), for a maximum of fifteen titles per publisher. A book may be entered in only one category. Publishers must get authors’ consent for entry.
• There is an entry fee of US$35 (TT$240) per title. We can accept US dollar bank drafts (drawn on American banks only) made payable to The Bocas Lit Fest or credit card payments made online through WiPay Caribbean or Paypal. Please select your payment option in the online form. Note: Trinidad and Tobago authors or publishers can pay in local currency.
• Each entry should be accompanied by a short biographical note on the author. Publishers must also provide digital photos of shortlisted authors.
• Books will be accepted for entry at the discretion of The Bocas Lit Fest. Decisions on eligibility are final.
• Books published before 31 October, 2022, must be delivered to the Bocas Lit Fest (or directly to judges, where applicable) by 7 November, 2022. ONLY books published between 31 October and 31 December, 2022, will be accepted for entry by the second deadline, 6 January, 2023. Eligible books that arrive after each deadline date will not be considered and entry fees will not be returned. There will be no exceptions to this rule.
• Publishers must send the books by courier to the Bocas Lit Fest office to guarantee timely arrival and onward dispatch to judges:

Marina Salandy-Brown
Bocas Lit Fest
38 Coblentz Avenue Cascade
Trinidad and Tobago Telephone: 1 (868) 222 7099

However, if a publisher is located in the same country as one of the category judges, one copy of the relevant title should be sent directly to that judge. Other copies should be sent to the Bocas Lit Fest at the above stated address.

Please contact the prize administrators at info@bocaslitfest.com for the names and locations of relevant judges.

• The 2023 prize longlist will be announced in March 2023. The shortlist will be announced in April 2023. The overall winner will be announced at the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, Trinidad and Tobago’s annual literary festival, in Port of Spain, 28–30 April, 2023.
• Publishers must agree that extracts from shortlisted books may be published in the Trinidad and Tobago Express and any other print or digital prize publications for purposes of promoting the winning titles and the OCM Bocas Prize.
• Publishers should notify authors of titles entered for the prize that the three category winners may be invited to attend and participate in the festival and the award ceremony in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and/or record a filmed interview.
• Category winners and the overall winner of the OCM Bocas Prize are expected to be willing to represent the Prize at international festivals and other fora if invited to do so. Please confirm that the writer whose work is being submitted would be prepared to accept this condition of entry.
• Publishers must use a reliable international courier (not regular air mail) to send entries, to ensure prompt delivery. The word “gift” must be marked on the air waybill and commercial invoice, and the description must clearly state that the books are “for reading purposes and not re-sale.”
• For any queries about eligibility requirements or the submission process, please contact the prize administrators at:

info@bocaslitfest.com

For the purposes of the OCM Bocas Prize, the Caribbean is defined as including the following countries and territories:

• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Aruba
• The Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Bermuda
• Bonaire
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Cuba
• Curaçao
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• French Guiana
• Grenada
• Guadeloupe
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Martinique
• Montserrat
• Puerto Rico
• Saba
• St Barthélemy
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St Lucia
• St Martin/Sint Maarten
• St Vincent and the Grenadines Sint Eustatius
• Suriname
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos
• US Virgin Islands

NB: books entered for the OCM Bocas Prize must be originally written and published in English.